Rhythm and Blues

There is a considerable interest taken by local white guitarists in the blues guitar—a resurgence of which is evident all over the country. Suddenly a market has developed for Broonzy, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Terry. Bill Roberts, a guitarist I talked to at the Hall, had a twelve-string guitar like the one Leadbelly used to play, but said it was a bit of sentimentality on his part. As soon as the old-time negro singers made any money, they bought electric guitars. In some cases the results have been disastrous.

John Hooker's records with electric guitar are excruciatingly bad examples of tone control. But it would be wrong to say that it is a complete mistake. Some of the rhythm-and-blues groups that play locally over the radio sing fierce gospel blues and yet their instruments and rhythm structures are essentially the same as in the emasculated R.&B. we get in New Zealand.