Introduction: Two Urban Blues Styles, One Deep Root
Chicago blues and West Coast blues may have emerged from the Delta blues, but each has a distinct sound and style. The differences between the two reflect the various cultures, migrations, and influences of each region.
Chicago blues is raw, amplified, and urban. It developed on raucous, smoke-filled stages and juke joints, powered by electric guitars and raspy vocals. West Coast blues is smoother, with jazzy inflections and jump blues beats.
The contrasts between Chicago and West Coast blues allow us to see the various paths that the blues took throughout the nation. As such, the differences show how place and community help define the music we now think of as traditional blues.
In this post, we’ll look at what distinguishes Chicago and West Coast blues. We’ll discuss their history, sounds, and notable artists. By the end, you’ll have a greater appreciation for the different varieties of blues.
Origins: Chicago vs. California Migration
Chicago blues and West Coast blues have roots that can be traced back to the Great Migration. African Americans moved from the South to Northern and Western cities in search of better lives. The music was part of this journey and changed in these new urban settings.
Chicago blues is rooted in the Mississippi Delta tradition. Migrants carried the Delta blues with them as they moved north to cities like Chicago. Playing in crowded bars and alleys led to a louder, amplified sound.
West Coast blues developed in places like Los Angeles and Oakland. Musicians from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas added to the California scene. West Coast blues tended to be smoother with swing elements.
The cities themselves shaped each sound. Chicago was windy, cold, and industrial. The music reflected urban life, its struggles, and nightlife. West Coast blues had a more relaxed vibe influenced by California and jazz.
Culture and surroundings also played a role. Chicago blues was working class with an emotional edge. West Coast blues often had a mix of blues, jump band rhythms, jazz chords, and nightclub atmosphere.
So both blues styles came from the South. But as African Americans migrated to cities, they developed distinctive scenes. Regional influences, culture, and city life formed their music.
Sound and Style: Urban Grit vs. Smooth Swing
The Chicago blues was fierce and electric. Gritty guitar licks, screaming harmonicas, and stomping beats reflected the city’s steel mills and factory grind. The sound was raw and aggressive, mirroring the harshness of urban existence.
Players in Chicago, like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, embraced distortion and snarling vocals. Amplification meant more than loudness. It added tension, weight, and rawness to every note. The cold city streets and factory hums could be heard in their music.
You can read about Muddy Waters here.
You can read about Howlin’ Wolf here
In contrast, the blues were sleeker on the West Coast. Musicians in Los Angeles and Oakland mixed traditional blues with jazz and big band swing. The result was a polished, danceable, and often more relaxed sound.
The guitar tones were clean. The arrangements are sophisticated. West Coast blues often featured pianos, saxophones, and tight rhythm sections. It captured the vibe of sunshine, nightlife, and Hollywood glamour.
Cityscapes influenced these sounds. Chicago’s steel mills, crowded streets, and fierce environment gave the music urgency and heft. West Coast highways, jazz clubs, and cultural mix created a breezier, stylish groove.
The environment played a key role. The blues absorbed the tension or languor of its setting. Grit versus glide. Stomp versus swing. Geography made all the difference.
Rooted in the exact blues origins, these styles were shaped by place. Chicago toughened up the blues with electricity and distortion. The West Coast offered a smoother, more jazzy flow. Each style remained distinct, but forever related.
Together, they highlight the many facets of the blues, both fierce and smooth, reflecting the cities that forged them.
Instrumentation: Harp Battles vs. Jazzy Horns
Instruments in Chicago blues music are sparse and straightforward. The harmonica (affectionately known as the “harp”) is the focus, wailing against electric guitars with overdriven amplifiers. Overall, the sound is raw and percussive.
The harmonica was pushed to its limit by players like Little Walter, while guitars contributed short, sharp riffs. Drummers and bassists kept a simple, steady backbeat to support the music’s intensity.
West Coast blues, on the other hand, often has smoother tones and a fuller sound. This was mainly due to the influence of jazz and big band swing. Horn sections, particularly saxophones, usually feature prominently, as well as piano.
