The sound of slide blues guitar has the ability to convey so many differing emotions.  Slashing and biting, it relays frustrations of the day, whether they are centered around affairs of the heart, money woes, societal issues, or any number of other bleak circumstances.  Silken and smooth, it can form the framework for melancholy yet wistful stories of remembrances that continue to cause quiet consternation and discontent.  Upbeat, loud, ringing, and with a forceful cadence, it celebrates situations that bring forth jubilation, heightening the mood of where and when they’re played.

In Chicago, blues slide guitar was (and still is) practiced by many a blues artist, yet certain of them have risen above the rest.  Without a doubt, Elmore James made a career of playing his guitar in such a fashion, arguably returning over-and-over again to familiar riffs and structures on the instrument.  The king of classic Chicago blues, Muddy Waters, effectively interspersed slide guitar in his songs to great effect, punctuating his blues with ripping and cutting stanzas that bolstered the temperament of a given tune.  Johnny Littlejohn glided with what seemed effortless ease on his guitar by littering his superb brand of blues with emotional highs and lows achieved via his use of the slide methodology.

But it wasn’t just the more familiar names of the blues who were deploying slide guitar to intensified peaks of emotive declarations; no, the joints, bars, clubs, and mass of other venues abounded with lesser-known, yet highly skilled blues slide guitar craftsmen whose talents and skill sets were broad and as equally effective.  One such Chicago blues slide guitar artist was Joe Carter.

Hailing from Midland, Georgia, a town located in the central western area of the state in both Muscogee and Harris Counties, Carter was born in early November, 1927.  As is often found and expressed in regard to more obscure blues artists, little is known of Carter’s earliest years.  What has been verified by research is that a young Carter was influenced by the guitar playing of a man name Lee Willis, a local man who took him under his tutelage and provided him with his introduction to the instrument.  Nothing of any substance seems to be known about Willis; however, research has indicated that he taught the young Carter the use of various guitar tunings, plus how to effectively use a thumb picking style of playing.

At the age of 25 in 1952, Carter made a major life decision and moved the roughly 815 miles north to Chicago with the hope of beginning a new life there, including furthering his blues career.  Once in the great northern city, Carter wasted no time in seeking out Chicago’s vibrant, bustling blues scene.  Especially important to him was being able to sit at the feet of his blues idols, the aforementioned James and Waters.

As these things occur, Waters lent Carter the funds necessary to buy his very first electric guitar, a move made necessary by blues bands and artists having to be able to perform over the din of the noisy blues venues.  It wasn’t long until Carter decided to form his own blues band, and he recruited well.  Included in his first Chicago blues band were none other than Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers, a vocalist and guitarist of high standing, and the broadly skilled blues harmonica great Lester Davenport.  Carter’s group proved to be quite popular on Chicago’s blues circuit, with his slide guitar playing gaining a reputation as being enthrallingly rousing.  As an aside, it is particularly distressing that Carter never recorded with this core band; one is left to only wonder what those sides may have sounded like.

As Carter and his fine band continued to gig around Chicago in the 1950s, they found distinct renown at the 708 Club at 708 E. 47^th St. (by the way, if you follow the Curt’s Blues Blog Facebook page, you’ll find a recent picture of this writer at that hallowed location just a couple of weeks ago).  The 708 Club was one of the south side’s most noteworthy blues venues, with bluesmen such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf holding regular slots there, with it also being a place where visiting bluesmen such as B.B. King would enjoy while in town.  During this time period, Carter was inclined to use the performing name of “Elmore James, Jr.” to both capitalize on James’ reputation as a top-shelf Chicago bluesman, and to emphasize the awareness of his slide guitar competence.

Study indicates that Carter was offered the opportunity to record for Eli Toscano’s illustrious Cobra Records label, one that certainly launched the careers of bluesmen and blueswomen including Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Harold Burrage, Betty Everett, among others, but Carter declined the chance as he felt the money to be made from recording would in no way equal the scale he was making in the clubs.  He saw his payday in the club work.  And in a twist, in addition to Carter’s working band, Toscano wanted to boost the proposed recording efforts by including none other than west side Chicago bluesman Freddie King.  But, as said, it was not to be.

Carter continued to move forward with his life in Chicago, performing in the city’s joints, and also at times being quiet on the scene, periods when he then worked in Chicago’s Back Of The Yards area meatpacking industry for the Hormel Meat Packing operation.

Fast forward to the mid-to-late 1970s, 1976 in fact, and Carter and his group, now named Joe Carter And His Chicago Broomdusters released an album on the Barrelhouse Records label entitled Mean & Evil Blues.  The collection included Johnny Junious on drums, Walter “Big Red” Smith on guitar, and Carter on lead/slide guitar and vocals.  The 11-cut outing was ideally suited to Carter’s blues slide guitar capabilities; covers of others’ blues served him well, as original blues substance was not his forte.  In addition to Carter’s slide guitar competencies, the release placed on full display his coarse, declamatory, and somewhat hollered vocals, plus his preference for a basic blues song framework.  There was nothing fancy here, just straight-ahead workingman’s blues.

As the 1970s moved on into the 1980s, Carter continued to perform, oftentimes being found up north in Chicago on the vibrant blues scene there, with him becoming an intermittent figure at Lilly’s, a north side staple for blues music.               

Previously mentioned was Carter’s rough vocal style.  This trait, unfortunately, proved to be more than merely his God-given performing voice.  In the late 1980s, Carter was diagnosed with throat cancer.  This medical detection ultimately forced Carter to leave his blues vocation.

Carter survived until June, 2001 until he finally succumbed to the cancer.

Without a doubt, though lacking in originality, Carter was representative of the abounding blues talent that encompassed Chicago during the halcyon 1950s period, though this writer finds his brand of blues elevated above many.  Listening to Carter’s blues reveals what impresses as a dedication to his craft and a staunch respect for the blues, particularly the slide guitar’s position within it.  Carter, without qualification, was symbolic of Chicago’s 1950s blues peak.

Additional recordings where Carter’s work can be found include 1982’s JSP Records’ release Original Chicago Blues, 1984’s Red Lightnin’ Records’ release I Didn’t Give A Damn If The Whites Bought It! – The Ralph Bass Session Vol. 1, and the 2006 Delmark Records release That Aint Right.  Numerous other compilations can be found that include Carter’s brilliant work.