A Timeline of Blues Music

A Timeline of Blues Music from its origins in the Mississippi Delta to the present day.

The Origins of the Blues

The blues is a style of music that originated in the African-American communities of the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The style is a type of folk music and is characterized by its use of the blue note. Some of the earliest recorded examples of the blues can be traced back to the 1920s.

The Mississippi Delta

The Mississippi Delta is sometimes called the “cradle of the blues” because this is where many of the early blues musicians came from. The Delta is a region in northwest Mississippi that is bordered by the Yazoo River on the west and the Big Black River on the east. It gets its name from the fact that it is actually a flood plain—when it rains, water from these rivers spills over into the area, making it very fertile and good for farming. The first blues songs were probably created by farmers working in their fields or sharecroppers living in small cabins. The hot, humid weather and hard work made life difficult, and people found comfort in singing about their troubles.

The 12-bar blues

The 12-bar blues is the simplest and probably most common blues chord progression. It is popular in various blues subgenres, including blues rock and Chicago blues. The chord progression is built on the I, IV and V chords of a major scale (or their minor counterparts). In its basic form, it is represented by the following chord progression in major or minor keys:

I I I I
IV IV I I
V V I I

This chord progression can be varied in a number of ways to create different feels, but the basic framework remains the same. The most common variations include adding seventh chords on the IV and V chords, using different minor scales (such as the natural minor or Harmonic minor), or adding chromatic passing chords between chord changes.

The Spread of the Blues

The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American community in the United States. The earliest form of the blues was a folk music called field hollers, which were chants sung by workers in the fields. The blues began to be developed as a distinct genre of music in the early 1900s in the Mississippi Delta region.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration was a mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North that lasted from 1916 to 1970. This migration had a profound impact on the development of blues music.

Blues is a musical form that developed in the American South in the late 19th and early 20th century from the work songs and spirituals of African American slaves. The style is characterized by its use of blue notes, swung rhythms, and call-and-response patterns.

The Great Migration began in 1916, when large numbers of African Americans began moving from rural areas to cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York in search of better economic opportunities. This mass movement of people changed the landscape of blues music, as new styles and genres developed in the urban North that were influenced by both traditional southern blues and contemporary popular music.

The migration continued through the 1950s and 1960s, as many blacks left the cities for suburban areas or other parts of the country. By 1970, almost six million blacks had relocated to Northern and Western cities. The impact of this migration on blues music was far-reaching, as the music continued to evolve in new and innovative ways.

From the country to the city

The blues began in the rural South, primarily in the Mississippi Delta, in the late 19th century. It is a form of music that is rooted in African American culture and is based on both European and African musical traditions. The blues has been a major influence on other genres of music, including jazz, rock and roll, and country.

The earliest known blues song, “Hambone,” was recorded in 1916 by W.C. Handy, who is often referred to as the “Father of the Blues.” Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” (1914) was one of the first songs to achieve widespread popularity and remains one of the most well-known blues songs today.

The 1920s saw the rise of Louisiana-born pianist and singer Jelly Roll Morton, who helped to popularize the genre with his recordings of “Jelly Roll Blues” (1920) and “King Porter Stomp” (1923). In the 1930s and 1940s, Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy were among the most popular blues musicians. They were followed by Muddy Waters, who helped to incubate the electric blues sound in Chicago in the 1950s with his seminal recordings “I Can’t Be Satisfied” (1948) and “Rollin’ Stone” (1950).

Other important figures in the history of the blues include Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Lucille Bogan. The genre continues to evolve today, with artists such as Keb’ Mo’, Bonnie Raitt, and John Mayer keeping the blues alive for new generations of fans.

The Golden Age of the Blues

The Golden Age of the Blues was a time when the genre was evolving and developing. It was a time when many different styles of the blues were being created. This was a time of great change and innovation in the world of the blues.

The rise of the blues clubs

The early 1940s saw the rise of the blues clubs. These were often small, intimate venues that attracted a dedicated following of music lovers. The clubs provided a place for people to socialize and hear their favorite artists perform. Many of the biggest names in blues history got their start playing in these clubs.

The most famous of these clubs was the 5 Spot in New York City. The 5 Spot was open from 1942 to 1951 and was one of the most popular nightspots in the city. It featured some of the biggest names in jazz and blues, including Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk.

The 5 Spot was just one of many blues clubs that sprang up across the country during this time. Other notable clubs included the Apollo Theater in Harlem, the Funny Farm in Chicago, and Slim Gaillard’s Bop House in Los Angeles.

These clubs were essential to the development of blues music. They provided a place for artists to experiment with new ideas and sounds. They also helped to spread the popularity of blues music beyond its regional roots.

The birth of the electric blues

The electric blues began in the early 1920s, when musicians playing acoustic instruments such as the guitar, banjo and harmonica began plugging them into homemade amplifiers. These “juke joint” players developed a raw, powerful sound that soon caught the attention of record companies based in Chicago.

As the popularity of the electric blues grew, more and more performers began moving to Chicago, where they found work in the city’s many nightclubs and recording studios. Among them were Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon, who would go on to become some of the most influential figures in blues history.

In the 1950s and ’60s, British rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Animals popularized the electric blues by incorporating it into their own music. This helped bring about a renewed interest in the genre, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Today, the electric blues is alive and well, with artists like Buddy Guy and Keb’ Mo’ keeping the sound fresh for new generations of fans.

The Modern Blues

The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term “blues” refers to the feeling of sadness and despair that is often associated with the music. The first popular blues artist was W.C. Handy, who wrote the song “St. Louis Blues” in 1914. The blues soon spread to other parts of the United States and Europe, and it has influenced many other genres of music.

The British Invasion

The British Invasion was a musical movement in the 1960s when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to rising counterculture on both sides of the Atlantic. The Invasion began in 1964 with the British band The Beatles’ two landmark performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. By 1967, the Beatles and other UK bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Dave Clark Five, Dusty Springfield, Donovan, Lulu, Cilla Black and Tom Jones were household names in America.

The blues today

The blues today is a vital, living music. It has been influenced by every form of music that has followed in its wake, yet it remains distinctly its own. It is the music of both the struggle and the triumph, of both sorrow and joy. It is a music that has been shaped by the very land that spawned it, and it continues to evolve as the people who create it move forward into the 21st century.

The blues today encompasses everything from the deeply traditional to the avant-garde. It can be raw and primal or smooth and sophisticated. It can be reflective and introspective or rowdy and good-natured. It is a music that respects its history while embracing the future, a music that celebrates life even in the face of adversity.