The Blues: Origins and Influence on American Music
The blues is the most independent type of Black music in the African-American tradition. The musical style wasn’t really developed until after slavery had been abolished in 1865, but the blues is deeply rooted in the slaves’ work songs, gospel, and Negro spirituals. Some say that the blues was born in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, where cotton choppers and pickers sang to make the work go easier. These songs were influenced by African tribal songs, work chants, and “hollers”. But even after the slaves were given back their freedom, they were not considered as equals by the rest of the population. Most of them were poor, their living accommodations were bad, they were illiterate and despised. It was under these circumstances the term “being blue” appeared. The color blue expressed a feeling of sadness, depression, and of being lonely. While Negro spirituals lent itself to a choral treatment and expressed the Blacks’ need for spiritual guidance, the blues was about people and their everyday struggles. Blues lyrics were about money problems, broken hearts, loneliness, and sickness. Melancholy, however, is most frequently the theme; the essence of the blues is in such traditional lines as “Got the blues, but too damn mean to cry”. Sometimes the lyrics even criticized social and political injustice. The composer Arnold Shaw describes the blues in his book The World of Soul this way: “Even though the blues describes people without a home, without love, money, status, and identity, these people were not without hope. There was melancholy, but not without merriment; frustration, but not without expectations; despair, but not without determination; suffering, but not without endurance.”
Musical Characteristics of the Blues
A blues song has a basic rhythm and a melody rhythm. The basic rhythm remains the same throughout the song and carries the melody line. The melody line is improvised. A blues song is foremost played on a guitar, but also on harmonica and banjo.
W.C. Handy: “Father of the Blues”
It would be impossible to write about blues without mentioning a man named W.C. Handy (1873-1958). He is often referred to as “Father of the Blues”. He was a musician and a composer himself, and he started gathering old blues songs and writing them down, something that hadn’t been done before. He wrote over 60 blues tunes, and also rewrote some melodies that were circulating. Among the most known Handy songs, we find “Memphis Blues”, “Blues Destiny”, and “St. Louis Blues”. The sheet music to “St. Louis Blues” has been sold in over 3 million copies.
The Blues and Jazz: Boogie-Woogie
There are also connections between blues and jazz. Boogie-woogie is a particular style of piano playing in early jazz. It is constructed on a 12-bar blues scale. Socially, it has its origin in Florida and Missouri. Many believe it, musically speaking, to have been developed from early piano jazz from St. Louis or Kansas City. In 1900, it was known as “honky-tonk” in New Orleans. Boogie-woogie is characterized by right-hand melody improvisation and left-hand repeated rhythmic motive, a sort of “walking bass”.
Rhythm and Blues: Mainstream Blues
There is also a blues style called Rhythm and Blues, or just the abbreviation R&B. It is often referred to as “Mainstream Blues”, and has influenced musical styles like rock’n’roll and soul. In fact, soul and R&B are very similar to each other.
Legendary Blues Artists
There have been many famous blues artists. Maybe the most legendary being Robert Johnson (1912-ca. 1938).
Robert Johnson: The Crossroads Legend
Legend states that he went down to a crossroad and struck a deal with the devil, which made him able to play the guitar like no mortal could do. He recorded some immortal blues classics in 1936 and 1937, like “Cross Road Blues” and “Sweet Home Chicago”. He has been the inspiration of numerous guitar players, not only in the blues genre. There have been many other great blues artists, like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Howlin’ Wolf, and, last but not least, Lead Belly.