I suppose, (to answer part of Phillips question), the bit about "making the guitar cry and weep", when bending notes in the blues scale, a popular technique is to bend a string up a whole tone and pick the string several times as you let the bend out.
For example; Blues in E ; bend the note of A up a tone to B, or as I said earlier; In A ; bend D up to E.
This technique of playing the note as you release the bend can create a sort of sobbing mournful sound.
It's more difficult to write about than to play but I hope that helps a little!
C-flat.