Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle, giving rise to the term bottleneck guitar to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar.
Ryland Peter Cooder is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.
Blind Willie Johnson was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "chest voice" singing, slide guitar skills, and originality that has influenced generations of musicians. Even though Johnson's records sold well, as a street performer and preacher, he had little wealth in his lifetime. His life was poorly documented, but over time, music historians such as Samuel Charters have uncovered more about Johnson and his five recording sessions.
The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active.
Crossroads is a 1986 American musical drama film inspired by the legend of blues musician Robert Johnson. Starring Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca and Jami Gertz, the film was written by John Fusco and directed by Walter Hill and features an original score by Ry Cooder featuring classical guitar by William Kanengiser and harmonica by Sonny Terry. Steve Vai appears in the film as the devil's virtuosic guitar player in the climactic guitar duel.
Paradise and Lunch is the fourth album by roots rock musician Ry Cooder, released on June 8, 1974 on Reprise Records. The album is composed of cover versions of jazz, blues and roots standards and obscurities recorded at the Warner Brothers Studios. The final track, "Ditty Wah Ditty," showcases a duet between Cooder and jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines. It was produced by Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker. The album reached #167 on the Billboard 200.
Taj Mahal is the debut album by American guitarist and vocalist Taj Mahal. Recorded in 1967, it contains blues songs by Sleepy John Estes, Robert Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson II reworked in contemporary blues- and folk-rock styles. Also included is Taj Mahal's adaptation of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues", which inspired the popular Allman Brothers Band recording.
"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar. The song has been interpreted and recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles, including Led Zeppelin on their 1976 album Presence.
Warm Your Heart is a 1991 album released by American R&B/soul singer Aaron Neville. It features the singles "Everybody Plays the Fool", "Somewhere, Somebody" and "Close Your Eyes". The "Close Your Eyes" single also featured album producer Linda Ronstadt on guest vocals. The pair had previously collaborated on the songs "Don't Know Much", "All My Life" and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby".
Oscar Brashear was an American jazz trumpeter and session musician from Chicago, Illinois.
"Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" is a gospel blues song written and performed by American musician Blind Willie Johnson and recorded in 1927. The song is primarily an instrumental featuring Johnson's self-taught bottleneck slide guitar and picking style accompanied by his vocalizations of humming and moaning. It has the distinction of being one of 27 samples of music included on the Voyager Golden Record, launched into space in 1977 to represent the diversity of life on Earth. The song has been highly praised and covered by numerous musicians and is featured on the soundtracks of several films.
Election Special is the 15th studio album by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ry Cooder. It was released on August 16, 2012, by Perro Verde and Nonesuch Records. Cooder recorded and produced the album mostly at Drive-By Studios in North Hollywood, performing all of the instrumentation, including bass, guitar, and mandolin, with the exception of drums, which were played by his son Joachim.
The Soul of a Man is an album of "twenty haunting spiritual blues songs" recorded in the late 1920s and 1930 by the American gospel blues singer and guitarist Blind Willie Johnson that was released by Charly Records in 2003.
"Go with Me to That Land" or "Come and Go with Me (to That Land)" is a traditional gospel blues song recorded on April 20, 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson with backing vocals by Willis B. Harris, who may have been his first wife. It was released as a single on Columbia 14597-D, backed with "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right".
"Denomination Blues" is a gospel blues song composed by Washington Phillips (1880–1954), and recorded by him in 1927.
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson is a compilation album of all the known recordings by American gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Willie Johnson. As part of the Roots N' Blues series, it was released jointly by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, on April 27, 1993. All of the tracks on the two-compact disc set were originally issued by Columbia on the then-standard two-sided 78 rpm record format.
The Prodigal Son is a 2018 studio album, the sixteenth to be released by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ry Cooder. The album was released on May 11, 2018, by Concord and Perro Verde record labels. The record also produced two singles.
American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson is a compilation album released to accompany the award-winning American Epic documentary film series. It collects performances from Blind Willie Johnson's five recording sessions for Columbia Records in Dallas, Atlanta, and New Orleans between 1927 and 1930. The album was released as a 16-track download and a vinyl LP.
The Slide Area is the tenth studio album by Ry Cooder. It was released in 1982 and peaked at No. 105 on the Billboard 200.
