The History of Blues Music, According to Wikipedia

The history of blues music is a long and complicated one, but Wikipedia does a pretty good job of summing it up. Check out this blog post to learn more!

The Origins of the Blues

The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The genre developed from the folk music of the American South and was influenced by both African and European musical traditions. The term “blue” refers to the blue notes used in the music, which are notes that are played at a lower pitch than the major scale notes.

The African American Experience

The African-American experience in the United States is often referred to as the Black experience. This term is used to describe the unique set of challenges, opportunities, and perspectives that come with being a black person in America.

The African-American experience is often thought of as starting with the enslaved Africans who were brought to America against their will. However, it is important to note that there were free Africans living in America long before the first slaves arrived. These free blacks were usually educated and had jobs as artisans or business owners.

The experience of being a black person in America changed dramatically with the abolition of slavery in 1865. African Americans were suddenly free to live their lives as they saw fit, but they still faced many challenges. Racism was rampant, and Jim Crow laws kept blacks from enjoying the same rights and privileges as whites.

Despite these challenges, African Americans have made significant contributions to American culture in the form of art, music, literature, and politics. The African-American experience is an essential part of American history, and it continues to shape our country today.

The Blues as a Genre

The blues is a genre of music that originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by its use of the blue note, and its chord progressions. The blue note is a flattened third, or sometimes a lowered fifth, interval in Western music; it has been claimed that the blues were originally created by slaves who were not allowed to sing in key. The genre developed from the work songs and spirituals of African-American slaves, and has roots in African spiritual traditions. The earliest recorded use of the term “blue” in reference to music was in 1867, when an English journalist used it to describe a style of music from Bermuda.

The Development of the Blues

The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. The genre developed from the music of the African slaves who were brought to the American south. The blues is a genre of music that originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Spread of the Blues

The blues spread from its place of origin in the Mississippi Delta to other parts of the country in the early 1910s, becoming an important influence on jazz. The first recorded commercial release of blues music was Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues”, which became a hit in 1920. Although Mississippi remained the center of attention for blues recording during the 1920s, other areas produced significant numbers of recordings, including Memphis and Chicago. The most important label for early blues recordings was Chicago’s Okeh Records, which began releasing material by Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith in 1923.

The Influence of the Blues

The blues has been a major influence on later American and Western popular music, finding expression in jazz, big band, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, country music, folk music, gospel music, and soul music. The blues originated in the Deep South of the United States during the late 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants.

During the early 20th century, the blues became a major element of African American folk music and transitioned into different subgenres. Black people migrated from the rural south to urban cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and New York City during the Great Migration (1915–40). They brought with them their own local traditions and created new styles.

The Modern Blues

The modern blues is a genre of music that developed from the early blues in the early 20th century. The modern blues is characterized by a number of features, including electric guitars, harmonica, and a strong backbeat.

The Electric Blues

The electric blues refers to blues music played with electric instruments, usually guitar, double bass, and drums. The band typically consists of a lead singer and one or more backing vocalists, who sing while the band “cooks”. Electric blues is most associated with Chicago and the West Side of Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s, but it also developed in other cities such as Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, and Birmingham.

In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters popularized electric blues with his hit records “Rollin’ Stone” and “Hoochie Coochie Man”. Later in the decade, Willie Dixon began recording with Chess Records and helped to develop the sound of electric blues with artists such as Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley. In the 1960s, British bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Animals popularized electric blues on a global scale.

The Contemporary Blues

The Contemporary Blues is a subgenre of blues that developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It represents a return to the simple, acoustic instrumentation and spiritual themes of traditional blues. The genre evolved from traditional blues, boogie-woogie, and jump blues. While electric guitars and amplifiers were initially used by contemporary blues artists, the style is often thought to have been “stripped down” to its acoustic roots.

During the early 1950s, a number of artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Parker, and Willie Dixon began releasing critically acclaimed recordings that were significantly different in tone and instrumentation from the earlier recordings of artists such as Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Charley Patton. These new recordings were more stripped down and featured simpler guitar work as well as harmonica or piano playing instead of the jazz-inspired Orchestral arrangements that had become popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The new sound was rawer and more “earthy”, representing a return to the roots of the genre.

In addition to the sonic changes, the lyrics of these new recordings often reflected the hardships faced by African Americans in the post-World War II era. Many songs dealt with themes of poverty, racism, and poor working conditions. These themes resonated with listeners who were experiencing similar difficulties in their own lives.

The popularity of these new recordings led to a boom in recording activity by both major labels and independent companies during the 1950s. By 1956, there were over 50 different record labels specializing in blues releases. Chicago became an epicenter for this activity, with labels such as Chess Records, Vee-Jay Records, and Cobra Records releasing some of the most iconic recordings in blues history.