Many years ago, for the first time ever live to an audience, Bob Dylan took his steps on the stage and began to play his electric guitar. He was completely, taken with his play and ignored the reaction of the audience to the obnoxious rock music. He continued plugging in and playing. His act was such a revolution of the music’s world. That event occupied the front pages of all the newspapers that time. Based on the few differences between it and the blues music, the elder blues musicians listening to him caused the leaving of acoustic blues guitar in the dust.

Back in Chicago in the 1930’s or so there was a movement that was growing. Many of the blues musicians that had played their time in the Mississippi delta area were now bringing their brand of acoustic blues guitar music to Chicago and it was met with enthusiasm. Muddy Waters and Son House were huge stars in Chicago and they would play that acoustic blues guitar until people were just going wild. Then along came musicians like Howling Wolf who put aside the acoustic blues guitar and picked up the electric guitar and soon the days of the acoustic blues guitar were numbered. Wolf and other artists started recording classic acoustic blues guitar hits on electric guitars and that was the music that got out to the people. Soon Son House and the others were relics and Robert Johnson and that famous picture of him and his acoustic blues guitar became treasured pieces of the past.

For many years the electric guitar ruled the blues world and the Jimi Hendrix decided to record a short movie of himself playing and acoustic blues guitar and for just a little while we got to hear as close to the modern equivalent of those old classics that we will hear. As Jimi fired through Here My Train A Comin’ it was just like being on the delta near the turn of the century when Robert Johnson would travel from small bar to small bar just to make a living playing his guitar. It was a great time that is lost forever.

The acoustic guitar will never be a basic tool that is similar to the one used to be previously. No doubt, it gets its due on blues and rock records. We cannot mistake the sound, since we know completely the rightness of the music played on it. This music arises from deep heart and the numbed soul. We will never listen to such a sweet music like that again.

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