The Blues Origins The Blues are basically the root for all (Western) popular music today. From the blues you had it's immediate ancestors: Jazz, bluegrass, and rhythm and blues. Very little is known about the exact origin of the blues. No one knows the exact year it started, however there is a general consensus that modern blues began in the early 1910s.
African American work songs were an important precursor to the modern blues; these included the songs sung by laborers like stevedores and roustabouts, and the field hollers of slaves.[3]
There are few characteristics common to all blues, as the genre takes its shape from the peculiarities of each individual performance.[4] Some characteristics, however, have been a presence since prior to the creation of the modern blues, and are common to most styles of African American music. The earliest blues-like music was a "functional expression, rendered in a call-and-response style without accompaniment or harmony and unbounded by the formality of any particular musical structure".[5] This pre-blues music was adapted from the field shouts and hollers performed during slave times, expanded into "simple solo songs laden with emotional content".
Notable players and genres (thanks to my boy Dada for help with these vids)
Early blues players:Robert JohnsonRobert Johnson is basically where it all begins. Me and Dada both agree that he's probably
the biggest influence on American music, ever. You might have heard the story of the young man who went to the crossroads to give his soul to the devil in exchange for sublime blues playing skills: that's Robert Johnson. Although he made only 29 songs in total, he's the link that made everything from Rock 'n Roll to Hip Hop possible.
LeadbellyDelta blues players:Blind Willie McTellBlind Boy FullerBlind BlakeCharley PattonOther, equally important players (not so much Delta blues players):
Lightnin' HopkinsJohn Lee HookerRecent blues players:Howlin' Wolf(One of my personal favorites
)
Muddy WatersOtis RushB.B KingAlbert KingBritish blues/Blues Rock:Paul Butterfield Blues BandJohn Mayall and the BluesbreakersThe Rolling Stones(Their name was taken from Muddy Waters song 'Rollin' Stone')
CreamThis song is important for several reasons. For one, it's a cover of the first video I posted, Robert Johnson's "Crossroads." And two, it shows how the blues had evolved from the early 1910s to 1968. Eric Clapton (along with Jimi Hendrix) and his playing with Cream and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers basically paved the way for modern rock guitar.
Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix playing his pretty standard blues song 'Red House' at Woodstock. Now songs like these weren't his 'typical' sound (He usually played a more aggressive or psychedelic style of blues), but he is probably the best example of how blues in the 1960s totally shaped modern popular music.
Another interesting fact about this vid is he breaks his high E string pretty early on in the song!
there's loads more artists I could have listed from each era but this topic would be even longer! So yeah basically this topic has several purposes: Discuss the influence and origins of blues, discuss artists you like, and ask for recommendations!
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[TOTW] Blues