Gary Moore was truly one of the great guitarists. His unforgettable fusion of and blues and rock influenced many rock players to take an interest in the blues. His fiery playing is was truly unique, both in the blues and rock genres.

In remembrance, here is a great video of Gary Moore sharing the stage with Albert Collins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUxx3mdbndk

And here are some places on the web to learn more about him:

The Official Gary Moore Website
The Gary Moore Fan Club
Gary Moore On Wikipedia

Rest in peace Gary. You will be missed and remembered.

See larger image Gary Moore & The Midnight Blues - Live at Montreux 1990 (DVD) Starring: Gary Moore Rating: NR (Not Rated) List Price: $14.98 USD New From: $9.95 In Stock Used from: $14.96 In Stock Release date December 14, 2004.

Remembering Gary Moore is from 100 Blues Licks where you can get more free guitar blues guitar lessons, blues licks and more.

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See larger image In Session [Deluxe Edition CD/DVD] (Audio CD) I spent about a decade sitting in the dank, mildewy basement of a neighborhood music store giving lessons to some 40 guitar students per week. My students ranged in age from 7 to 87, and from beginners to quite advanced. I love the guitar, I love learning and teaching, and I loved every minute of sitting in that nasty basement, with a guitar on my lap, imparting what knowledge I had to anyone hungry for it. And I learned a great deal from my students as well. No matter what style of music my students were interested in I insisted that they learn something about the blues. As far as I’m concerned if you can’t play the blues, well, you can’t play. The blues will help you to grasp the essentials of music. Take 3 chords and five notes and let’s see what you can do with it! The blues also will teach every aspiring guitarist to play with soul. To play the blues well you have to reach deep down into your soul and have the gumption to lay it out there for all who care to listen. You need to spill your guts right out onto the bandstand, and let the listener examine them in a bright light. I don’t care how fast you can play those scales and arpeggios, you have to have something to say and you have to be brave enough say it. No two blues guitarists are alike, and no two blues guitarists fearlessly let it all hang out more than the two late greats Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. On December 6, 1983, the legendary Albert King and up and comer Stevie Ray Vaughan met in a Canadian studio for a show called In Session. The story goes that Albert King wasn’t going to do it because he had no idea who Stevie Ray Vaughan was, but when SRV walked in he was surprised to see “Little Stevie,” the kid who used to follow him around back in the day. Stevie worshiped Albert King, and as a kid he even had he opportunity to share the stage with him. Listen to Albert King reminiscing about those days in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruvWFqEuqow I’ve had the cd release of this amazing show for a few years, but recently a great set of the CD and DVD has been released and it is now one of my most prized possessions. It is so cool to watch the way these to icons interact. I love the way Albert King laughs and smiles when Stevie plays something he really likes, and SRV looks at the master with reverence, he’s like the proverbial pig in, well, you know, sharing the stage with the master and showing just how much he has learned. I used to tell my students that Albert King had more soul in his little finger than all the guitarists in the music store combined, and there were a lot of guitarists in that store. Well SRV kept right up in that department. Here’s a clip of them doing the blues classic “Stormy Monday.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYY-DQ119mo Do yourself a favor and get this! Every blues aficionado should have it! List Price: $18.98 USD New From: $9.23 In Stock Used from: $8.89 In Stock Release date November 9, 2010.

Blues Masters Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan In Session is from 100 Blues Licks where you can get more free guitar blues guitar lessons, blues licks and more.

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T-Bone Walker was born Aaron Thibeaux Walker on May 28, 1910  in Linden, Texas. His family moved to Dallas when he was 2 years old.

T-Bone was possibly the first blues guitarist to pick up the electric guitar. He got started as a very young man with the help of another blues legend, Blind Lemon Jefferson. He helped Blind Lemon Jefferson get around, and he collected his tips on the street corners for him, while learning to play the blues guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irXywhqP1ho

He later moved on to L.A. where he played with some smaller groups, and finally in 1942 he began recording for Capital Records. Soon after that he moved onto Chicago for a few years, before going back to L.A. and recording for Black & White Records. That was where he recording the classic blues tunes “T-Bone Shuffle” and “Call It Stormy Monday,” which have both been covered countless times.  If You’ve been playing the blues for any length of time you surely have played these tunes. They are standards at blues jam sessions everywhere.

Take a look at this video of T-Bone, playing “Stormy Monday.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVR8lg1YLuc

Here is a great video from 1967 of T-Bone showing why he is among the gods of the blues guitar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiwUREwZNE

Great sax solo too! And how about that piano?

