Is a music with a unique ethnic diversity. It started with the rural Black-American traditions of southern America. Originally It was associated with music of deep and low-down emotions. But in reality, it reflected how a culture lived and survived in happy and difficult times. Many musicologists try to associate Blues with both European and African tradition. Music Historian Robert Palmer may be most correct entitling It as a Black-American creation.
By doing so, Palmer then relates this form to many different aspects of blackmailing music. Early blues music was music dictated by Call and Response.The Call and Response pattern could be found in 4, 8, 12 or 16 bar forms. The message of the lyric was the most important aspect of the music and dictated what form was used. Because Blues was a message (If you will), It was then a music which adopted Itself to many musical styles, ranging from Jazz to rock and roll.
The musical sound of the Blues is also found in many other non-vernacular styles such as 20th century classical music. Regional Styles and their Evolution WAC Handy received a lot of credit for discovering Blackmailing musical genres.
Once he found something he would then turn around a sell the rights for profit.He also claimed In his memoirs to be the first Jazz musician. Despite some of these inaccurate claims, Handy still had the economic means to sell and promote Black music to America. Handy who was a ragtime pianist, fell in love with the Blues on several visits he made to rural southern America. Many say he codified the blues, meaning he brought a sense to the musical form of blues. This can be argued, for he did not play the 12 bar forms himself, but stuck to more familiar ragtime forms. On the other hand, he did record and give America a hint of the blues idiom as he recorded and toured across America.
The Delta One of the first centers of blues was found In the Delta. It was here, In a place called Dockers Farms, an old plantation, where blues performers would play and congregate. It was a center of musical exchange and great performances. Charlie Patton was one of the most influential performers. He was said to have influenced the legendary Robert Johnson (the man who influenced Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones) and Blind Lemon Jefferson. East Texas Blind Lemon Jefferson sang in these rural and urban spots (Dallas) telling the stories of Black America. This style of singing was later referred to Blues of the Southwest.
Characteristically in this style, a single singer would sometimes play the mouthpart while performing this music, or he would be accompanied by a mouthpart. Carolinas Blind Willie McCall introduced the 12;string guitar to this idiom. Also a singer in the classic rural form, McCall paves the way to blues personality T-Bone Walker. New Orleans An Urban Style developed here that led to American Jazz and popular music. The leading performers were notables, King Oliver, Lie Armstrong and Bessie Smith. Armstrong becomes the single most Important figure in Black-American music.His singing and improvisational styles become OFF emerge in the early ass’s was Jelly Roll Morton.
He combined New Orleans Jazz, ragtime and blues. He was a very important piano stylist and influenced later stars such as Fats Waller. Lumber Camps This was in the Delta Region, here a piano-dance style developed. This is where versatile pianists would become all in all performers in the lumber camps. Primarily dance music, this version of the Blues was championed by people such as Roosevelt Sykes. Chicago Musicians from the south migrated north to the windy city. Employment opportunities were much more accessible here.
A new style begins to emerge called Boogie-woozier. This was an idiom that grew out of both barrel house and the Jazz piano tradition. This was a danceable music where performers could take on the roles of ensembles in nightclubs. The primary performers of this idiom were Pete Johnson, Made Lug Lewis and Roosevelt Sykes. The Recording Industry In the early days, black performers recorded on labels known as race records. These records sold to a black audience. Miami Smith was the first to record a Vaudeville minstrel version of Black-American music, which included the Blues.
She wasn’t really a Blues artist but she opened the doors for others. Clarence Williams was one of the first to form a recording label and he promoted many Black-American artists. One of the challenges of selling the Blues to a Blackmailing audience was dealing with the text within the blues. Gospel and Blues vernaculars have always had close association in Black Culture. The primary distinction in many peoples mind was the message of the text. The blues had many themes such as sex, interpersonal relationships, and the “Devil” which turned many of the conservative branch of Black culture away from secular music.In fact, the “devil” theme was then associated with NY form of rebellion.
Jazz and Rock suffered from this sort of persecution for many years based on these early associations. “Son” House was quoted as saying the Blues began drawing it’s own individual crowd, based on early bias against the music. There was a man named Tommy Johnson who went to Dockers farms to learn about the Blues. He came telling a story that a big, black, dark spirit enabled him to perform and understand this idiom better. After this tale we see Blues performers taking on names such as the “Devils” Sheriff and the “Devils” son in law. Show Biz is now born!!!The lyrics of the Blues still held a basic message of love and relationships. As historian Albert Murray suggests, it rarely reflected on social issues and economic standing.
Blues vitality is seen in its effect on Black-American fine art. Blues is a vital and active form in the Jazz styles of Longtime and Basis. The form is revisited time and time again in their music and often expanded on and borrowed from in many aspects of Jazz performance . Len 1938 during a Concert at Carnegie Hall, in a celebration of Black-American music and art, Basis and singer “Big” Bill Bronzy highlighted Black music by performing a variety of Blues performances.Blues and Early Rock in the sass’s There were two major trends that influenced early popular Black female singing the Blues other than Billie Holiday. Holiday sang more diverse repertoire, whereas Washington made people remember the Blues divas of the sass’s. She sang a style more reminiscent of how the Blues was performed in the early days of Jazz.
Other Blues divas during this time included Eat James and “Big” Mama Thornton who originally sang “Hound Dog”, a cover made popular by Elvis Presley. In Cleveland a disc Jockey by the name of Alan Freed began to promote Black music and artists.Originally from Memphis, Freed had a vision for Black music and how it could shape the landscape of American popular music. Shows like “Rock and Roll Party’ had a huge impact on adolescents in America. Many Blues artists such as Bob Diddled and Little Richard performed on his show. In Memphis and Helena, Arkansas, Blues shows began to appear. KAFKA in Helena promoted a show called “King Biscuit Time”, which had both local and national telecasts.
Performers such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Bronzy, and Sonny Terry performed on these telecasts. Prominent Blues Styles Jump Blues: This was a style championed by Lie Jordan.It was a combination of Kansas City blues (a “Riff’ style) and the two-beat dance style of Black-Americans. It embraced both vocal and instrumentalists to combine Jazz and popular music. Other Artists who were influenced by this music include Chuck berry and Big Joe Turner. Electric Blues: Probably the single most important style of blues to emerge as it relates to Rock and Roll evolution. This music introduced the Blues world to the electric guitar.
(Hank Williams had done this earlier) Muddy Waters premiered this new sound at the Newport Folk and Blues Festival in the late sass’s ND it was a smash hit.The music would set a trend in early Rock and on Rock for decades to come. Waters band included Jimmy Rogers on guitar,and songwriter and pianist Otis Spans. These two musicians became stars in their own right. T-Bone Walker, a single string guitarist who played electric guitar, combined Jump, swing and early rock styles. He had a great impact on EBB King! EBB King a single string guitarist as well, paved the way for many Blues and Rock and Roll artists for years to come. With a more expressive style and much more technical ability, King incorporated the USIA from the Delta and East Texas and brought them into an Electric-Rock based music.
He is possibly the most popular Blues performer of the modern era. The sass’s The Blues found many audiences at major festivals. This also included the incorporation of a large white audience. The record industry finally began promoting Blues to a general audience. Performers such as Otis Spans, Johnny Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters bring this longtime viable idiom to the American public. This music had a profound impact on British bands such as The Rolling Stones, Beetles, Eric Clayton and many others.
