12 bar Ramblin’ #11 ‘Slides and Steels’ with Stefan Matussek

The technique of altering the pitch of a string using a smooth hard object, can supposedly traced back to a traditional West African one-string instrument. In the United States this technique was applied to the 6 and 12 sting guitar and developed into what we know as “Slide guitar”. “Slides” were often crafted out of wine bottlenecks, pill bottles or metal tubes and served as a signature musical apparatus on both acoustic and electric guitar. It is heard in many classic blues recordings throughout the genre’s history by legends such as Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter.