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Popular contemporary Blues musicians include Sean Costello, Shemekia Copeland, Johnny Lang, Corey Harris, Susan Tedeschi and the North Mississippi Allstars. These artists range from classic delta-style Blues musicians to more rock-influenced musicians.

The phrase “the blues,” refers to a state of melancholy, depression, and “down spirits.” Though the term may have been used in African American music long before, the first recorded emergence of the Blues is W.C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues,” recorded in 1912.

Early Blues music was shaped by loose narratives describing the misery and misfortunes of the musicians performing. However, Blues could also be suggestive and humorous, as personified by Memphis Minnie’s “Down in the Alley.”

Blues music is traditionally played using the “blue notes” in a repetitive form on the twelve-bar structure. It developed from spirituals, praise songs, field hollers, and chants used by former African American slaves. Usage of the blue notes and the “call-and-response” patterns in Blues music are heavily reminiscent of the Blues’ West African heritage. Before WWII, the Blues and Jazz were not easily discerned. However, after the war, Jazz shifted from dancing music to the technically demanding, artistic style known as BeBop. From this point forward, the Blues and Jazz were split into two genres.

The Blues has played a strong role in influencing a wide variety of music, most notably the development of rock ‘n’ roll. The unchanged twelve-bar structure and flatted third of the tonic style of Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” is a strong example of how much the Blues influenced rock music. Popular “Blues-heavy” rock songs include “Johnny B. Goode,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Whole Lotta’ Shakin’ Going On,” “Tutti-Frutti,” “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” “What’d I Say,” and “Long Tall Sally.” While the African American rock musicians stayed true to the Blues by including double entendres and well concealed innuendos in their songs, white performers “sanitized” their versions of the same songs.

By the early sixties, rock ‘n’ roll and Soul music brought notoriety and new audiences to the Blues in the United States and the United Kingdom. Bands from the UK emulated the early Blues musicians and fused rock ‘n’ roll with the Blues to create their own unique style. Musicians such as Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and Cream played classic Blues songs from the Delta or Chicago Blues traditions. These British groups inspired American musicians such as Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, The J. Geils Band, and Ry Cooder. In addition, great deals of Led Zeppelin’s early hits were their versions of traditional Blues songs. Also, Jimi Hendrix was a musical rarity at the time: an African American man who played psychedelic rock. Because of these artists and others, Blues music heavily influenced the development of rock music.

During this time, Blues musicians such as John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters performed to enthusiastic audiences and also inspired artists such as Taj Mahal. In addition, B.B. King’s virtuoso guitar style earned him the title “King of the Blues.”

In the late sixties, the West Side style Blues began to develop in Chicago with musicians such as Magic Sam, Magic Slim and Otis Rush. The West Side style is personified by strong rhythmic support from the rhythm guitar, the electric bass guitar, and the drums. West Side style musicians Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Luther Allison played music marked by amplified electric guitar.

In addition to rock ‘n’ roll, both R&B and Funk music can be traced back to the Blues. Traditional spirituals and the Blues heavily influenced R&B. Spirituals are religious chants that were performed in the African American communities. They developed because of African American worship gatherings, which were called camp meetings. Early country Blues musicians influenced by spiritual signing include Skip James, Charley Patton, and “Georgia” Tom Dorsey. In addition, Dorsey helped to popularize Gospel music, which developed in the thirties with the Golden Gate Quartet. In the fifties, soul music by Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and James Brown used Gospel and Blues music elements. In the sixties and seventies, Gospel and Blues were merged into the style of Soul Blues music. Funk music, which developed in the seventies, was influenced by Soul, and is noted as a predecessor to R&B.

A resurgence of interest in the Blues occurred in the eighties, particularly among a niche of the African American population in the Deep South regions of the United States. This music has been named “Soul Blues,” or “Southern Soul.” Songs such as Z.Z. Hill’s “Down Home Blues” and Little Milton’s “The Blues is Alright” helped to illuminate this movement. Contemporary artists of this movement include Bobby Rush, Denise LaSalle, Sir Charles Jones, Bettye LaVette, Marvin Sease, Peggy Scott-Adams, Billy “Soul” Bonds, T.K. Soul, Mel Waiters, and Willie Clayton.

The eighties also saw resurgence in the popularity of John Lee Hooker, and he collaborated with Carlos Santana, Miles Davis, Robert Cray and Bonnie Raitt.

In the nineties, Eric Clapton, who had played with both the Blues Breakers and Cream, made a comeback with his MTV Unplugged album where he played Blues on guitar.

The Blues has continued on in its traditional form, but it has also evolved into new sub-genres, including the Texas rock-blues style, which is strongly influenced by the British rock-blues movement, and the West Side Blues. Major musicians of the Texas style include Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and ZZ Top.

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|| Bluegrass Music || Blues Music || Bossa Nova Music || Classical Music ||
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