I’m from Cleveland, and I think the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum is kinda dumb. When I was there I got pretty bored pretty quickly with hand written lyrics and old rock stars clothes. But when I saw T-Bone Walker’s guitar I must admit my heart rate picked up a bit. I mean that was the guitar!

Here he is trading licks with B.B. King:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0q_EEugHw8

The truth is that we are standing on T-Bone Walker’s shoulders. If you don’t who he is and you play the blues, I guarantee that the people who influenced you were influenced by him. T-Bone’s influence on the blues guitar cannot be overstated! If you play the blues you need to know about him. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Get T-Bone Walker’s Complete Capital Recordings. An awesome deal on a great collection!

You can also check out T-Bone Walkers Imperial Recordings.

I urge you to get a hold of some of those tracks and listen, and then listen again. Cop some of those licks. Chances are that you already play some of them anyway. It’s good to know where those tasty blues licks came from, isn’t it?

T-Bone Walker – Blues Guitar God is from 100 Blues Licks where you can get more free guitar blues guitar lessons, blues licks and more.

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Albert King played left handed, but he didn’t restring the guitar.  He just turned his normally strung Flying V over and played the hell out it. In is early days he was known to face the band while he played because he didn’t want other guitarists to see what he was doing and steal his licks.

Here he is playing some mighty fine blues guitar. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5dpp2iCRwM

Stevie Ray Vaughan was heavily influenced by Albert King, and if you are paying attention you can hear Stevie taking Albert’s licks and pushing them further all the time. One of my favorite albums is In Session: Albert King With Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of the reasons I love it is that SRV is a bit more restrained and subtle then usual, and the interplay between them is fantastic. if you are a serious blues guitar fan you should not be without this album.

Albert King also wrote some of my favorite blues standards, like “Born Under A Bad Sign,” and “Crosscut Saw,” which has some of the funniest lyrics ever written:

I cut your wood so easy for you
You can’t help but say “Hot dog!”

Here’s another another video, a live performance of Albert King’s classic “I’ll Play The Blues For You.” Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDRCIEEZ3w

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

Certainly one of the most inspirational blues guitarists to ever have picked up a guitar is Stevie Ray Vaughan. A true blues guitar icon, Stevie not only brought the old school blues to some of us younger players, but he managed to leave a mark that forever changed the blues guitar.

I just ran across this great blog post: Life By The Drop

Enjoy!

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One night, while the band was on break, Terry and I were talking and the conversation got around to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

“Do you know who Stevie Ray Vaughan’s biggest influence was?” Terry asked.

Now this guy is a walking encyclopedia of music. He wasn’t asking me for information. This was a pop quiz.

“Sure I do,” I said, “Albert King.” I knew all about how Stevie had grown up listening to Albert king, I could hear the Albert King licks in SRV’s music for myself. And of course I own the In Session: Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan album where Albert gives Stevie a hard time for stealing his stuff. I was dead sure I was right.

“That’s a good answer,” Terry replied, “but no.”

“Who then?”

“Lonnie Mack.”

He told me to listen to The Wham Of That Memphis Man, Lonnie Mack’s 1963 debut album. I wrote it down on a bar napkin, stuffed the napkin in my pocket, and got back on the bandstand for the next set.

The next day I ordered the Memphis Wham! CD which contains the original The Wham Of That Memphis Man album plus rare singles and unreleased tracks. That CD now ranks among my most treasured.

The influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan can’t be denied. SRV must have studied this album very closely. Stevie copied lick after lick, he even lifted an entire intro to a tune.

Of course every musician steals, but what makes a player like Stevie great is that he not only took those ideas further, he made them his own. I mean nobody sounded like SRV before SRV came around. Of course since then there are tons of blues guitar players who sound like him, and that can only be attributed to his stature as blues guitar god.

With The Wham Of That Memphis Man Lonnie Mack invented the blues rock genre. I guarantee that at least some of the music you like would have never been played had Lonnie Mack never picked up a guitar.

Do yourself a favor and pick up the album.

And do enjoy this video featuring Lonnie Mack and Stevie Ray Vaughan playing the Lonnie Mack tune “Wham.” Does the intro sound like anything you have heard on a Stevie Ray Vaughan record?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjdbXwD-xnk

Check out the official Lonnie Mack website www.lonniemack.com

Wikipedia has a great article on Lonnie Mack.

Guitar Great Lonnie Mack – The Father of Blues Rock is from 100 Blues Licks where you can get more free guitar blues guitar lessons, blues licks and more.

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