Chicago Blues Lesson: Hound Dog Taylor's Guitarist Brewer Phillips

Brewer Phillips was an irreplaceable part of Hound Dog Taylor's sound, which was so old it was new. The two guitar attack-- who needs a bass?-- was raw, loud and straight from Mississippi to the South Side Chicago taverns. Playing the bass role in a two guitar-drums band requires a consistently driving guitarist who has mastered the bass strings, and Brewer was that first and foremost. His sound is an intoxicated, amped-up, careening-off-the-road version of the classic driving boogies of Dave Meyers, Jimmy Rogers, and Memphis Minnie, who had a hand in raising him as a boy in Mississippi. His leads are great: raw, in your face, and similar to Magic Slim's and I think early Pat Hare; no reverb, nothing fancy, just pedal to the metal. Like Magic Slim, he gets his speed and attack from a combination of his thumpick and finger. Although he is best known for his several records with Hound Dog Taylor on Alligator (which each include several tracks of him on lead guitar), he has also made some great records for JSP, Delmark, and my personal favorite, Well Alright on Black Rose in 2008 of unreleased mostly live material. Subscribe to my channel today for in-depth looks at the electric blues greats as well, deep dives into blues "nooks and crannies", and great performance videos. * Become a supporter at   / johnnyburgin   to help keep these free weekly lessons coming. Or send a one time tip: Johnny-Burgin-1 at Venmo or [email protected] on Paypal-- thank you! Check https://johnnyburgin.com/ for my international show schedule. I'd love it if you come to a show or pick up a CD or LP. It's always great to meet and chat with fellow blues guitar fans on the road. You can find my CDs and LPs on Spotify or other streaming platforms, online stores like Amazon/iTunes, https://johnnyburgin.bandcamp.com/ etc. Connect:   / johnnyburgin.  .   / johnnyburgin   Twitter:   / burginjohnny   *For updated show listings go to https://www.bandsintown.com/a/1226708... or join the email list: https://johnnyburgin.com/contact/ *Label: www.delmark.com -- America's oldest continuously operating blues and jazz label. *WIki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockin'... Check out my sponsors: https://www.ghsstrings.com/ out of Battle Creek, MI and https://www.bluemoonharmonicas.com Thanks so much to all of you. #bluesguitarlessons #chicagoblues #johnnyburgin #delmarkrecords #ghsstrings #alligatoryoutubechannel #hounddogtaylor #brewerphillips