You ever hear a song and just know you have heard it before? After listening to so much music, it’s fun to connect dots. I went through a blues phase in my younger years. I listened to all kinds of artists from Robert Johnson to Kenny Wayne Sheppard. My first concert was Stevie Ray Vaughn and Huey Lewis and the News. It was a very bluesy evening! But one stood out to me. Occasionally I’ll get stuck on someone, I got stuck on Robert Cray.
Robert Cray was born in Georgia, but raised in Oregon. He knows his way around a Stratocaster. He can sing very well too. He’s been on Blues charts and Pop charts. Here is his Tiny Desk Concert.
Cray has a song called “Smoking Gun.” It’s this song I want to talk about in particular. I need you to hear it. Listen to a few minutes:
Hear that Bluesy riff? Wanna’ know who else heard it? Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains and it’s glorious. Alice in Chains has a song called “No Excuses.” The guitar and bass owe a lot to Mr. Cray.
Muddy Waters also shows up in Jerry’s arsenal but he’s a little tougher to hear thanks to Jerry’s clever take on him. Listening to “Mannish Boy” for example, you hear a repeated turnaround phrase that if you move just one finger one fret over on the guitar and play it half speed, you get “Sludge Factory.” Now Jerry says there’s a lot of Elton John in Alice in Chains. But I hear blues. In fact, I hear blues in a lot of music.
I hear lots of repeating 12 bar sections. Lots of I-IV-V chord progressions and variations. And I hear loads of heart and soul. The blues haven’t gone anywhere, they’re in everything. Rock, Pop, Alternative, even EDM. Jerry is smart to conjure these blues masters, but he’s far from the only one.