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| JOHN LEE HOOK |
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| ROBERT CRAY |
In the film 'The Jerk' Steve Martin
says, "Wanna sing some blues, Son?" "No, Ma, there's something
about those songs that sure depresses me." Again this is Hollywood and
people from there on thought the Blues was all about somebody leaving, the dog
left or die and so on. This is not the Blues original and it even was played as
a party music, at one time.
The original blues was a mixture of
African and European folk music, gospel, and work song and started in the
Southern States of America. To start with Blues musician were busking and
travelling from factories to plantations to bars and mostly on pay-days playing
whatever was requested and paid.
It is thought that the first
recording was 'Memphis Blues' in 1912 by W. C. Handy. He was a black bandleader
and copied the style from street musicians when he was touring in the South.
From 1920 the Blues' records started selling. When Ma Rainey brought out the
'Cracy Blues' which was a hit many record companies and singers followed.
Bessie Smith and Victoria Spivey sold single by the millions. That was Blues cleaned-up
and genteel. It differs from the down-to-earth back woods slide-guitar music
which was played in bars. That kind of Blues was played mostly by jazz
musicians. Up to this point the musicians were all men. When they introduced
the so-called 'classic' Blues the performers were all women.
In the '30s the so-called Delta blues
started to emerge. The name derived from that most singers lived in the area of
the Mississippi. The most famous of the Delta pioneers was Robert Johnson.
There was story going round that he sold his soul to the devil to be able to
play the guitar. If it was true it worked and was cheaper than paying for
lessons. He only recorded 37 songs and died at the age of 26. He was poisoned
by a jealous husband. His music lives on and the 'Love in vain' and Ramblin' on
my mind' are still played and recorded today.
In the '30s and '40s great numbers of
black Americans moved up to the industrial North to work. They also brought
their music with them and performed in bigger and noisier places. Nobody could
hear them. The electric guitar was invented and with added drums, bass and
brass they could be heard above the noise. In Memphis the Blues had a great
influence on the early Rock 'n' Roll.
The Blues is mostly associated with
Chicaco because of the Chess Recording Studio. There emerged some famous names
like, Chuck Perry, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon and the 'King of the Chicago Blues'
Muddy Waters. Songs like 'Mannish Boy' and 'Got my Mojo working' became famous.
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MUDDY WATERS |
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B B KING |
In the '80s the cult film 'The Blues
Brothers' brought the Blues a revival. B B King made a name in '50s and now
still playing to a much younger audience. John Lee Hooker is also still playing
and now more known then in his earlier career. Songs like 'The Healer', 'Mr
Lucky', 'Boom Boom' and 'Don't Look Back' made him famous.
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| ERIC CLAPTON |
Eric Clapton has returned to his
roots with 'From the Cradle' combining the traditional blues guitar of B B King
with the soulful voice of Sam Cook. A new-comer Robert Cray made award-winning
albums with songs like 'Bad Influence and 'Strong Persuader.' He joined Eric
Clapton and Tina Turner on a sell-out tour.
Nowadays, most of the Blues is played
in Pub and bars. Small record labels are sold in low numbers which makes the
Blues return to its earlier days.
SUMMARY: The Blues is the real music coming right from the heart and
soul about their lives and hardship. It was played and sang in the evening for
entertainment. After a hard day's work they were dreaming about their homeland
and family in Africa
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