Meghan Armstrong

E-Block

THE BLUES – OUTLINE

THESIS: Throughout its existence, the Blues have influenced American society through its cultural roots, influential and unconventional artists, and its incorporation with other types of music to create unique, peculiar sounds.

 

I.                    Intro

II.                 History

A.     What influenced its origination

                                                            1.      Field hollers and work calls/chants

                                                            2.      Reflection of new lives of slaves before and after freedom

                                                            3.      Spirituality and religion

                                                            4.      Great Depression – halted upcoming recordings of Blues artists

                                                            5.      1960s Revival

B.     When the Blues originated

                                                            1.      From folk blues to early writings – late 1800s

                                                            2.      First recordings – 1920s

C.     Where the Blues originated

                                                            1.      Mississippi Delta

                                                            2.      New Orleans – integration of southern pianists

                                                            3.      Memphis and St. Louis – Beale Street

                                                            4.      Louisiana and Texas – combination of other places

                                                            5.      Chicago, Detroit, NY – recording

D.     Who was involved in its origination and expansion

                                                            1.      Slaves

                                                            2.      Rural singers, vaudevillians, jug bands

                                                            3.      WC Hardy

III.               Styles

A.     What do the Blues represent

B.     What instruments are used

C.     Differences in musical patterns

IV.              Influential artists

A.     Histories

B.     Accomplishments

C.     Influences/inspirations

V.                 Influence in America

A.     How it was / is viewed in American society throughout the years

B.     Impact on music in general / future artists

C.     Historical impact on American cities

VI.              Conclusion

 

The blues is essentially an American kind of music that is the most pure and emotional of any other. It symbolizes the hardships of African Americans from their arrival as slaves through their freedom and struggle for civil liberties, as well as anyone’s everyday struggles and problems in relationships. It is spiritual and honest and is written from true experiences. Originating in the deep South, particularly the Mississippi Delta in the late 19th century, the blues has developed into several styles reflecting the adversities of different areas. The blues has a style that was once innovative and completely original, oftentimes rejected by the norms of society. Throughout its existence, the blues has influenced American society through its cultural roots, influential and unconventional artists, and its incorporation with other types of music to create unique, peculiar sounds.

The true roots of the blues are traced back to times before slavery was booming in America. In Africa, there were people called griots who wandered around the villages, singing songs and playing a banjo-like instrument. These wandering minstrels were considered very holy and wise throughout the villages, and they spread jokes and songs that made the people laugh, cry, and everything in between. Griots existed in almost every tribe in Africa (Awmiller, 13). During the American slave trade, griots were taken from Africa and worked as indentured servants or sold as slaves. They brought their music along with them, singing now of the hardships they faced working in the fields. For most slaves, the only way of expressing their new sorrow and suffering was through music.         The music slaves produced was spontaneous work songs, started and continued by the slaves through series of repeating calls to one another. Each song consisted of the emotion that was contributed by the group of suffering slaves (Awmiller, 15). The hollers and calls were the foundation for future blues songs, where, instead of a person responding, the blues musician would respond themselves with their instrument (McElrath). The slaves were also introduced to Christianity by their white masters, who sought to “Westernize” them. Christianity grew to become a huge part of their everyday lives, and was very much reflected in their songs (Awmiller, 17). The slaves identified themselves with the hardships in the Bible, which they learned in church. They paralleled themselves with the Hebrew slaves, where Goliath reflected their white masters, and Africa reflected their home which they yearned for, as Israel was to the Hebrew slaves. Black churches arose, and in their own congregations they compiled their own spiritual songs, including “Amazing Grace” by Isaac Watts (Awmiller, 18).

Before the Civil War, African-Americans who aspired to become musicians often had trouble finding appreciation or success in their performances because the audiences were mostly white, who couldn’t relate to the performers’ messages. However, after the Civil War, audiences for black performers increased and were both black and white. The blues had not yet been born, however, the struggle for performers and the dependency of newly freed blacks created a general suffering among southern blacks, and it began to reflect even more through their music, which they performed in minstrel shows (Awmiller, 20).

