David Gilmour's blues roots: Howlin' Wolf and Lead Belly shaped his vibrato — hear it on 'The Nile Song'

David Gilmour has repeatedly named Howlin’ Wolf and Lead Belly as the primary blues architects of his signature vibrato and string-bending technique. In a 1970 interview with Beat Instrumental, he described Howlin’ Wolf’s raw, almost vocal-like guitar lines as a revelation, and noted Lead Belly’s open-string resonance taught him how to let bends “breathe” instead of forcing them.

The clearest early Pink Floyd example is “The Nile Song” from the 1969 soundtrack More. Gilmour’s solo there is a