Editor’s note: In The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to ZuZu, author and rocker Debra Devi explores the meaning of a word or phrase from a blues song. The award-winning book includes a foreword by Dr. John and is blurbed by Bonnie Raitt and Joe Bonamassa.
A bar where whiskey is served straight from the barrel is called a barrelhouse. Add a piano and you’ve got yourself a party. The barrelhouses of the rural South were rough wooden shacks where African American laborers gathered to drink and dance at the edge of small towns and levee camps. The up-tempo piano blues that developed in these establishments came to be called barrelhouse, as well, as in “I want to hear some barrelhouse tonight.”
Barrelhouse piano playing was basically the blues sped up for dancing. It substituted a different percussive instrument–the piano–for the drums that had been outlawed during slavery. Like the African drummer who drives the dancers moving in front of him and is in turn inspired by them to play harder and faster, the barrelhouse piano got the bar swinging.
As Texas barrelhouse piano player Robert Shaw explained: “When you listen to what I’m playing, you got to see in your mind all them gals out there swinging their butts and getting the mens excited. Otherwise you ain’t got this music rightly understood. I could sit there and throw my hands down and make them gals do anything. I told them when to shake it and when to hold it back. That’s what this music is for.”
This raw, high-spirited piano playing eventually morphed into boogie-woogie–a strident, uninhibited, and forcefully rhythmic new American music. Barrelhouse could be played on guitar, too, as Memphis Minnie proves in “Drunken Barrel House Blues.”
“What a great resource, as fascinating as it is informative. Debra’s passion for the blues shines through.” – Bonnie Raitt
“Debra’s book will teach you what you really need to know about blues history and where the blues are coming from.” – Joe Bonamassa
“Finally one can understand the mechanics behind the overwhelming viscera of the Blues. Debra Devi’s work is a true guide book to the soul.” – Al Jourgensen (Ministry)
“This book is fascinating! Take it to the bathroom and don’t come out until you’re done reading it.” – Jimmy Vivino
“This is a beautiful book. Upon receiving The Language of the Blues I discovered my knowledge only scratched the surface. Debra Devi has written an invaluable reference book. And it’s also great fun to read.” – Hal Willner
“Don’t think that The Language of the Blues might read like a dictionary or reference book. There’s no plot, but you can open it up at random and fall into the world of your favorite Blues songs, and find out more about the lyrics than you would be guessing from context. I learned a lot more about the Blues music I already loved.” – Bob Margolin