After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed all slaves in the deep South, problems for blacks in America wholly remained. In the post-Reconstruction era, after the Haynes Compromise was signed, northern troops left the South and the 13th and 15th amendments were passed, stating equality for black citizens (Haymes, “Background to the Blues). However, after the troops left, open white racism was great, especially after the passing of the Jim Crow Laws, and blacks had little options for living successful, independent lives. Most blacks turned to sharecropping, where they would work sections of land for white landholders for small profits. Many became indebted to the white “master”-like landowners because they could not produce enough crops to live on their own. Aspiring black musicians sought escape in order to overcome this ritualistic lifestyle, and this era of suffering is commonly thought of as the birth of the blues (Awmiller, 27).

These independent, traveling musicians sang what are known as the folk blues. These singers performed at medicine shows and carnivals (McElrath). Medicine shows derived from England and were popular among poor audiences, and alcohol was sold as an attraction. Medicine shows were like modern minstrel shows, and small vaudeville shows (Davis, 87). Vaudeville shows were very popular among different classes and races in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Performers included comics, dancers, actors who performed Shakespeare, and singers. They were large attractions that later made possible the recording of rural performers in the South (Davis, 86). The rural circuit of blues musicians and their music is known as “Country” blues, and the movement began in the Mississippi Delta, as well as Southeastern Missouri and Southwestern Tennessee, south to the Gulf of Mexico (Awmiller, 26). The Country blues had a very rough, pure sound with acoustic instruments, mainly guitars and banjos.

The Mississippi Delta is arguably the birth place of the blues, for it was a place that combined the racial hardships with Church gospel into song (“Mississippi Delta”). Early influential Country blues singers included Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Their styles were pretty simplistic and consisted of uneven rhyming patterns, spoken lyrics, and a huge amount of emotion (“Memphis and St. Louis”). As black musicians traveled in the South, Country blues singers and black vaudeville singers came in contact, and black vaudeville singers learned to sing the Blues. In New Orleans, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, “black butt” pianists combined with Western pianists who played very fast and sang as they played. When Country singers combined with these pianists, they created the style of the South. This Southern, rustic style became the foundation of Classic blues (McElrath). In the 1890s, the Ragtime Era was made popular by Irving Jones and Ben Harney, who borrowed aspects from Europe and syncopations from African Americans (Davis, 68). The artists of the Ragtime Era sang “coon” songs in a style like the blues. Some of these artists included “Ragtime Texas” Henry Thomas and Johnny “Daddy Stovepipe” Watson. They wrote and performed in the late 1800s but Watson did not record until 1924, when his style was acclaimed as “genuine Negro style” (Davis, 89). In the 1890s/1900s, Tin Pan Alley was a source of vaudeville and Ragtime artists, where Irish and Jewish minorities resided in poor neighborhoods. Their songs were much like the blues in philosophy, and were popularized before African Americans popularized their music (Davis, 69).

In 1903, in Tutwiler, Mississippi, a man named W.C. Handy “discovered” the blues when he was sleeping while waiting for a train. He awoke to extremely peculiar notes played by an African American on a guitar (Davis, 24). He was a black songwriter, band leader, and producer of music and was intrigued by this music that contained notes and sounds he had never heard before (“Memphis and St. Louis”, The Blues Road). Memphis and St. Louis became major Blues centers in the 1900s, famous for the ‘jug bands’ that used clay jugs, kazoos, and washboards to create a truly unique sound that was considered provocative at the time (Davis, 93). In 1908 W.C. Handy arrived on Beale Street, a street famous for its African American music atmosphere (“Memphis and St. Louis”, The Blues Road). In 1912, Handy produced his own composition titled “Memphis Blues” by Prince’s Orchestra and the Victor Military Band. This song was the first to include ‘blues’ in the title, and it was written to help elect E.H. Crump as mayor to clean up Beale Street (Davis, 58). Even though some say it is not an actual blues song, it did greatly influence blues songs in the future.

Because the blues were not very popular in the general public in its origination, not much has been recorded and passed down through records over the years. In 1914, W.C. Handy composed “St. Louis Blues,” his most famous piece and one of the most recorded songs of all time. The first female black blues vocal was “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” by Mamie Smith in 1920. Smith went on to record “Crazy Blues,” which sold one million copies in its first six months and paved the way for “race records” and the recording of other blues artists (Hoffmann). Okeh, Paramount, and Black Swan Records all emerged as leading blues record companies and “race record” producers, aimed toward black audiences, in the 1900s (Hoffman). Okeh Records in particular produced “Crazy Blues” and other Mamie Smith songs, taking a chance on a black female artist. The “race records” sold 100 million records in 1921 (Davis, 62). Female artists such as Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith emerged and stimulated other labels to enter the race market (Hoffman). The success of these records also led to the recording of rural Country blues singers.

