Blues Rock

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Blues Rock is a separate genre of Blues music that appeared in The Sixties in the UK and the USA, though largely created by British bands. Blues-rock is basically a hybrid between 12-bar blues and hard rock, with frequent use of Improv and jamming and an overall heavier sound.

While arguably the genre's specific guitar style was invented by Lonnie Mack with his 1963 single "Memphis", this discovery went unnoticed at the time. The genre itself basically came about when the British became exposed to Blues imported from the USA and started their own bands. These bands quickly gained the edge in one area traditional Blues music lacked: volume. By cranking their amps Up to Eleven, bashing the hell out of their drums and worshipping the almighty Epic Riff, bands such as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Cream, Led Zeppelin and the UK-based Jimi Hendrix decisively established blues-rock as a genre in its own right.

Thanks to its emphasis on volume and Epic Riffs, blues-rock became one of the key influences on the development of Heavy Metal.

Blues-rock bands:

• John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
• The Black Keys
• The Yardbirds
• Led Zeppelin
• Cream
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• The Rolling Stones
• Fleetwood Mac (early on)
• Blind Faith
• Derek and the Dominos
• The Jeff Beck Group
• The Who