ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — On January 8, 1904, a famed guitarist known as “Tampa Red” was born in Georgia.
Tampa Red got his big break in the 1920s when he was hired to accompany “The Mother of Blues” Ma Rainey. That’s how he met pianist Georgia Tom Dorsey.
Georgia Tom and Tampa Red recorded “It’s Tight Like That” in 1928, and it became a national hit.
Tampa Red and Georgia Tom went on to record several records together as “The Hokum Boys.”
Many of those records featured Tampa Red’s iconic slide guitar techniques. He played a metal-bodied National Tricone guitar and slid a bottleneck along the strings, which made for a clear, pure sound.
His style sounded different than earlier blues styles, so it set the direction for a new era of music.
In 1940, Tampa Red started playing the electric guitar and reached the top 10 on R&B charts many times with songs like “When Things Go Wrong With You.”
Tampa Red was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 1981.
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