Mike Bloomfield

When Bob Dylan plugged in his guitar and changed the face of rock (and folk) music with the six minute epic Like A Rolling Stone, it was Mike Bloomfield he recruited to help create the visionary blast of electrified folk boogie. Bloomfield was born into a wealthy Jewish family, but discovered the blues by hanging out with Sleepy John Estes and Little Brother Montgomery in South Chicago clubs, before joining The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1964 and becoming a master of rockabilly, R&B, blues and rock guitar. His talent won the respect and praise of Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Buddy Guy, and his place in rock history was assured when Dylan had him play on legendary album Highway 61 Revisited and the landmark Newport Festival gig in 1965. He went on to form country soul trio The Electric Flag and work with Al Kooper and Janis Joplin, but solo album It's Not Killing Me (1969) was unsuccessful and Columbia refused to release follow-up Try It Before You By It. Voted Number 22 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of greatest guitarists of all time, Bloomfield was found dead aged 37 in 1981 after a heroin overdose. © ©Copyright Music Story 2020