Portal:Blues

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The Blues Portal

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 has incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture. The blues form is ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, and is characterized by the call-and-response pattern, the blues scale, and specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues is the most common. Blue notes (or "worried notes"), usually thirds, fifths or sevenths flattened in pitch, are also an essential part of the sound. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect known as the groove.

Blues music is characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation. Early traditional blues verses consisted of a single line repeated four times. It was only in the first decades of the 20th century that the most common current structure became standard: the AAB pattern, consisting of a line sung over the four first bars, its repetition over the next four, and then a longer concluding line over the last bars. Early blues frequently took the form of a loose narrative, often relating the racial discrimination and other challenges experienced by African-Americans.

Many elements, such as the call-and-response format and the use of blue notes, can be traced back to the music of Africa. The origins of the blues are also closely related to the religious music of the African-American community, the spirituals. The first appearance of the blues is often dated to after the ending of slavery, with the development of juke joints occurring later. It is associated with the newly acquired freedom of the former slaves. Chroniclers began to report about blues music at the dawn of the 20th century. The first publication of blues sheet music was in 1908. Blues has since evolved from unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves into a wide variety of styles and subgenres. Blues subgenres include country blues, Delta blues and Piedmont blues, as well as urban blues styles such as Chicago blues and West Coast blues. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially white listeners. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called blues rock developed, which blended blues styles with rock music. (Full article...)

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Indianola Mississippi Seeds is B. B. King's eighteenth studio album. It was released in October 1970 on ABC Records on LP and May 1989 on MCA Records on CD. On this album B. B. King mixed elements of blues and rock music. Producer Bill Szymczyk decided to follow up on the success of the hit "The Thrill Is Gone" by matching King with a musical all-star cast. The result was one of King's most critically acclaimed albums and one of the most highly regarded blues crossover albums of all time.

The album appeared on several of Billboard's album charts in 1970, reaching number 26 on the Pop album chart, number seven on the Jazz album chart and eight on Billboard's listing for "Black Albums." The album also generated several hit singles, "Chains and Things", King's own "Ask Me No Questions" and Leon Russell's "Hummingbird". (Full article...)

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Albert King in concert, 1968.

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Quotes

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Blues is really America's finest art form and most dominant art form of the 20th century.

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— Georgie Fame

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Blues is a natural fact, something that a fellow lives. If you don't live it, you don't have it.

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— Big Bill Broonzy

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The blues is a low-down achin' heart disease
Like consumption killing me by degrees.

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— Robert Johnson, "Preaching Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)"

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When you lay down at night, turning from one side of the bed to the other and can't sleep, what's the matter? Blues got you.

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— Lead Belly

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The blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll.

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— Muddy Waters

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Howlin' Wolf in 1970

Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chicago blues, and over a four-decade career, recorded blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and psychedelic rock. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time.

