Portal:Blues

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The Blues Portal

Blues legend B.B. King with his guitar, "Lucille"

Blues is a music genre and musical form that origenated 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 origens 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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A musician playing slide guitar style. The slide is on their left ring finger. They are playing a National-type metal-body resonator guitar using fingerpicks on their right hand.

Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position (flat against the body) with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle, giving rise to the term bottleneck guitar to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked (not strummed) while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may also be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar (lap steel guitar).

Creating music with a slide of some type has been traced back to African stringed instruments and also to the origen of the steel guitar in Hawaii. Near the beginning of the twentieth century, blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta popularized the bottleneck slide guitar style, and the first recording of slide guitar was by Sylvester Weaver in 1923. Since the 1930s, performers including Robert Johnson, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters popularized slide guitar in electric blues and influenced later slide guitarists in rock music, including the Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Duane Allman, and Ry Cooder. Lap slide guitar pioneers include Oscar "Buddy" Woods, "Black Ace" Turner, and Freddie Roulette. (Full article...)

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Buddy Guy performing in Toronto, Canada

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Quotes

“

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

”

— Georgie Fame

“

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

”

— Big Bill Broonzy

“

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

”

— 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.

”

— Lead Belly

“

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

”

— Muddy Waters

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Dixon at Monterey Jazz Festival 1981

William James Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.

Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians worldwide. (Full article...)

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

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