I’ve been realizing more and more that my music has gravitated toward the Texas blues more than any other blues style out there. There’s just something about the heavy electric Texas blues men like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, and Albert Collins that I enjoy very much. Even some of the more progressive players like Eric Johnson appeal heavily to me. So to stay in that vain of Texas blues, I wanted to feature Johnny Copeland today. Most of us don’t think of him as one of the big Texas blues men, but nevertheless he made many contributions to the style of music. And now, even though he has passed away, his daughter Shemekia Copeland is following in her father’s footsteps and becoming one of the great young blues singers on stage today. I hope you enjoy hearing from Johnny Copeland as much as I certainly did!
I wanted to start off with one of Johnny’s up tempo pieces, because the guy definitely knew how to build a groove. Enjoy this performance of “Devil’s Hand,” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_Dc_lj4d8.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/1J_Dc_lj4d8″ height=”420″ rel=”0″]
The video that inspired this whole post is up next. He put down the electric guitar, picked up his acoustic, sat on a stool, and performed a killer solo rendition of the song, “Flying High.” Enjoy the video now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bbP35szdns.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/2bbP35szdns” height=”420″]
Lastly, one of Johnny’s most memorable performances was with the iconic Stevie Ray Vaughan. Here’s the band playing at the Montreux festival in 1985 performing the song, “Tin Pan Alley,” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251iHNjSqUY.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/251iHNjSqUY” height=”420″ rel=”0″]
I hope you dug hearing from the famous Texas blues man Johnny Copeland. He and his music will surely go down in music history as one of the iconic blues men. There’s more coming your way at Blues Guitar Unleashed, so stay tuned.
Thanks,
Griff
6 replies to "Texas Blues Man Johnny Copeland"
j’adore srv mais je connaissais pas copeland,super.Eric
Really enjoyed this. Johnny Copeland is a new name to me and I will spend some time getting to know his work. Tin Pan Alley just great, SRV is an outstanding guitarist and they worked so well together. Share much appreciated.
Whew!! Wanna play like that; love your guitar instructions and even moreso you professional samplings of what guitar playing entails and should be like!
Hey Great job, I always love Texas Blues and This is a Magnificent pairing!!!
Great finds Griff. Thanks.
Looks like you are getting ready to get your Texas groove on.
Thanks for the great Texas blues!!! I’ve been working my way through your Acoustic Blues course and lovin it. I don’t have an electric here in Denver with me but plan on getting my electric back from California this summer so I can work on some of this stuff you just can’t do on an acoustic.
Thanks
Ric