The blues comes from two other forms of music:

Spiritual – a song which tells a Bible story

Work Song – sung in the fields by slaves to pass the time.

The history of the BLUES

Born from African musical traditions of singing songs to tell stories

Despite the name, music was not meant to be sad – rather it was a way to feel better about life’s problems

What musical progression is used for blues music?12 bar blues

The Blues

The “Father of the Blues” Son of a conservative pastor who

forbade him from playing the guitar

Learned to play the cornet instead

Handy couldn’t get his songs published, so he started his own publishing house.

His biggest hit was “St. Louis Blues,” written in 1914.

W.C. Handy (1873- 1958)

The first “blues” songs heard by whites were sung by lady blues

singers like ‘Ma’ Rainey,

Mamie Smith and

Bessie Smith.

‘Ma’ RaineyMamie Smith

Bessie Smith

The “Empress of the Blues” The most important and influential of the woman blues singers from the early twentieth century.

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee; began recording in 1923

Bessie Smith 1894–1937

This was the type of recording that introduced white America to the blues.

Accompaniment—reed organ and cornet Louis Armstrong on cornet Fred Longshaw on reed organ (pump organ)

Call and response between cornet and Smith

Lyrics: Feeling tomorrow like I feel today Feeling tomorrow like I feel today I’ll pack my trunk and make my

getaway.

Listening: “St. Louis Blues,” by W. C. Handy, sung by Bessie Smith (1925)

Louis Armstrong moves to NY

In 1924 Louis Armstrong left King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band to pursue a solo career in New York.

Earlier that year he had married Lil Hardin, a jazz pianist.

He recorded “St. Louis Blues” with Bessie Smith.

Later, he founded his band The Hot Five and they recorded “West End Blues”

Intro – Armstrong’s most famous trumpet cadenza

0:13 – one chord heard by band0:16 - trumpet plays melody; clarinet and

trombone accompany0:50 – Trombone solo1:25 – clarinet plays as

Armstrong scats2:00 – piano solo by

Earl Hines, the first great jazz pianist

West End Blues

What is a cadenza?- a virtuosic solo played or sung by a soloist in

a free rhythmic style (not necessarily keeping a steady beat).

What is scat?- nonsense syllables sung and made up on the

spot (improvisation!)

New words

Swee-dle doo-bee do bop, sca-rata-tat-too……

Louis Armstrong: Basin Street Blues

In the 30’s and 40’s “The Blues” found a home in Detroit and Chicago.

John Lee HookerMuddy Waters

Some of the best…Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Elmore James.

T-Bone Walker brought “the Blues”to Houston, and the legendary B.B. Kingcalled Memphis his home.

B.B. King

Lyrics are almost always set the same wayFive verses of AAB form

The first two lines of each verse are the same, and the third line rhymes with the first two

Example:Ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, crying all the timeAin’t nothing’ but a hound dog, crying all the

timeYou ain’t never caught a rabbit, you ain’t no

friend of mine.

The Blues Lyrics

Form a group of 4-5 people

Work for 10 minutes to create your lyrics. There should be 2 phrases, the first of which is repeated.

Sing and/or teach your lyrics to the class

You can sing your lyrics to the melody of “Hound Dog” or create your own melody.

Write your own blues song!