Blind Blake - King Of Ragtime Guitar

Blind Arthur Blake, born 1893 in Jacksonville, Florida and passed away around nineteen thirty three, was a well known blues singer and guitarist. He is known as "The King of Ragtime Guitar". He recorded approximately 80 tunes with Paramount Records from nineteen twenty six to nineteen thirty two. He was an incredibly accomplished musician of Piedmont style blues picking with an astonishingly wide range. Blake is well known for his rhythmic playing technique that copied ragtime piano. Not a lot is known about Blake. His birth place is written as the town of Jacksonville, in Florida according to Paramount Records but that's not certain. For one recording he drops into a Geechee way of speaking, which might indicate that he originated from the coast of Georgia. Nothing at all is known of the circumstances surrounding his death and no one is certain of Blake's correct name. By some accounts, his real name could have been Arthur Phelps, although there's no corroborated evidence of the fact.

The "Phelps" name possibly came about after he replied to Blind Willie McTell in a chat in 1925 in Atlanta, a place where Blake was never said to have been; nor did Willie McTell ever reside in or in the region of Chicago, Illinois. However, several Blake's sides were put into copyright under the name 'Arthur Blake', and during his recording with Papa Charlie Jackson, "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It", these are easily distinguished:
Jackson: What is your right name?

Blind Blake: My right name is Arthur Blake!

Unfortunately, there is only one image existing.

He first recorded in 1926 and his songs sold really well. Blake's first solo was "Early Morning Blues" and "West Coast Blues" was on the other side. They are superb examples of his guitar playing skills and became the foundations of the developing Piedmont blues style.

Blind Blake's Playing Style

Nobody knows if Blake had an instructor, or how he developed his amazing style. Although many guitar players had this rhythmic approach, almost none were as precise and as slick as Blake.

All through his music, never mind of the key used, the chord formations used were really quite standard. His left hand was very adept at damping the strings which is an essential technique for rapid ragtime picking. It strikes me that his right hand was the magical one, although obviously both combine to make the music.

His picking technique can be split up into these elements - thumb work, triplets and single string runs. It is a fact that other guitarists developed these skills, but Blake combined them continuously, producing very complex and rhythmic patterns.

His thumb in particular deserves special attention. Guitarists are familiar with the picking pattern called 'alternating bass'. However, Blake could brush the thumb from one string to another, producing two beats in place of one! Blake could in addition reverse the pattern in mid flow, which represents impressive control.

Blake last entered the studio sometime 1932, the bankruptcy of Paramount Records speeding up his career end. Fans often say that his later tracks don't display the same style.

From many accounts, he drank a lot through his final years. Maybe this was the cause of a too early death at 40 years of age. No one is sure how he met his end - Reverend Gary Davis thought that Blake was hit and killed by a streetcar in Chicago.