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……
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