Instead of a back-and-forth duel between harmonica and guitar, you might hear more fluid horn lines, complemented by smooth and polished vocals. West Coast bands often had the sound of a well-oiled machine, with a significant band influence.
Chicago blues features a minimalist approach, with the drums often propelling the music forward with a heavy, foot-stomping beat. West Coast blues, however, usually features a smooth, swinging rhythm.
Chicago’s sound creates a sense of urgency and intensity, while the West Coast’s lush instrumentation adds a touch of sophistication. Each of these subgenres uses different musical elements to paint its unique picture.
In addition to the music itself, the settings also played a role in the differences between Chicago and West Coast blues. The often-cramped clubs of Chicago led to the development of the fiercely competitive sound of harp battles.
Los Angeles’ lounges and bars, on the other hand, were more conducive to a smooth, jazzy horn section.
Chicago blues is a raw, rugged, and unpolished subgenre. West Coast blues is smooth, polished, and cool.
But it is important to note that, although the instrumentation is different, the spirit of the music is the same. The blues exist in both subgenres to express emotion and keep the tradition of this beautiful music alive.
You can read about Chicago Blues Harmonica here
Vocal Approach: Shouting vs. Crooning
The vocals of Chicago blues were raw and intense. Artists like Muddy Waters would shout, holler, and moan with fierce emotion. They poured their hearts into the music, singing about pain, love, and loss. The sound was like a train coming down the tracks, powerful and unstoppable.
Vocals were less about polish and more about raw feeling. From Howlin’ Wolf’s roar to Koko Taylor’s wail, Chicago blues was gritty and straightforward. Each word cut through the smoke-filled air of a blues club, demanding attention.
You can read about Koko Taylor here.
West Coast blues vocals were smooth and sophisticated. Singers often took a jazzier, crooning approach with influences from swing and big band music. This gave the vocals a superb, lounge-like quality.
Artists like Charles Brown and T-Bone Walker sang with a laid-back elegance. Their tones were soft, relaxed, and emotionally nuanced. This matched the region’s love of style and sophistication.
You can read about T-Bone Walker here.
Chicago vocalists drew on church shouts and Delta blues cries. West Coast singers drew on nightclub cool and jazz phrasing. Both styles told blues stories, one with a shout, the other with a croon.
Key Artists: City-Specific Legends
Chicago was home to many of the most well-known electric blues musicians of all time. Muddy Waters updated the Delta Blues to an amplified, gritty, and more raw electric version. Muddy Waters’ slide guitar playing and powerful, raw voice set the standard for Chicago blues.
Howlin’ Wolf had a deep, growling voice and an even larger stage presence. His music, like “Smokestack Lightning,” is larger than life, with howling harmonica and a raw intensity. Little Walter pushed the limits of the harmonica as an electric blues instrument by using distortion and amplification.
You can listen to “Smokestack Lightnin'” here.
T-Bone Walker is one of the most well-known West Coast blues artists. He blended jazz and swing phrasing with jump blues and jump rhythm & blues. T-Bone Walker was very stylish on stage as well, with a smooth, sophisticated playing style. He was also one of the first to play guitar behind his head for added flair. T-Bone Walker influenced B.B. King and Chuck Berry, as well as many others.
You can read about B.B. King here.
Pee Wee Crayton developed after T-Bone Walker, mixing jazz, R&B, and blues into a hard-edged, riff-oriented style. Pee Wee Crayton also had a hit with “Blues After Hours,” which is an example of a more refined, smoother electric blues sound. Lowell Fulson was also on the West Coast, and his music mixed a gritty, raw voice and guitar style with narrative songwriting. Songs like “Reconsider Baby” appealed to blues as well as soul fans.
You can here “Blues After Hours” here.
Chicago artists were tough and electrified, with a heavy influence from the Delta region of the South. West Coast artists focused on jazz, swing, and had a more urban sound. But all these artists have had a significant impact on the music of the future. Blues and rock music continue to play guitar licks, harmonica solos, and howled vocals from these artists around the world.