In the 1920s/30s, Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson took their music North with them to cities like Memphis and Chicago, where they recorded their music. Out of this migration came a new type of blues, the City or Urban blues. City blues artists still faced many hardships that fueled their music, like having to answer to a landlord and the high violence and racism in the cities (Awmiller, 44). Much of white society resented the blues, calling the music evil and the unspiritual songs “reels” (Neff and Connor, 8-9). The blues artists worked for “cigar-puffing record producers, watch-chain-wearing booking agents, and pin-striped theater owners” (Awmiller, 45). The Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) emerged in Memphis, and demanded more professional and commercially appealing artists (Awmiller, 45). Paramount Records recorded Charlie Jackson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Charley Patton in the 1920s (Hoffman). These artists’ acoustic sound was then amplified and electrified, with the bottleneck/slide guitar (made famous by Blind Lemon Jefferson) and the pianos and horns influenced from New Orleans. Blues recordings peaked between 1927-1930, and the piano grew to become a greater part of the blues with artists like Leroy Carr. Styles like barrelhouse, boogie-woogie, and urban blues came in the 1930s (Hoffman). During WWI and the Great Depression, record sales dropped greatly and phonograph records became luxury items (Davis, 64). Chicago blues had a bit more aggressive delivery and larger bands joined the artists (Hoffman). The Decca Record label emerged in 1934 and offered low priced discs. They pursued authentic blues talent and developed a very electric rhythm and blues style. Decca signed artists like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, and inspired the change in music business from “race records” to what is known as R&B (Hoffman). In the 1940s/50s, a combined style of jazz and Mississippi Delta blues guitar playing arose from artists like BB King, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elmore James (Baker). In the 1960s, blues “revivals” occurred from blues-inspired rock bands in England, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Cream (Baker).

            The blues have continued to grow in popularity in America despite many hardships that the innovative style has overcome. The blues, because they originated in times of racial segregation, struggled to get great recognition outside of the rural South and cities like Chicago, Memphis, and New York. However, audiences, no matter how small or large, have continued to be drawn to the philosophical and emotional aspect of the blues throughout its existence. The blues are a very truthful type of music that acknowledges every aspect of real life, including its tragedy and celebratory aspects. The blues originated out of times of great anguish and poverty. Music before the blues was very pleasant, often times comedic, and almost always had a happy ending. The blues were captivating and suspenseful in that they were so full of pure emotion and lack of hope in times that did not always get better. They openly critiqued the law and public society and opened the eyes of citizens to these fake realities. The blues not only recognized hard times, but they also realize that there are moments of good in these periods and it is extremely important to see how life is and move on. The blues did not sugar-coat life, they were straightforward and artists’ lyrics demonstrated their persistency in overcoming hardships (Awmiller, 121/122).

The style of the blues is extremely original as well. The blues’ roots are Afro-American combined with Western tonal cords (Baker). The notes are referred to as ‘blue notes’, or ‘blue scales’ because they have bent pitches, created by the manipulation of guitars or banjos (Baker). The early blues had 8, 10, or 16 bars. Blues are now most commonly known for having 12 bars, and are referred to as “12-Bar Blues”. The standard construction of the chords are as follows: “I,I,I,I,IV,IV,I,I,V,IV,I,I. Each roman numeral indicates a chord built on a specific tone in the major scale” (Baker). The rhythm is often changing in a blues song, and the singer often sings “around the beat” (Baker). The verses have mostly 3 lines and are in iambic pentameter, with the first line “generally repeated, and the third line is different from the first two” (Baker). The lyrics generally are used in AAB pattern, because when early blues artists played, they improvised, and this way when they repeated the first line, they had time to come up with a rhyming third line. There is generally no variation in this pattern; the “chorus” is repeated throughout the song and the lines are just changed (Awmiller, 67). “Titular” blues contain the 12-bar structure with the blues tone and mood, but sometimes are not considered personal like true blues (Davis, 57/58).

