Mike Bloomfield
A Chicago blues guitar virtuoso whose searing licks electrified Bob Dylan and helped introduce white audiences to electric blues.
1943–1981 (age 38)·American blues guitarist·Birthday: July 28·The Silent Generation
Biography
Mike Bloomfield was the bridge between the South Side Chicago blues clubs and the 1960s rock explosion. A privileged kid from a wealthy North Shore family, he found his truth in the raw, electric sounds of musicians like Muddy Waters, whom he sought out and learned from directly. His technical fluency and passionate feel made him a session ace in demand. In 1965, he provided the blistering, landmark guitar work on Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' and the entire 'Highway 61 Revisited' album, then famously backed a newly electric Dylan at the tumultuous Newport Folk Festival. He co-founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, a pioneering interracial group, and later the horn-driven Electric Flag. His playing on the Butterfield Band's 'East-West' album expanded the vocabulary of rock guitar. Plagued by insomnia and drug addiction, his career waxed and waned before his tragic death in 1981, but his influence on guitarists from Carlos Santana to Slash remains profound.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Mike was born in 1943, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mike Was Born
The biggest hits of 1943
#1 Movie
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Best Picture
Casablanca
Mike's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1943Born
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1948Started school
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1956Became a teenager
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Could drive
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1961Could vote
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Turned 21
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1973Turned 30
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Died at 38
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
Key Achievements
- Played the iconic guitar parts on Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' and the seminal album 'Highway 61 Revisited'.
- Co-founded and was a lead guitarist for the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
- His extended solo on the instrumental 'East-West' with the Butterfield Band pioneered the use of Indian raga scales in rock guitar.
- Formed the ambitious soul-rock band The Electric Flag, which performed at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.
Did You Know?
He taught guitar lessons to a young Charlie Musselwhite.
Bloomfield rarely sang; his instrument was his primary voice.
He was a close friend and collaborator of keyboardist Al Kooper, with whom he recorded the 'Super Session' album.
A car accident in his teens left him with a metal plate in his skull and contributed to chronic pain.
“I just play what I feel. I can't play any other way.”
