Blind Blake - King Of Ragtime Guitar
Blind Arthur Blake, born eighteen ninety three in Jacksonville, Florida and died around nineteen thirty three, was a successful blues singer and guitar player. He is called "The King of Ragtime Guitar". Blake put out approximately eighty pieces for Paramount Records between nineteen twenty six to nineteen thirty two. He was an incredibly accomplished musician of his style having an astonishingly diverse repertoire. He is best remembered because of his rhythmic guitar style that tried to sound like ragtime piano. We don't know a lot about Blake. The birth place is shown as the town of Jacksonville, in Florida by Paramount Records but that is not definite. On one song he lapses into a Geechee dialect, which might indicate that he was from the coast of Georgia. Nothing at all is known of the circumstances surrounding his death and no one is even sure of Blake's real name. According to some, his correct name could have been Arthur Phelps, although there's no documented evidence of this speculation.
The "Phelps" label maybe originated when he replied to Blind Willie McTell in a chat in nineteen twenty five in Atlanta, where Blind Blake was never noted to have visited; nor did Willie McTell ever reside in or in the vicinity of Chicago. However, of Blind Blake' s tracks were put into copyright under the name 'Arthur Blake', and at one time during his recording sessions with Papa Charlie Jackson, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It", the following words are easily distinguished:
Papa Charlie: What is your right name?
Blind Blake: My right name is Arthur Blake!
It's a great shame that there is only on photograph in existence.
His first records were made in 1926 and his records were very popular. Blake's first recorded song was "Early Morning Blues" and "West Coast Blues" was on the other side. These are marvellous examples of his talent and formed the basis for the new ragtime blues style.
Blake's Playing Technique
It's not sure if Blake had a teacher, or how he developed this amazing style. Although several guitarists had this rhythmic approach, almost none were as precise and as quick as Blind Blake.
Everywhere his music, regardless of the key he played in, the chords utilized were always rather simple. His left fingers were very adept at string damping and this technique is essential for rapid finger picking. It appears to that the picking hand was the most critical one, although obviously both combine to create the effect.
His picking technique may be split up into three elements - thumb work, fast finger triplets and runs on a single string. It's true that other performers used these techniques, but Blind Blake mixed them up them continuously, making incredibly intricate and rhythmic music.
The thumb in particular deserves detailed investigation. All guitarists are familiar with the picking pattern called 'alternating bass'. However, Blake might brush the thumb from one string to another, making two beats instead of one! Blake might also change the movement in mid flow, which shows incredible dexterity.
Blind Blake went into the studio for the last time sometime 1932, the bankruptcy of Paramount Records speeding up the end of his career. Musicians often consider that Blake's later songs don't display quite the same style.
By all accounts, he drank too much during his final years. Possibly this was the cause of a too early death at 40 years of age. No one is sure how he came to his end - Gary Davis was told that he was hit and killed by a tram in Chicago.
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