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- Although it was cultivated by the descendants of slaves, the blues was the expression of freed African Americans. The Great Migration directly influenced the blues’ many evolutions. As Black people moved from the South to northern cities, the music reflected the new urban terrain in which the people set up communities.
www.aaihs.org/the-historical-roots-of-blues-music/
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Sep 10, 2024 · Blues, secular folk music created by African Americans in the early 20th century, originally in the South. The simple but expressive forms of the blues became by the 1960s one of the most important influences on the development of popular music. Learn more about blues, including notable musicians.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 21, 2024 · “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith is often credited as one of the first vocal blues records released and paved the way for other artists. Another force was also starting to influence the path of the blues.
- Musicnotes
One of the first professional blues singers was Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, who claimed to have coined the term blues. Classic female urban or vaudeville blues singers were popular in the 1920s, among them Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Victoria Spivey.
By 1912, the sheet music industry had published three popular blues-like compositions, precipitating the Tin Pan Alley adoption of blues elements: "Baby Seals' Blues", by Baby Franklin Seals (arranged by Artie Matthews); "Dallas Blues", by Hart Wand; and "The Memphis Blues", by W.C. Handy.
- Dan Stubbs
- SONG: Robert Johnson – Crossroad Blues (1937) What it did: Popularised Johnson’s great creation myth – that his fame was the result of a deal made with the Devil at a rural crossroads.
- SONG: Lead Belly/Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night (1944/1994) What it did: Lead Belly’s 1939 recording of this tragic blues song – which he frequently called ‘Black Girl’ – combined two traditional blues songs dating back to the 1870s, showing how blues itself is rooted in folk traditions.
- SONG: Elmore James – Dust My Broom (1951) What it did: Originally written by Robert Johnson (see ‘Cross Road Blues’, above) under the name ‘I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom’, Elmore James’s version (credited as Elmo James) added a boogie rhythm and slide guitar – and was a watershed moment in the electrification and amping up of the blues sound.
- ALBUM: Etta James – At Last! (1960) What it did: As you’ll see in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, women were at the centre of the ‘urban blues’ scene that stormed the cities in the 1920s and 30s.
While the exact origins of the blues remain elusive, one influential figure played a pivotal role in shaping its form and structure: W.C. Handy. Born in Alabama in 1873, Handy would later earn the title of the “Father of the Blues.”.
May 9, 2018 · Although it was cultivated by the descendants of slaves, the blues was the expression of freed African Americans. The Great Migration directly influenced the blues’ many evolutions. As Black people moved from the South to northern cities, the music reflected the new urban terrain in which the people set up communities.