The guitar and banjo are the main instruments that have defined the blues since its existence. The griots in Africa constructed instruments that consisted of a “strip of fiber strung from one end of a bowed piece of wood to the other” (Awmiller, 22). The griots would pluck the string while bending the wood to manipulate the sounds. This instrument was changed in America, and strings were placed over a small drum, resembling a banjo (Awmiller, 23). The guitar became a widely used blues instrument because it was both portable and affordable, and the musicians were traveling often times daily. Pianos were far too large and expensive to play on. “The guitar is divided into 21 sections, separated by thin metal frets. The spaces between the frets are the notes” (Awmiller, 24). In traditional European and Western music, each note is played alone. The slaves’ instruments had no frets, so when they learned to play guitar, they simply slid their fingers across the frets, creating a sound never heard before (Awmiller, 24). The slide guitar was developed when artists like Blind Lemon Jefferson would use a broken bottle to exaggerate the slide and make strong, unique notes (Awmiller, 25). These notes had also never been heard before because it is impossible for pianos to create them, and early blues players used an African scale, different to the Western scale (Awmiller, 64). Prison also served as a place for the originating of blues songs. In the earlier half of the 20th century, black prison mates were forced to work on plantations, where they sang to each other in a more developed blues style than had their predecessors (Awmiller, 76). The annexation of Hawaii also united country and blues musicians, as they tried to imitate the styles of Hawaiian guitarists (Davis, 88).

            Throughout the history of the blues, there have been several artists that have greatly impacted its existence as well as the growth of other types of music. “Papa” Charlie Jackson played the banjo and was one of the first black male recording stars (Davis, 87). Buddy Guy was influenced by his family, especially his father, who taught him about Christianity and the appreciation of life’s simplicities (Neff and Connor, 13). Bert Williams, a humorous performer, tried throughout his career to escape black stereotypes (Davis, 66). Charley Patton was one of the first most influential blues singers. He fled from a sharecropper family and became a traveling musician who was widely known throughout the South. He was one of the few financially comfortable blues artists and was one to transform folk blues to individual expression (Awmiller, 29). Blind Lemon Jefferson was born blind and taught himself to play guitar at the age of fourteen. He first played in a small town called Wortham until he started traveling all over the county (Awmiller, 32). At the age of twenty he left for Dallas, where he became an alcoholic, and was discovered by Paramount Records in the 1920s. He went to Chicago and recorded his first big hit, as well as others that were often about the betrayal of women (Awmiller, 34). Unfortunately, he spent most of his fortune on alcohol and supposedly froze to death in 1936. His achievements were highly acclaimed, however, and inspired many future blues as well as rock and roll musicians (Awmiller, 35). Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter was an artist that was popular during the Great Depression. He was also born into a poor family of sharecroppers. He had great strength and was known for his great and fast work in the fields. As a performer, he was a storyteller. He was very passionate, yet he let the anger of his performances spill into his own life, and he was arrested several times. The first time he escaped from prison, and then he went back again, and tried to escape again, but got caught (Awmiller, 72). Once while he was in prison, he impressed the mayor who came several times to visit the imprisoned musicians, who would put on great acts for him (Awmiller, 76). He was set free after the mayor was greatly impressed with his music; however, he had another run-in with the law after defending himself from a white man. After he was set free after a number of years, he was recognized by the famous Lomax father and son team, who allowed for him to successfully play and produce music. He died of Lou Gehrig’s disease (Awmiller, 79).

One of the most influential and innovative blues musicians of all time was Louis Armstrong. He was too born into a very poor family, and although he was surrounded by music and had a passion for it, he didn’t have the money to buy an instrument (Awmiller, 46). After a mishap with the law at a New Years’ celebration, he went to the Waif’s House and learned to play cornet at the age of 14 (Awmiller, 47). He later switched to the trumpet and went to Chicago to play in Joseph Oliver’s band. His music was so well liked that he put together his own group, the “Hot Five” or “Hot Seven”, and they began recording legendary tracks at Okeh Records (Awmiller, 47). His music was extremely original, and he was most famous for his reinvention of the solo, where he would inspire and pump up crowds through the drastic range of emotions. All solos played by lead instrumentalists were started by Louis Armstrong (Awmiller, 48).

