Home Page    Warning!    Toolbar    Blues Music    Blues Mp3    Blues Video    Blues Lyrics    Jazz Lyrics    Rock Lyrics    Lucky Mojo    Blues Jam    Blues Guitar    Buy Guitars    Guitar Hero    Blues Harp    Concert Mp3    Guitar TAB    Music Books    Blues Blog       Search Site    Contact Us Blues Improv Bluesmen Eric Capton ZZ TOP Band Eric Capton ZZ TOP Band Albert Collins Jimi Hendrix Bonamassa Lynyrd Skynyrd Santana Chuck Berry The Beatles R. Gallagher Freddie King B. Springsteen Rolling Stones Johnny winter Buddy Guy Bonnie Raitt	And they shall beat their swords into Guitars Lean to Play 5 minute Guitar Solo! Blues Licks * Blues Chords Guitar Guru * Blues Riffs Bass Guitar * Blues Jam Trax Jeff Cravetz Why I Love The Blues By Jeff Cravetz I was born at about the same time as Rock'n'Roll in the middle of the 1950s. Some of those early rock tunes were nothing more than straight twelve bar blues progressions, good old one, four and five chords. Listen to Elvis doing "Hound Dog", for example, or Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good". At the time I had no idea that this music derived from African rhythms and black American's ordeals. All I knew was that the beat moved me, and the chord changes were easy enough for me to learn, and that was good enough. I was hooked on blues before I ever knew it was blues. Later in life, at the ripe old age of thirteen, I was playing in a neighborhood blues band dubbed "A Lighter Shade Of Blue". "Lighter" really meant "whiter" in our case. At least we were smart enough by then to make fun of ourselves. The band had three guitarists, which led me to become a bass player. It was an easy decision. I was the only kid in the band whose parents were willing to buy a bass and an amp. Learning the bass patterns from the blues tunes we were covering is what gave me the foundation for learning to play lead guitar. Fast forward through high school, college, marriage, kids and a job. Working full time in retail music stores had left me little time for a band, and I really needed to keep playing somehow. A friend invited me to a "Blues Jam" he was hosting once a week in a local bar/restaurant. I showed up to find a room full of familiar faces, friends, customers and exbandmates. Ahh, a comfort zone in this mad, mad world. The Blues Jam worked because musically, everyone knew where we were going without a whole lot of discussion. Pick a key, start on the five chord, and GO! It turned out to be a great way to keep my chops up while between bands. The revolving line-up of players was always more a benefit than a challenge. Beginners and professionals on stage together, no superstars, no slackers…how much better does it get than that? Thank you, Blues, for a lifetime of memories punctuated by the music of Charlie Musselwhite, Albert King, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughn, B.B. King, Robert Cray and countless others. Who could ask for more? Jeff Cravetz Jeff Cravetz is the General Manager for www.music123.com Read more Blues Heroes Stories from the bookTouched By the Blues Blues Guitar | Blues Lyrics | Blues Mp3 | Blues Concerts | Blues Video Guitar TAB | Concert Mp3 | Blues Music | Blues News | Allman Bros. Eric Clapton | BB King | Jimi Hendrix | Albert Collins | SRV | ZZ TOP © 1998-2005 Blues for Peace Corporation. All rights reserved.	Blues News	Blues News Eric Clapton Jimi Hendrix Allman Brothers SRV Albert Collins Albert Collins Guitar Talk! Start Band Gal Guitarist Best Solos! Killer Guitar Texas Guitar jazz Guitar Back Beat Retro Blues Guitar Tech Muhammad Ali Beat to Beatnik Play Games Blues Movies Peace Quotes Jazz Dilema? Guitar Tech