A Short History

Of the Blues

How did the Blues Begin?The blues is a style of music that formed from the

music brought to the United States by slaves. The slaves would sing to each other in the fields

to make the work go faster. They would often sing about topics such as love, the unfairness of

their situations, and other troubles they all shared and wanted to express.

Later, African-American sharecroppers in the South would sing to express their feelings about many of the same topics their ancestors did. The blues style became a combination of field hollers,church music and work songs.

Sharecroppers picking cotton

The Mississippi Delta Blues

Where is the Mississippi Delta?

What are the Delta Blues?

The Delta Blues are thought to be the first kind of formalized blues.

These songs were not written down but were passed along by word-of-mouth. Other musicians would change the words and some of the chords to make it their own.

Typically, acoustic guitar and harmonica were the main instruments used.

Most songs were 12 measures in length and followed an AAB lyric pattern.

The Mississippi Delta stretches from Memphis, Tennessee to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

It is bordered by the Mississippi River and Highway 61 which is the same Highway 61 that

we travel on in Missouri.

W.C. Handy“Father of the Blues”

Video clip explaining why Handy is considered the

“Father of the Blues”

ComposerBorn: November 16, 1873Died: March 29, 1958

W.C. Handy Compositions

Yellow Dog Blues-1912Beale Street Blues-1916

In 1905,W.C Handy was waiting for a train in Mississippi.

He fell asleep on a bench and when he woke up, he heard a

man playing a strange style of music. The man used a knife

against the guitar strings to make a slurred, moaning kind

of sound. Handy thought this sounded strange but he also

wanted to know more about it. He didn’t invent the blues but he brought attention to the style.

Important Delta Blues ArtistsCHARLEY PATTON

ROBERT JOHNSON

SON HOUSEBLIND LEMON JEFFERSON

MUDDY WATERS

These are just SOME of the great Delta Blues singers. There were many more who played in the Delta Blues style.

Charley Patton

Because of his strong singing voice and the fast complex rhythms he was known for producing he was a popular performer at many plantation parties.

Charley Patton lived on the Dockery Plantation and spent his time with

the musicians that would come in and out. His

father disapproved but he learned the guitar and

traveled around to other plantations to perform.

Patton mentored and inspired many young Delta blues singers who worked at Dockery’s. Many of these singers copied his style.

Robert Johnson

•Robert Johnson is one of the most mysterious blues singers we will study. Some say he is the most important Delta blues singer who ever lived.

•Historians think Robert was born in 1911 and died around 1938 after being poisoned by a woman’s jealous husband.

•There is a legend surrounding Robert Johnson that says he went to the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in order to become a better musician.

•He traveled a lot. He didn’t like to stick around one place and he didn’t like to travel much with other people.

•He always dressed neatly and his audiences were drawn to him and the way he used emotions in his music.

Notable Robert Johnson Songs:

• “Crossroad Blues”• “Sweet Home Chicago”

• “Love In Vain”

Muddy WatersMuddy Waters is unique because he began as a Deltablues singer but later moved to Chicago and becamean important part of the Chicago blues movement.

He went from farmer to big city musician and recordingartist. He inspired many Rock and Roll musicians.

Women and the BluesAfrican-American women had even fewer rights than African-American men during theBlues era. However, women needed a creative outlet to express their feelings as well. The women you see below sang songs about problem they faced in their lives that other African-American women could identify with. In turn, these women were able to earn money and fame for performing their music.

Bessie Smith Ma Rainey Memphis Minnie Alberta Hunter

The Great Migration and the Blues

Many African-Americans were tired of the lack of opportunities being offered to them in the South.

During the Great Migration, huge numbers of African-Americans traveled to the north. Many Delta

blues singers ended up in Chicago where they began to record their music. The blues style began to change. More instruments were added to songs, including the new electric guitar. The blues were introduced to a whole new group of people who

hadn’t heard this type of music before.

Electric guitar changed the blues.

The Blues TodayMany of the greatest blues songs have been and are still

currentlybeing performed by modern artists. The blues is an art form that is still entertaining people around the world. The blues serve as a musical look into the history of the development of the United States during a very hard time. The blues was created as a style of music to express emotion and that is

still what the blues accomplish today. Here are some contemporary groups who perform the blues.

The Rolling Stones

Eric ClaptonJohn Mayer