During the 50’s and 60’s, few Blues artists enjoyed as much success as Jimmy Reed. His laid back shuffle and simple arrangements made for a style that was both accessible and distinctive. These very traits also make Reed an excellent source of material for up and coming Blues players! His songs are widely known enough that you can call them out at jam sessions and have others willing to play along. They’re also easy enough to play that, even when someone hasn’t heard the tune before, they can usually figure it out quickly enough. Just tell everyone “it’s a twelve-bar Blues shuffle in E,” then count it off, and play!
If you’re looking to emulate the “Jimmy Reed sound,” use the neck pickup on your guitar, and put your amp on a clean setting with a little bit of reverb (or play an acoustic guitar). Make sure you play “behind the beat:” In other words, keep your rhythm playing on the lazy side. You can practice this by playing with a metronome set to around 96bpm (clicks on 1-2-3-4) and letting the beat “pull you along,” as my mentor Will Brady used to say.
Popular Jimmy Reed songs include:
- Ain’t That Lovin’ You
- Baby What You Want Me To Do?
- Big Boss Man
- Bright Lights, Big City
- Shame, Shame, Shame
You can learn more about Jimmy Reed’s life and influence at The BluesHarp Page, and over at Wikipedia.
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