Robert Johnson is a blues artist that looked to escape from his life’s hardships through his music at the ages of 19 and 20. He began playing a bit late, however, his mentor, Eddie “Son” House, saw his potential and was eventually surpassed in some areas by his pupil. As a performer, he was very mysterious – he rarely stayed for more than a day at gigs and was looked at in a variety of was by his audiences (Awmiller, 37). He had a powerful, unconventional sound that inspired future blues revivalists. He was poisoned by a jealous husband at one of his shows in 1938 and died (Awmiller, 41). Most of his fame came after his death when his song was recorded in a show by John Hammond (Awmiller, 43). The most influential blues musician, alongside Louis Armstrong, was McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield. Waters grew up living an easygoing, good life in the Mississippi Delta during booming times with legendary artists. He learned from Son House, who also learned from Charlie Patton (Awmiller, 86). Despite being told of his talents, Waters had little self confidence, and did not travel or branch out for over 20 years. After playing locally for a while, Alan Lomax was recommended to hear him and he ended up getting him signed to a record company (Awmiller, 88). This gave Waters the confidence he needed to establish himself as a revolutionary blues player. He learned to play the electric guitar after moving to Chicago during a huge exodus of blacks after WWII. He developed an aggressive sound and established the steady 4/4 beat where big bands could follow the lead bluesman. This brought a new sound to the blues, called “urban” or “deep” blues (Awmiller, 89).

Throughout the beginning of the blues, women have played a major role in its development as well. Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was an early vaudeville singer who started out doing dance and song numbers with her husband, William. She then went on to find work in New Orleans, establishing Madame Gertrude Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Sets (Awmiller, 51). Her provocative shows and unconventional lifestyle were highly criticized at that time, especially being a female musician. However, her audiences loved her because of her emotional, relatable songs (Awmiller, 53). She wasn’t able to record until 1923 because of the Great Depression, however, she established herself throughout the blues community as a powerful, original singer (Davis, 73). Her influence led to the emergence of Bessie Smith, the biggest female blues musician. Bessie learned everything she knew about music on the streets of Chattanooga, where she sang for spare change. She was hired by a traveling minstrel group at the age of 18, where she was known for her powerful voice and performances. She looked up to Ma Rainey, who she eventually surpassed in success (Awmiller, 55). Colombia Records signed her out of desperation, and her first album “Down Hearted Blues” sold a record 780,000 copies in the first six months (Awmiller, 58). She traveled all over the country, always remaining professional in her appearances. She did mostly cover songs, which allowed for her to make such a successful and influential career (Davis, 75).

A later female blues artist was the tragic Billie Holiday. She was born poor, rejected by her dad at an early age, until she became a famous blues artist. In 1930 she played in New York Clubs, until she was heard by John Hammond, who also signed Bob Dylan years later (Myrus, 11) (Awmiller, 83). She had a much more delicate, controlled voice compared to her famous female predecessors, as well as a different commercial appeal based on her idol, Louis Armstrong (Awmiller, 83). Her songs were spontaneous and casual, their deliveries matching their messages (Awmiller, 84). In the midst of her success, she began to heavily use drugs, and allowed herself to be involved in unstable relationships with dishonest men. As her drug intake increased, the quality of her shows decreased, until she fell into a coma and later died (Awmiller, 85). Unfortunately, she was not secure in herself to handle her success, and it led to her demise. From the influence of these women, women’s styles became more rough with artists like Sippie Wallace, Ida Cox, and Victoria Spivey (Davis, 82). A battle of the sexes emerged as the blues became social statements, and a famous woman artist was Alice Walker, who was a lesbian and spread the ideas of civil rights (Davis, 85). Ethel Waters was a Broadway star that helped shape the blues between WWI and WWII (Davis, 81). Through the blues “revival” in the 1960s, artists like Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins and John Lee Hooker gained international recognition for their work throughout the 20th century. At the time, their styles were that of Country blues, rather than the urban styles of Waters (Awmiller, 113). Lightnin’ Hopkins played as an eight year-old with Blind Lemon Jefferson at a picnic. He was known for his improvising skills and became the most recorded blues artist of all time (Awmiller, 114). He returned to Texas after the Chicago city movement, and was “rediscovered” by Sam Charters who recorded an album with Hopkins that was very simplistic yet full of emotion, which became huge in US blues history (Awmiller, 116/117). John Lee Hooker was born in Mississippi and established himself in Detroit. He played under many names with several recording companies, yet his sound was always distinctive (Awmiller, 117). He toured throughout Europe and America and recorded The Healer, which was the most popular blues album of the time in 1989, featuring artists like Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, George Thoroughgood, and Robert Cray (Awmiller, 120). One of the most famous blues artists of today and of all time is B.B. King. He brought truth and sophistication to the image of the blues, wearing tuxedos and having good behavior wherever he played, or plays (Johnson, “Guitar Heroes King of the Blues”). He plays all over the world, bringing the element of a big band behind the artist to his music (Awmiller, 134). The latest generation of blues-influenced artists include Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray (Baker), as well as Ali Farka Touve, Africa’s best known blues musician, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Floyd Dixon, and Robbie Lippin (“Artists and Executives Remembered”).