Born into poverty in Mississippi, Burnett became a protégé of Delta blues musician Charley Patton in the 1930s. In the Deep South, he began a solo career by performing with other notable blues musicians of the day. By the end of the decade, he had established himself in the Mississippi Delta. Following a number of legal issues, a stint in prison, and Army service, he was recruited by A&R man Ike Turner to record for producer Sam Phillips in Memphis. His first record "Moanin' at Midnight" (1951) led to a record deal with Chess Records in Chicago. Between 1951 and 1969, six of his songs reached the Billboard R&B charts. His studio albums include Howlin' Wolf a..k.a The Rocking Chair Album, a collection of singles from 1957 to 1961, The Howlin' Wolf Album (1969), Message to the Young (1971), The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1971), and The Back Door Wolf (1973). His reputation grew throughout the blues revival of the 1960s, and he continued to perform until November 1975, when he performed for the last time alongside fellow blues musician B.B. King. He died on January 10, 1976, after years of deteriorating health. In 1980, Howlin' Wolf was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various blues-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Cedric Burnside, 2018 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 2Bobby "Blue" Bland (from List of blues musicians)
Image 3Keb' Mo', 2012 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 4Blind Lemon Jefferson (from List of blues musicians)
Image 5Deborah Coleman, 2009 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 6Lowell Fulson in Paris, 1980 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 7Kenny Neal, 2012 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 8Son House (from List of blues musicians)
Image 9Ethel Waters, 1943 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 10Pinetop Perkins in Paris, 1976 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 11Susan Tedeschi, 2006 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 12RonnieEarl, 1996 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 13Koko Taylor, 2006 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 14Mamie Smith (from List of blues musicians)
Image 15Dexter Allen, 2004 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 16Corey Harris, 2006 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 17Buddy Guy, 2008 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 18Robert Jr. Lockwood, 1982 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 19Curley Weaver (from List of blues musicians)
Image 20Alvin Youngblood Hart, 2009 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 21A watercolor painting of a camp meeting circa 1839 (New Bedford Whaling Museum). (from Origins of the blues)
Image 22Eric Bibb, 2006 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 23Luther Allison (from List of blues musicians)
Image 24Willie Dixon at Monterey Jazz Festival, 1981 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 25Master Kora maker Alieu Suso in the Gambia (from Origins of the blues)
Image 26Albert Collins at Long Beach Blues Festival, 1990 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 27Jimmy Burns, 2012 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 28Luther Tucker, 1964 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 29George "Harmonica" Smith, 1980 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 30Ma Rainey (from List of blues musicians)
Image 31Billy Boy Arnold (from List of blues musicians)
Image 32Jimmy Witherspoon, 1974 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 33Emancipation from Freedmen's viewpoint; illustration from Harper's Weekly 1865 (from Origins of the blues)
Image 34John Lee Hooker in Toronto, 1978 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 35Jay McShann in Edinburgh, c.1995 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 36Bessie Smith, 1936 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 37B.B. King in Rome, 1984 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 38T-Bone Walker at American Folk Blues Festival, Hamburg, 1972 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 39Eric Clapton, 2006 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 40Buddy Moss in Georgia prison camp, 1941 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 41Debbie Davies, 2019 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 42Paul Butterfield at Woodstock Reunion, 1979 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 43Eddie Shaw, 2015 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 44An 1890s photo of the tourist steamer Okahumke'e on the Ocklawaha River, with black guitarists on board (from Origins of the blues)
Image 45Lonnie Johnson, 1941 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 46Freddie King in Paris, 1975 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 47Roy Rogers, 2014 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 48Albert King in Paris, 1978 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 49Chris Thomas King, 2005 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 50Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843 (from Origins of the blues)
Image 51Eddie Clearwater in Montreux, 1978 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 52Henry Townsend, 1983 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 53Lead Belly (from List of blues musicians)
Image 54Big Joe Williams, 1971 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 55Charlie Musselwhite, 2003 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 56Son Seals, 1977 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 57Shemekia Copeland, 2019 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 58Jimmy Rushing, 1946 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 59Big Joe Turner, 1955 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 60Memphis Minnie, 1930 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 61Muddy Waters with James Cotton, 1971 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 62Junior Wells, 1983 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 63Lucky Peterson (from List of blues musicians)
Image 64Joe Louis Walker, 2007 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 65Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, 1999 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 66Robben Ford, 2007 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 67Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 2010 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 68Louis Jordan in New York City, 1946 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 69Hubert Sumlin in Montreux, 1978 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 70Robert Cray, 2007 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 71Mississippi Fred McDowell, 1972 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 72Sara Martin and Sylvester Weaver (from List of blues musicians)
Image 73"Sweet Home Chicago" performed at the White House with Barack Obama joining B.B. King on the chorus (from List of blues standards)
Image 74Mississippi John Hurt, 1964 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 75Otis Rush, 1997 (from List of blues musicians)
Image 76Jimmy Rogers, 1991 (from List of blues musicians)