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Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated amongst African-Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture.
5 days ago · Learn about the origins, characteristics, and influences of blues music, a secular folk genre created by African Americans in the early 20th century. Explore the blues styles, forms, harmonies, and notable musicians such as W.C. Handy, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Bessie Smith.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The blues is a form of secular folk music created by African Americans in the early 20th century, originally in the South. Although instrumental ac...
- In the 19th century the English phrase blue devils referred to the upsetting hallucinations brought on by severe alcohol withdrawal. This was later...
- The origins of the blues are poorly documented, but it is believed that after the American Civil War (1861–65), formerly enslaved African Americans...
- In the early 20th century the blues (among several other popular genres of music) was considered seductive and destructive by parents and clergy wh...
- The blues has a distinct melancholic and somber tone, which is achieved through vocal techniques such as melisma, rhythmic techniques such as synco...
- Brett Milano
- 5 min
- BB King – The Thrill Is Gone. Producer Bill Szymczyk – yes, the same one who’d make millions a few years later with The Eagles – caused a small revolution when he added a string section to this track, otherwise one of many smooth ballads that BB King recorded in the 60s.
- Robert Johnson – Me And The Devil Blues. One of the last recordings he made, released on the Vocalion label in 1938, this classic fable about Satan calling in a debt, helped to fuel the long-held myth that Johnson had made a Faustian pact with the devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for musical success.
- John Lee Hooker – Boogie Chillen. Hooker’s biggest commercial success was during the years 1949 to 1951 when he was in his thirties; he put six singles in the US R&B charts, the first of which was “Boogie Chillen,” which went all the way to No. 1.
- Little Walter And His Jukes – My Babe. Louisiana harmonica player and singer Marion Jacobs is better known by his blues sobriquet “Little Walter,” and rose to fame in the 1950s when he racked up 15 hits for Chess Records’ Checker imprint including “My Babe,” which spent five weeks at the summit of the US R&B singles charts in 1955.
The best blues and blues rock songs of all time. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker. Play all.
Jan 26, 2024 · Learn what is blues music, a classic American genre that originated from African traditions and influenced rock 'n' roll, jazz, and R&B. Discover the historical roots, musical elements, legendary artists, and famous songs of blues.
- Musicnotes
Sep 3, 2021 · A Guide to the Blues History and Sound. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Sep 3, 2021 • 3 min read. American blues is a musical genre with enduring cultural importance that originated in the mid-nineteenth century. Explore.
5 days ago · Blues developed in the southern United States after the American Civil War (1861–65). It was influenced by work songs and field hollers, minstrel show music, ragtime, church music, and the folk and popular music of the white population.