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Elmore James

Elmore James (born Elmore Brooks) was born in Mississippi on January 27, 1917. He died at age 45 in Chicago.

James was heavily influenced by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. James’ most famous song, Dust My Broom, was written by Johnson.

James often played Kay acoustic guitars with pickups installed. He has been dubbed by some as “King of the Slide Guitar” – and listening to the opening bars of Dust My Broom, one can see why. James also had other hit songs including, The Sky Is Crying, and My Bleeding Heart.

James was an inspiration for many later electric blues guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Thorogood, and Roy Buchanan.

 

{Rock’n_Roll_guitars.jpg: Ben Paulosderivative work: Kay Swing Master K673, K672 & Truetone Jazz King (Kay Speed Demon K573).png: Guitarpop (talk)derivative work: Clusternote [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons}