Up until a few years ago, I had no idea who Eric Bibb was, or had even heard any of his music. In all honesty, I didn't even know I was about to see him play at the Royal Albert Hall in London until he walked out onstage. It was 2018 and I was in London to watch George Benson, when out walked one man and his guitar and silenced the 5000 strong crowd.
When you do some more research into this artist, you see that he has been active as a musician for over 50 years, and released nearly as many albums - touring the world in addition to this ensures he is forever recognised as a seasoned pro.
(pic credit: Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage)
Early Life
Eric Bibb was born in 1951, though I would never have guessed it! When he plays and sings, his eyes seem to sparkle with an innate joy that I could only hope to match. He started playing before he was 10 years old, and was lucky enough to meet influential figures such as Bob Dylan early on in his life, Although Dylan is not known for his technical prowess, imagine the impact this famous artist would have had on a young and impressionable mind.
If you know who guitarist Michael Angelo Batio is, then you might be aware of the story in which he would make himself appear ill so his mother would not send him to school, so he could then work on his guitar technique at home all day. While this ultimately turned him into the machine he was in the 1980s, Bibb’s story is slightly different.
"I would cut school and claim I was sick - when everyone would leave the house I would whip out all the records and do my own personal DJ thing all day long, playing Odetta, Joan Baez, The New Lost City Ramblers, Josh White.”
Eric Bibb
I would say that this insistence on simply listening to music, and placing it above all else, gave him a much deeper, personal connection with music. You can feel that within the tunes that he plays.
His Style
Eric Bibb has possibly the most impressive collection of acoustic guitars I have seen, and each one seems as important to him as the last. His sound is simple, a great acoustic guitar and his signature smooth singing voice.
He has mastery over the alternating root note, earthy, blues style of acoustic playing which is just like its parent genre - easy to learn the basics, impossible to master. If you listen to some of his songs, you will think that perhaps they are not too difficult… until you try and play it. That is when you realize there is more than meets the eye here!
Although I cannot begin to even try and successfully emulate his style, see below for a brief example of the kind of thing he plays.
Being heavily influenced by the blues, amongst many other styles and artists, many of his tunes follow the standard I IV V blues progression, but that is only a framework and it is the techniques and stylistic ideas layered on top that make it unequivocally Eric Bibb.
Career Highlights
Bibb has earned many prestigious accolades for his folk and blues music, as well as several Grammy nominations for his efforts. In addition to touring with George Benson in 2018 and sell-out tours across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States of America, one could argue that his entire career is a highlight.
Whilst coming dangerously close to becoming a stuck record, I would say that he just simply loves the music he creates. This can be seen not only with the joy you can see whenever there is a guitar in his hands, but also that he is no stranger to playing smaller intimate gigs as well as huge venues and festival stages. There are many big names in the music industry who would seldom be seen playing a tiny venue!
Favorite Songs
Whole World’s Got the Blues - Eric Bibb
This is a song that was released in the past few years, and notably features modern blues guitar titan Eric Gales. It is a response to the global feeling towards the pandemic only a few years ago, and encapsulates the feeling perfectly.
Sometimes you just need to listen to a song that matches your feelings, and this is a great one if you are feeling a bit down but want to feel some camaraderie and support to bring you back up. Not only that, but Eric Gales will blow you away with his guitar lines!
Catalina Estimada - Eric Bibb
This is a jovial, fun sounding track from way back in 1977. There are several sections in this song that blend beautifully, and the quality of the recording is great for the time, with a very clear soprano saxophone recording that brings across some great playing from Ed Epstein.
I recommend this track if you want something lighthearted to listen to, that perhaps tickles your songwriting fancy - you could learn a lot from this one!
Mole in the Ground - Eric Bibb
‘Mole in the Ground’ was the song in question that silenced the entire crowd in the Royal Albert Hall, London back in 2018. This recording was taken from a live show in Sweden and features a full band with pedal steel, piano and backing vocalists amongst others - the show in which I saw him play was just guitar and vocals - the effect is the same.
There is a clear vocal theme throughout this song, the music compliments both his voice and the potential of some solos, of which there are plenty in the link above. The guitar playing is very nice to listen to, the root notes descend and support the rest of the harmony brilliantly - a true masterclass in simple but effective songwriting!
(pic credit: Jan Malström)
Final Thoughts
In a world where everyone where everything is based on image and being deliberately opulent is considered a must, be more like Eric. As long as he has his trademark panama hat, maybe a scarf, a nice shirt and a great acoustic guitar then he is all set.
What you see is what you get with Eric Bibb, a consummate professional who really knows what he is doing. As I mentioned earlier in this blog post, I did not know he existed until the day he walked out onto that stage - if you had not heard of him before now, then I am happy to have shared his music with you.
I briefly discussed his playing style, or at least one small aspect of it, earlier in this blog post, but if you want to dig a little deeper, I suggest sitting with your teacher, or one of the team at the American Guitar Academy, and breaking down different techniques and approaches you can identify. Even if you can’t immediately fit those ideas into your own style, a greater understanding of the music in general will take you further than you can imagine. Take his quote and story regarding skipping school - whilst I do not recommend this, just the idea of immersing yourself in the music is a lesson we can all learn from.
Happy playing and listening!
Alex
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