Black And White And Red All Over

Learning to Play Black, White and Red All Over

The Kentucky Headhunters released this thing in 1994 and it went to number one on the country charts. It's a straightforward country-rock tune in E major with a riff that most guitar players can pick up in a couple of sittings if they already know their basic chord shapes. The song structure is pretty standard too: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo section, chorus again, then an outro that just fades out on the main riff. Standard tuning. Nothing fancy. The main chords you need are E, A, B7, and C#m. The intro riff uses hammer-ons and pull-offs between the second and fourth frets on the G and B strings, which is where most people stumble if they're not comfortable with that kind of finger movement. I spent probably two weeks getting the intro down cleanly because my timing was always slightly off on the pull-offs. The trick is to keep your fretting hand relaxed and not press down harder than you need to. I found that practicing the riff at about 60 bpm with a metronome before slowly ramping up was the only way it started sounding right. Once you hit around 110 bpm, which is roughly the tempo of the record, it clicks into place. The verse progression goes E - A - E - B7, which repeats. The chorus shifts to E - C#m - A - B7. Simple enough. The band uses a lot of ghost chords and partial voicings during the verses, so if you're trying to play it exactly like the record you'll find yourself reaching for chords that don't quite exist in standard form. What they're actually doing is mostly open string resonance mixed with those standard shapes. Don't overthink it. Play the chords cleanly and let the strings ring.

Playing the Solo

The guitar solo is where this song separates the people who actually practice from the ones who just strum along at parties. It's not particularly fast, but it requires decent control of bending and vibrato. The solo is built around the E major pentatonic scale with some bluesy embellishments. You're working mainly in the second position, maybe reaching into third for a couple of notes. The bend on the G string at the fifth fret that leads into the high E on the first fret of the B string needs to be clean. I used to rush that transition and it always sounded sloppy. Slow it down until it sounds the same whether you're playing at half speed or full speed, then bring it back up gradually. One thing nobody really talks about is the tone. The record has a midrange-heavy, slightly overdriven sound that comes from a combination of amp choice and the way it was recorded. If you're playing this on a clean channel with no gain, it will sound thin and lifeless. You want some edge of breakup on your amp. A Tube Screamer pushed into a slightly dirty channel gets you close. Not a lot of EQ adjustment needed beyond that. The original tone was likely a Marshall or a similar British-style amp running moderate gain with the mids turned up. That mid focus is what makes the solo cut through in a mix.

What Goes Wrong When You First Try This

The most common issue I see people have is trying to match the recording exactly on the first attempt. They hear the layered guitars and think they need to replicate every single part. You don't. The studio version has at least three guitar tracks stacked. You play one part. Maybe two if you want harmony on the chorus. That's it. The outro section has a counter-melody that some players try to add, but it's optional. Don't force it. Another problem is the rhythm guitar during the chorus. People tend to strum too hard and drown out the vocal. Keep your right hand lighter on the chorus. The energy should come from the chord change and the vocal melody, not from aggressive strumming. I learned this the hard way playing live with a cover band. We had a singer who couldn't get over the guitar volume during the chorus and it ruined the dynamic build. We fixed it by having the guitarist switch to a pick-up closer to the neck and adjusting the amp EQ slightly. Small changes, big difference.

About the Song Itself

Black And White And Red All Over was written by the members of the Kentucky Headhunters, specifically Ricky Young, Ray Edwards, and Jim Stewart. It's partly inspired by the American flag and the idea of patriotism, though the band has said it's more about celebrating everything that makes America what it is rather than anything political. The song spent time at number one on the country charts and crossed over to the mainstream pop charts as well, which was notable for a band that came out of the roots and blues scene in the late eighties. The music video features the band performing on a stage with American flag imagery, which some people found heavy-handed at the time. It wasn't. It was just a country band making a video for a song that had a pretty straightforward message. The video got heavy rotation on CMT and helped cement the song as one of the defining country tracks of the mid-nineties.

Live Performance Notes

If you're playing this live, tune to standard E. Make sure your strings aren't too old. The open strings in this song get a lot of use and worn strings will sound muddy, especially on the E and A strings. Bring a spare set. Change them before you go on if possible. Also, this song runs about four minutes and thirty seconds live, which means you need to be comfortable holding a steady rhythm for that entire time without rushing or dragging. I've seen too many bands speed through the verses and then slow down on the chorus because they lost the internal clock. Count it out before you start. Even just a quick head count works. The outro is where things can fall apart if you're not paying attention. The band repeats the main riff for the fade, and it's easy to lose the place if you're only listening to the guitar. Keep your eyes on the drummer or count the bars mentally. The riff is eight bars and it loops. If you forget where you are, stop playing for half a second, listen for the drum fill that signals the next iteration, and jump back in. Nobody will notice if you miss a bar. They'll notice if you keep playing while everything else has moved on.

Where to Find a Tab or Chord Chart

There are tab versions floating around on various guitar websites. Some are accurate, some are complete guesses. The chords I listed above are correct for the studio version. If you want to get closer to the actual guitar work, look for tabs that include the intro riff notation in standard guitar tablature, not just chord names. A good tab will show you the hammer-on from the fourth fret to the second fret on the G string and the corresponding pull-off on the B string. That's the part that matters most for making the intro sound right. If you're looking for sheet music, it's available through music publishing sites, but honestly, if you can play these chords and follow the tab, you don't need sheet music. This isn't a classical piece. It's a country rock song. You learn it by ear and repetition, not by reading notation.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Strumming pattern matters more than people realize. The verse has a distinctive downward strum with a slight pause after the first beat, then more downward strokes on the weaker beats. It's not a consistent up-down pattern. Think of it as more of a driving, chugging rhythm that leaves space. The chorus opens up a bit with fuller strumming. Don't play the verse and chorus with the same strumming pattern. It kills the dynamic contrast that makes the song work. Another mistake is ignoring the bass line. The bass on the record follows the chords but adds passing tones that give the song its forward motion. If you're playing with others, lock in with the bass player. If you're playing alone, hum or tap the bass notes while you play to internalize the pattern. It'll make your rhythm part stronger and less static. I could go on about this song for a while, but there's only so much you can say about a three-chord country rock tune before you're just repeating yourself. Play it, practice the intro until it's automatic, keep your rhythm solid, and don't try to make it sound like the record. Make it sound like you. That's all it really is.