This is the latest installment of our weekly series The Language of the Blues, in which author and rock musician Debra Devi explores the meaning of a word or phrase found in the blues.
Grab a signed copy of Devi’s entertaining & award-winning glossary The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (Foreword by Dr. John) at Bluescentric.com. Also available as an eBook.
A roadhouse is a drinking establishment that is outside town or city limits and is therefore beyond any municipality’s jurisdiction. Roadhouses can get away with providing unregulated entertainment, such as gambling and prostitution. Most roadhouses also provide liquor, music, and dancing.
The Texas “roadhouse blues” sound is exemplified by the blistering uptempo blues of guitarists Albert Collins, Albert King, Freddie King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the rough-edged blues of Austin singer Lou Ann Barton.
Jim Morrison was inspired to write the Doors song “Roadhouse Blues” by his late-night-jam forays into the blues. Keyboarist Ray Manzarek, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, was also a huge blues fan. “Roadhouse Blues” became a staple of the band’s live shows. The influential blues-rock guitarist and “blue-eyed soul” singer Lonnie Mack played bass on the Doors recording of “Roadhouse Blues.”
Electric blues legend Albert King did a killer cover of “Roadhouse Blues” and can be heard jamming with The Doors on some great live recordings from a show in Vancouver Canada on June 6, 1970.
Roadhouse Blues album- Albert King
“Roadhouse Blues” – The Doors
Videos:
Albert King – “Roadhouse Blues”
The Doors & Albert King – “Rock Me Baby”
