• NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art.

The Blue Stones Deliver a High-Octane Performance in Chicago Worthy of Their Blues Rock Forebears

May 31, 2023

Anthony Rosano and the Conqueroos Share Title Track From New Album ‘Cheat the Devil’

May 31, 2023

Review/Gallery: Jason Ringenberg’s Barnstorming Europe 2023 Tour at 16 Toneladas, Valencia, Spain

May 30, 2023

Croce Plays Croce at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ

May 30, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram Vimeo
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
  • NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
Home»News»The Language of the Blues: "Axe"
News

The Language of the Blues: "Axe"

Debra DeviBy Debra DeviJuly 11, 2012Updated:April 10, 20201 Comment2 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte WhatsApp
Guitar Axe Featured
Guitar Axe Featured
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Another installment in our new weekly series entitled, The Language of the Blues, where author and rocker Debra Devi focuses on the meaning and significance of a unique word used in blues song. Come back every Wednesday for the latest!

Axe is slang for a guitar. According to New Orleans-born R&B artist and street slang aficionado Dr. John, musicians lifted “axe” from the illegal lottery business to give themselves a little anti-hero flair.

“A lot of the terminology of the blues came from the lottery business,” Dr. John explains in his foreword for The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu. “An axe was a gun or a piece, they [gangsters] used to traditionally carry it in a bag. Musicians picked that shit up–like ‘coming out of a bag’ and calling a guitar an ‘axe.'”

The Thomson Submachine Gun, or “Tommy gun,” was long, lean, and a favorite of gambling’s lethal gangsters. In its bag, the Tommy gun had a similar shape to the solid-body electric guitar developed by Slingerland in 1939. It’s easy to see why musicians who were looking to heist a little street-cred and attitude from some dashing crooks starting nicknaming their guitars ‘axes’.

The intense Chicago blues guitarist Frank “Son” Seals was nicknamed “Bad Axe” for his undeniable prowess on the guitar and his fierce demeanor on stage. Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Seals grew up around his father’s juke joint, the Dipsy Doodle, soaking up sets by Albert King and Earl Hooker.

Seals hit the road with King and Hooker when he was eighteen, and soon moved to Chicago, where he developed into one of the great powerhouses of the electric blues, frequently accompanying singer Koko Taylor.

Seals released eleven powerful blues albums, included 1984’s Bad Axe on Alligator Records before succumbing to complications from diabetes on Dec. 20, 2004 at sixty-two.

Songs:
“Bad Axe” — Frank “Son” Seals
“Bless My Axe” — Kenny “Blue” Ray
“Just Playing My Axe” — George “Buddy” Guy

Read Dr. John’s foreword for The Language of the Blues here

Pick up a copy of The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu at Amazon

Son Seals live in 1987

Axe Devi Dipsy Doodle Dr. John Guitar Son Seals The Language of the Blues
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp
Previous ArticleDay 3: Tremblant International Blues Festival
Next Article Spirit of the Blues: Interview with Royal Southern Brotherhood
Debra Devi
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Debra Devi is a rock musician and the author of the award-winning blues glossary The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John). www.debradevi.com

Related Posts

Anthony Rosano and the Conqueroos Share Title Track From New Album ‘Cheat the Devil’

May 31, 2023

The Mavericks’ Raul Malo Says More on ‘Say Less’

May 27, 2023

Bob Corritore Releases ‘High Rise Blues,’ Out Today Via VizzTone

May 26, 2023

Queen of Rock & Roll Tina Turner Dies Aged 83

May 24, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Advertisment
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Events
  • Videos
  • About

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.