Performance Settings and Scenes
Chicago blues was often played in small, smoky clubs and raucous neighborhood taverns. Street corners also served as an impromptu stage for blues music, where an eager audience would gather.
The cramped quarters and clamorous settings shaped a blues style that was loud and rugged. To project over chatter and compete with ambient noise, singers and musicians employed gritty, dramatic showmanship.
West Coast blues flourished in elegant nightclubs and sophisticated dance palaces. These venues had more polished acoustics, larger stages, and a generally more upscale atmosphere.
Consequently, the style of West Coast blues was often smoother and more arranged. Audiences were ready for style and refinement, expecting a blend of blues with swing, jazz, and theatrics.
Chicago audiences huddled close to feel each rough-edged vibration. West Coast crowds danced stylishly to a slick, well-practiced sound.
Influence on Later Music Styles
Chicago blues and West Coast blues each influenced different genres and styles of modern music. Chicago blues was one of the first blues styles to use electric guitars and harmonicas. This laid the foundation for the electric blues and rock ‘n’ roll genres. Iconic Chicago blues musicians like Muddy Waters directly influenced rock artists like the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. The gritty, amplified sound of Chicago blues also helped shape rock’s rebellious, gritty tone. Rock song structures also often mirrored the 12-bar blues patterns popularized by Chicago blues.
West Coast blues tended to have smoother, more jazz-influenced rhythms and tones. This sound influenced early soul and funk music. West Coast blues musicians like T-Bone Walker incorporated elements of swing and sophistication into their music. They helped blur the lines between blues and jazz. The use of horn sections and smoother arrangements in West Coast blues would later be emulated in R&B and pop music. West Coast blues also added to the more danceable and urban sound of blues.
Elements of both styles can still be heard in modern music. Genres like hip-hop, pop, and even blues itself often sample the sounds and song structures pioneered by Chicago and West Coast blues. Musicians from Jimi Hendrix to Bonnie Raitt have all drawn inspiration from these regional blues styles.
Listening Guide: Compare These Tracks
Let’s start with some classic tracks: Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” for Chicago, and T-Bone Walker’s “Call It Stormy Monday” and Lowell Fulson’s “Reconsider Baby” for the West Coast.
You can hear “Hooche Coochie man” here.
You can hear “Stormy Monday” here.
As you listen, pay attention to the raw sound and distorted guitars of the Chicago tracks. Listen for the powerful, emotive vocals that characterize this style. For the West Coast examples, notice the smooth guitar lines, jazzy horn sections, and laid-back vocals.
Focus on the overall feel of each song. The Chicago blues sounds gritty and urgent. The West Coast examples are slicker and more polished. Listen for differences in rhythm, instrumentation, and vocal delivery.
Try some active listening. In the Chicago examples, you may notice a call-and-response pattern between the harmonica and guitar. In the West Coast examples, the piano or horns often take the lead.
These tracks are not background music. Allow yourself to be guided by the solos, grooves, and phrasing. Each song is a window into a regional style, influenced by place and personality.
Conclusion: A Tale of Two Coasts
On one hand, you have the Chicago blues: a raw, electric, and gritty sound forged in the crucible of migration and the industrial urban experience. On the other hand, there’s the West Coast blues. It’s a smoother sound, often jazz-infused and sometimes more polished in tone and presentation.
The two styles developed from different roots. Chicago blues was born out of the Mississippi Delta and the struggles of life in the big city. West Coast blues drew from the Texas guitar traditions and California’s swing and jump band culture.
Both styles are essential chapters in the story of blues music. Each has inspired generations of musicians and played a role in the development of rock, soul, and funk music. They have given us legends and innovators from Muddy Waters to T-Bone Walker.
Listen to and explore both the Chicago and West Coast blues scenes to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diversity within blues music. Mix playlists with Chicago’s harmonica wails and West Coast’s jazzy riffs. Attend live shows or listen to recorded sets that showcase these regional styles.
Whether you prefer the punch of Chicago or the laid-back groove of the West Coast, both styles have a lot to offer. They’re not competing; they’re companions in a shared musical history. Let their music take you on a journey through the rich history of American music.