            The blues have greatly influenced America and the rest of the world throughout its continuation. Its relatable quality has allowed it to remain and inspire in the world. In London, it inspired the beginning of some of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. In the city of London, it is thought to be unexpected that the blues would develop there. However, it is the philosophy of the blues that allowed it to be celebrated by the poor Englanders who felt anger toward the wealthy. This created emotion for the blues (Awmiller, 98). When Muddy Waters played in 1958 in London, he inspired artists that would later play in bands like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones (named after a line from one of Waters’ songs), and Cream (Awmiller, 92). During the Sixties “Revival”, the Beatles attributed much of their inspiration to Waters and Bo Diddley in an interview. The blues did not ever die out; they were just not internationally known as were other types of music at the time. This “revival” of blues-inspired British artists allowed for the rest of the world to appreciate and be exposed to the blues (Awmiller, 96). Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was inspired by Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett and Jimmy Reed. He met Keith Richards through their shared interest in the blues and together started to create a blues band. They played in night clubs and scored a big hit (Awmiller, 103). With more fame came less blues, and they combined rock with the philosophy of the blues. Their performance of the blues songs “Little Red Rooster” was made popular all over the world on television (Awmiller, 103). Eric Clapton, a skinny young English boy, fell in love with the blues in the 1960s, growing up with his grandmother. He taught himself to play guitar from his rock and blues records (Awmiller, 106). He later joined the band the Yardbirds, which he believed to play honest, passionate blues (Awmiller, 108). After the Yardbirds became too commercial for Clapton’s likings, he recorded two songs with Waters in 1964 and then quit the band. He joined another band, the Bluesbreakers, but surpassed them in talent (Awmiller, 110). Although he created quite a name for himself playing the blues, he wanted to branch out, and later played the “psychedelic” sound of guitar developed by Buddy Guy, who inspired Hendrix in the future (Awmiller, 138). He joined the band Cream, which was not strictly blues but had some blues aspects. Clapton later recorded blues albums that were best-selling. The combined success of English bands helped American black blues musicians grow as well (Awmiller, 111/112).

In the early years of the blues, in the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans, foundations for jazz, rock, and hip-hop were all inspired by the blues (Awmiller, 6).  The blues established Mississippi, Memphis, St. Louis, New Orleans, Chicago, and New York as key centers for the development of not only the type of music, but the era of the time and the influence it had on the development of black culture in the United States. It gave voice to those who preached for civil rights as well as the spread of Christianity and the Lord’s way. Migration to these cities affected the demographics greatly, for example, after WWII, over 150,000 blacks moved to Chicago, creating limited housing and large amounts of poverty as well as the growth in styles and recording of the blues (Awmiller, 89).

            The existence of the blues has been unlike any other kind of music. The struggles written by its own artists reflect the struggles the type of music itself had in progressing through the conflicting American society of the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. However, without such an intimate, relatable, truthful type of music which allows for so many to communicate and push through their problems, many musicians that influenced rock and roll, country, and R&B/hip-hop would not have been able to be recognized as such original artists. The blues allowed for America’s burdened citizens to communicate the country’s problems with all of society, which makes this type of communicative music so important to the development of America’s culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Johnson, Dean. “Guitar Heroes King of the Blues.” Boston Herald. 6 Aug 1993. 2 Feb 2007.

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McElrath, Jessica. “The History of Blues Music.” About. 31 Jan 2007.

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“Louisiana and Texas” The Blues Road. 7 Feb 2007. http://pbs.org/theblues/roadtrip/loui-texstyle.html

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Myrus, Donald. Ballads Blues and the Big Beat. New York: Macmillan Company, 1966.

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Neff, Robert, and Connor, Anthony. BLUES. Boston: David R. Godine, 1975. 1-141.

 

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