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Chapter 2 “Everyday Seems Like Murder Here”
Telling It Like It Was
The nature of the blues stems from experiences in Mississippi Delta
Becoming a male adult in a social environment that denied manhood
Mississippi Delta
Fertile farmland on either side of the Mississippi River
Memphis, TN south (200 miles) to Vicksburg, MS
1840s land was cleared for farming
2 cash crops: cotton and lumber
Railroads connect to the outside
The region was: Backwards Almost feudal Agrarian Dominated by a few wealthy white plantation
owners/merchants Blacks outnumbered whites 4 to 1
African – Americans were still:
Lowest social stratum Denied basic civil/legal rights Limited access to public education/health
care Living conditions were crude/unsanitary
Homes lacked plumbing/electricity Diets lack nourishing food
White supremacy was maintained by repressive social practices:
Curfews Cross burnings Beatings Lynchings
Blues players were living/playing in the midst of this and thus were affected by this.
Working conditions were also difficult/dangerous
After Civil War (1865) the South was forced to free slaves
Yet it did not abandon plantation economy
Sharecropping
92% of the black population lived in rural south (1862)
By 1900 per capita income of the South was 51% of the national average.
Result: they owed more than they earned
Similar to sharecropping on plantations They performed back- breaking labor from
sunup to sundown Lived in unsanitary facilities Were perpetually in debt to the contractor No School
Levee contract labor system
After the Civil War the Federal Govt. hired white contractors who leased convicts
After the turn of the century this convict system gave way to Levee Camps
Discipline enforced by “strawbosses” and “shack bullies”
Workers were charged exorbitant fees for food, water, clothing, shelter, and recreation.
Many Delta blues musicians worked in or performed in levee camps
This helped shape their musical repertoire
Delta Blues Origins
The blues evolved from agrarian poverty and racial segregation
A folk music indigenous to the cotton belt Mostly African-American population Developed in isolation from dominant white
culture
First Delta blues similar to worksongs/field hollers
Earliest written description of the blues by Charles Peabody, 1901
By 1903 a slide was being used Subject matter focused on description of
hardships/injustices – no overt protest
Music soon gravitated toward recreation
Saturday night social gatherings – dated to slave era
Dances held in homes, outdoors, juke joints (later)
Originally, fiddle was main instrument
Repertoire included many Anglo-American fiddle tunes – suggesting that black and white musicians shared ideas.
Main break with old traditions was the use of the guitar and harmonica (harp)
Self-taught Delta guitarists were most traditional/original
Descended from 1 string instruments – diddley bow/berimbau
Berimbau
Diddley bows
check it
Famous account given by W.C. Handy
Slide technique allowed for approximation of arhoolies
Delta Blues Pioneers
Heart and soul of early Delta tradition Most famous blues artist in the region Youngest of 1st generation Delta bluesmen
Learned music from the Chatmon family
3 generations of string band music Example: “Sittin’ On Top of the World” Chatmons
Charley Patton came under the influence of Henry Sloan
Sloan never recorded Considered one of the “founding fathers” of
Delta blues
Patton and his cohorts spanned the gap between the songster tradition and newly emerging blues.
Disciples included Willie Brown, Son House, and Tommy Johnson
Songster – performed folksongs, popular songs, minstrel songs, and blues
Charley the Man
Huck Finn features Flashy dresser Rambler, rowdy, fun-loving prankster Loved to drink and socialize
Charley the Performer
Flamboyant/charismatic Also danced, told tales, bantered Played guitar behind his head, between his
legs, lying on his back
Patton’s playing emphasized rhythm over melody
Similar to West African drumming Stacking rhythms in layers Used voice as an instrument – rhythmic
effects Example: “Spoonful” "Will you kill my man?"
Patton was schooled in entire spectrum of black folk music
Re-worked 3 basic “tune families” Lyrically he fused vignettes of Delta life with
black oral tradition
Examples: “High Water Everywhere” and “Pony Blues”
Saddle up my black mare
Delta Blues Networks
Evidence suggest numerous networks, extended families, schools
Patton & Co. were most popular
3 Most Influential Bluesmen Who Played With Charley Patton
Willie Brown Tommy Johnson Son House
Willie Brown (ca. 1911 – ca. 1940s)
Spent most of his life in the Delta Expanded rhythmic possibilities of guitar Composed few songs Prominently mentioned in lyrics by Patton
and Robert Johnson
Prevailing Social Conditions Made it Difficult for Women to Perform Blues
Very dangerous lifestyle Women more likely joined church choir or
minstrel troupe The few exceptions were:
1. Josie Bush
2. Louise Johnson
3. Lucille Davis
4. Mattie Delaney
Tommy Johnson (1896 – 1956)
Spent most of his life in the Delta – Crystal Springs, MS
Sold his soul to the devil Flamboyant guitar style – behind head/between legs
Sold his soul to the devil
Crossroads is traditional domain of Legba
Yoruban trickster god identified with Satan
Jackson, MS
Hub of blues activity Only record talent scout in Deep South –
a H. C. Spiers
Son House (1902 – 1973)
Perfected slide guitar technique Spent time on Parchman Farm Associated with Patton and Brown early 1930s “Rediscovered” by folkies in early 1960s
Example: “Death Letter Blues”
Check the coolin' boardPreach it, Brother Son
Robert Johnson (1911 – 1938)
Key transitional figure between rural beginnings and modern urban blues
Born in Hazelhurst, MS – south of the Delta Married by age 19 – wife and child died in
childbirth
Restless spirit indicative of changing social consciousness among rural black population
“Travel on, poor Bob, just can’t turn you ‘round”
Johnson’s Musical tastes Ventured Beyond the Delta
Kokomo Arnold Scrapper Blackwell Lonnie Johnson
2 Recording Sessions
1st – San Antonio, TX 1936 2nd – Dallas, TX – 1937 Total of 29 blues tunes
Johnson’s Guitar Style was Far – Reaching
Tightening of rhythmic line was basis for urban blues to follow
Made guitar sound like a band Shuffle rhythms
Many of Johnson’s Tunes Borrowed From Others
“Walking Blues” from Son House’s “My Black Mama”
“Sweet Home Chicago” from Kokomo Arnold’s “Old Original Kokomo Blues”
“32 – 20 Blues” from Skip James’ “20 -20 Blues”
“If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” and “Travelling Riverside Blues” from traditional “rolling and tumbling” theme
Johnson’s Most Original Tune
“Hellhound On My Trail” “I got to keep on moving, got to keep on moving, Blues falling down like hail, blues falling down like
hail, Ummm blues falling down like hail, blues falling
down like hail, And the day keeps on reminding me there’s a
hellhound on my trail, Hellhound on my trail, hellhound on my trail.”
Themes in Johnson’s Music
Social themes/images that dominate Johnson’s music are representative of the early Delta
Mixture of personal observation and folklore updated black oral tradition
Mobility = personal freedom – “Rambling On My Mind”
Fatalism regarding forces against him – social/supernatural – “Crossroad Blues”
Dealings with the Devil
Implicit in Johnson’s philosophy Encouraged the legend of selling his soul to
the Devil “Me and the Devil Blues”
“Early this morning when you knocked on my door,
Early this morning when you knocked on my door, I said, “Hello Satan, I believe it’s time to go.”
Johnson’s Fatalism Implies a Capitulation to Overwhelming Social Constraints
He has nothing to lose Element of defiance toward white culture Manifest in an African icon, disguised as
Satan
