The history of a true American musical art form: the blues
In the history of music there has probably not been a musical style that has influenced “Popular Music” more than the Blues. The blues is also unique in that it is truly an “American” musical art form. As we will discover, the roots of the musical styles of Jazz, Rock, Gospel and musical artists from BB King, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin, all were heavily influenced by Blues.
It’s important to note that the term “popular music” as I’ve used it above is a bit misleading. Too often we mention Classical Music and Popular Music as too different musical expressions. I am not implying that they are not very different from each other. What I’m saying is that the word “Popular” really just relates to the time period one lives in.
Let me explain. If we were living in Europe in 1786 when Mozart was 30 years old and at the height of his career (he died at 36) his music would have been considered Popular, wouldn’t it? If there had been recording studios, radio stations, MP3 players and iPods in 1786, would it be too naive and simplistic to conclude that one of his symphonies or piano concertos would have been a “Top-Ten Release”? And if so, wouldn’t it be considered “Popular Music”? I think you will admit that this is certainly an unconventional but truthful perspective.
Since the blues has been such a powerful influence, it’s important to understand why. What follows is a brief history.
The Blues were born in the northern Mississippi delta after the Civil War. His heartfelt and passionate performances are deeply rooted in slavery and African-American culture. The first compositions were Field Hollers, Ballads, Church Spirituals and Rhythmic Dance tunes called Jump-Ups which featured a singer engaging in a call and response on his guitar. He would sing a line and the guitar would respond. For many years, due to the lack of musical education, many songs were recorded and transmitted only from memory. Due to this fact, it is quite possible that many great songs were “lost in translation”.
The blues became the essence and hope of the African-American worker, whose spirit is married to these songs, reflecting their inner soul for all who hear them. Rhythm and Blues is the cornerstone of all forms of African-American music. The blues, with its dissonant 12-bar seventh chord progression and bent-note melodies, were the first anthems of an oppressed race, uniting through their soulful cries of freedom and equality. From its origins at the junction of Highways 61 and 49, and the Clarksdale train station platform, the blues eventually began to spread, making its way north to Beale Street in Memphis.
The term “The Blues” refers to “The Blue Devils”, which means melancholy and sadness. An early use of the term in this sense is found in George Colman’s one-act farce Blue Devils (1798). Although the use of the phrase in African-American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912, when Hart Wand’s “Dallas Blues” became the first copyrighted blues composition.
The blues form was first incorporated around 1911-14 by black composer WC Handy (1873-1958). However, the poetic and musical form of blues first crystallized around 1910 and gained popularity through the publication of Handy’s “Memphis Blues” (1912) and “St. Louis Blues” (1914). Instrumental blues had been recorded as early as 1913. During the 1920s, blues became a national craze.
Mamie Smith recorded the first vocal blues song, ‘Crazy Blues’ in 1920. Blues’ influence on jazz brought it into the mainstream and made possible records by blues singers like Bessie Smith and later, in the 1930s, Billie Smith. Holiday.
In northern cities like Chicago and Detroit during the late 1940s and early 1950s, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elmore James, among others, played what was basically delta blues. Mississippi, backed by bass, drums, piano, and the occasional harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs. At about the same time, T-Bone Walker in Houston and BB King in Memphis pioneered a style of guitar playing that combined jazz technique with blues tonality and repertoire. It is also important to mention that the roots of Jazz began with Blues. So if there were no Blues, there would be no Jazz!
In the early 1960s, urban bluesmen were “discovered” by young white American and European musicians. Many of these blues-based bands, such as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Canned Heat, and Fleetwood Mac, brought the blues to young white audiences, something the Black blues artists hadn’t been able to make it in America except through stolen white crossover versions of black rhythm and blues songs. Since the 1960s, rock has experienced several blues revivals. Some rock guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen, have used the blues as the basis for secondary styles. While creators like John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, and BB King, and their heirs Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and later Eric Clapton and the late Roy Buchanan, among many others, continued to make fantastic music in the blues tradition. The last generation of blues musicians would be Robert Cray and the late Stevie Ray.
Today there are many different shades of blue. Forms include:
traditional county blues – A general term describing the rural blues of the Mississippi Delta, the Piedmont, and other rural locales.
skip blues – A danceable amalgamation of swing and blues and precursor of R&B. The jump blues was started by Louis Jordan.
boogie woogie – A piano-based blues popularized by Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson, and derived from barrelhouse and ragtime.
chicago blues – Delta blues electrified.
cool blue – A sophisticated piano-based form that owes much to jazz.
west coast blues – Popularized mainly by musicians from Texas who moved to California. West Coast blues is heavily influenced by swing. âEUR¨
The public’s affection for the Blues seems to be on the rise. In Dana Point California, the city next door to me, Doheny Beach now has an annual Blues Festival that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Others can be found in Portland, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and the list goes on.
Personally, the blues has always been a regular part of my life. When I play the guitar and sing with other musicians, it is the easiest and most enjoyable form of popular music to play. When I was a kid and my parents owned a music store and rock club called The Four Muses in San Clemente, California from 1965 to 1975, we always had blues bands playing. The most notable was the famous Blues Duo by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
My only personal problem with listening to a lot of blues is that it can get very repetitive and doesn’t sound “fresh” due to the constant use of the standard 12 bar blues chord progression. With that being said, I highly recommend that everyone try to hear some live Blues this summer. The music and the crowd usually bring a pleasant experience.
Thank you for reading!
jonathan morgan jenkins