How to play deep elem blues (also spelled “Deep Elem Blues” or “Deep Ellum Blues”) on solo guitar. Deep elem blues is an American traditional song. The title of the tune refers to the historical African-American neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. Known as Deep Ellum, this was home to music legends Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Lead Belly, and Bill Neely. This is a great tune to get started with blues.
history
The first known recording was made by the Cofer Brothers in 1923 under the band name the Georgia Crackers. The title was “The Georgia Black Bottom” on OKeh Records (OKeh 45111). The song alluded to the dance craze called Black Bottom of the 1920s which in part referenced the community of Black Bottom, Detroit. The change from Black Bottom to Deep Elm occurred sometime between 1926 and 1933.
The Shelton Brothers recorded various versions of this song, the first being cut in 1933 with Leon Chappelear under the pseudonym of Lone Star Cowboys for Bluebird Records. They recorded it again in 1935 for Decca Records followed by “Deep Elm No.2” and “Deep Elm No.3”. Les Paul (as Rhubarb Red) recorded “Deep Elem Blues” and “Deep Elem Blues #2” on Decca in 1936. The Sheltons also recorded it in the 1940s as “Deep Elm Boogie” for King Records.
other versions
Other versions of the song were made between 1957 and 1958 by Jerry Lee Lewis for Sun Records, Bobby Jackson for Gold Air Records, Mary McCoy & the Cyclones for Jin Records and, later, by Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, Levon Helm, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Rory Gallagher.
Song lesson list
I’ve made lessons for literally hundreds of songs for students over the years- all different types of music, different genres and differing levels of complexity. Check out the song list page linked above and see if there’s something there you’d like to cover. Many of them have a combination of chord and lyric sheets, lead sheets, video lessons and style examples. If you’re interested in a song you don’t see, let me know!