What Music Influenced the Blues?
The blues is a music genre that was created by African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term “blues” refers to the blue notes in music, which are the flattened third and seventh notes.
The Origins of the Blues
The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities in the American South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The blues is a genre of music that has its roots in African-American culture. The blues is a music genre that originated in the United States.
The African American experience
The origins of the blues are closely related to the racial oppression and poverty experienced by African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition to work songs, field hollers, and spirituals, a major influence on the development of the blues was the music of Black people who migrated from rural areas to urban cities such as New Orleans, Memphis, and Chicago. These cities offered opportunities for Blacks to perform in nightclubs and theaters for white audiences. The popularity of Blues music grew rapidly and by the 1920s, it was being performed by white musicians as well as Black.
The influence of work songs
The work songs of the blues were usually sung by laborers while performing their tasks. These songs were used tohelps the workers coordinate their efforts and to keep up their morale while working. The sung verses were often improvised, and thechorus was usually a repetition of a line or phrase from the verse. The music of the blues was also influenced by the African tradition of call and response, in which one person sings a line and the others respond with a refrain.
The blue sinners were field hollers, work songs, and chants that helped African Americans endure the hardship of manual labor. In the south, most African Americans worked on plantations, where they performed such tasks as chopping cotton or driving mules. In northern cities, they found work in factories or as porters and dockworkers. The music of the blues reflected the hard life of these workers.
The first appearance of the blues is often dated to around 1900, when blacks began migrating from southern rural areas to northern cities in search of work. In the 1920s, a new style of music called jazz began to develop in New Orleans. Jazz combined elements of African American folk music with European military band music. Some believe that jazz also influenced the development of the blues.
The influence of the banjo
The banjo is an African-stringed instrument that was brought to America by slaves. It is thought to have originated in West Africa, and the earliest known illustrations of the banjo date back to the 17th century. The first recorded use of the word “banjo” in America was in 1766, and it is believed to be derived from the Congo word mbanza.
The banjo was originally used as a solo instrument, but by the early 1800s, it had become popular among minstrel performers in blackface. In the 1840s, minstrel shows began featuring large ensembles with multiple banjo players, and the instrument became increasingly associated with black music. The early blues musicians who played the banjo were often ex-slaves or their descendants, and they brought with them a wealth of musical traditions from Africa.
The use of the banjo in blues music can be traced back to its arrival in America, but it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the instrument began to be used in a style that would come to be known as “blues.” The first major figure in blues history to make use of the banjo was W.C. Handy, who incorporated it into his band’s performances and recordings beginning in 1912. Handy’s band popularized a style of blues that featured both guitar and banjo accompaniment, and this became known as “Handy’s Blues.”
The Spread of the Blues
The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities in the United States around the end of the 19th century. The style of music is characterized by its use of the blue notes and its origin in the work songs and spirituals of African Americans. The blues has been a major influence on jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and country music.
The influence of the railroads
The blues rose out of the juke joints, barrelhouses, and brothels of the Deep South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. But it was the railways that helped spread the music beyond its regional confines, carrying blues musicians—and their records—to new audiences across America and around the world.
In the years before World War II, thousands of African Americans relocated from the South to northern industrial cities in search of work. The blues came with them, carried by refugee musicians like Muddy Waters andHowlin’ Wolf, who recorded some of the most influential records in the genre’s history. Northern audiences were astonished by the power and emotion of this music, which sounded unlike anything they had ever heard before.
The spread of the blues was also hastened by a new technology: commercial recordings. In the 1920s, record companies like Victor and Columbia began scouring southern states for talent, signing anyone they thought might sell records. These companies then brought these artists to big-city recording studios, where they cut sides for release on 78-rpm records. Some of these artists—like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Blind Lemon Jefferson—went on to become legends of the genre.
The popularity of these records helped introduce a new generation of white listeners to the blues. In Britain, particularly, young musicians like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page were enthralled by this music from across the Atlantic and began playing it themselves. In time, they would help turn the blues into a global phenomenon.
The influence of the juke joint
The blues sound was created in the juke joints of the American South by black musicians who were influenced by the musical traditions of Africa and Europe. The music was initially played on acoustic instruments, but it soon evolved to include electric guitars, drums, and other instruments.
The blues sound spread northward from the juke joints to other parts of America, and it eventually became a major influence on the development of rock and roll. The blues influenced many different types of music, including jazz, R&B, and country.
The influence of recording technology
Recording technology played a significant role in the spread of the blues. The first recordings of blues music were made in the 1920s by record companies such as Paramount and Vocalion, which were eager to cash in on the popularity of this new genre. These companies scoured the country for talented performers, often signing up singers and musicians who had never been heard outside their local communities. This helped to introduce the blues to a wider audience and created stars such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
The Evolution of the Blues
The blues is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The style is a descendant of earlier African-American musical traditions, including work songs and spirituals, and is characterized by its usage of blue notes. The blues has been a major influence on subsequent genres of music, including rock, pop, jazz, and country.
The influence of the Great Depression
The Great Depression had a profound effect on the evolution of the blues. Many people lost their jobs and homes, and turned to music as a form of expression. The blues became a way for people to share their stories and communicate their feelings.
The blues also served as a form of social commentary, and some songs were written to protest the conditions of the time. For example, “Bourgeois Blues” by Lead Belly is a song that criticizes the treatment of African Americans during the Great Depression.
The economic hardships of the time also led to a change in the sound of the blues. Many musicians could not afford instruments, so they began to use found objects, such as spoon handles, washboards, and even cigar box guitars. This created a unique sound that would become known as ” jug band music.”
The influence of World War II
By the early 1940s, the blues had become a national craze, thanks in part to the growing popularity of radio. But the United States was soon embroiled in World War II, and many of the nation’s top musicians were drafted into the military. This created a shortage of live music and gave rise to a new form of entertainment: the record.
The influence of the Civil Rights Movement
The blues has been influential in the development of other genres of music, including jazz, rock and roll and particularly rhythm and blues. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, black singers like Mahalia Jackson used the blues to convey their feelings about discrimination and oppression. In the 1970s and 1980s, white rock musicians such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones incorporated elements of the blues into their music.
