Piedmont blues, also known as “East Coast Blues,” is a style of blues that features a particular style of guitar, called “Piedmont fingerstyle”–click here for an example–and differs from Delta blues because of its ragtime rhythms. (Blind Blake was a country blues guitarist who helped originate the Piedmont blues sound.) The Piedmont blues style was most popular before World War II but its most influential musicians, such as BLIND WILLIE McTELL, BLIND BOY FULLER, SONNY TERRY and BROWNIE McGHEE, still inspire modern blues, rock and pop artists.
[Listen to Blind Willie McTell play “Broke Down Engine” in 1933 | Listen to Blind Boy Fuller perform “Truckin’ My Blues Away” in 1936 | Watch Piedmont bluesmen Sonny Terry (on harmonica) and Brownie McGhee (on guitar) perform “Easy Riders,” joined by Pete Seeger on banjo]
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