the blues

This orginal American music depicts the hardships of those struggling to survive, with all the relationship problems that everyone else, black and white, were experiencing in America.  The black popular music reflected a lot of emotion in the lyrics and in the delivery, as the singers assured one another that they were experiencing the same troubles and the same blues that their brothers were experiencing.

In trouble with their women, in trouble with their bosses, in trouble with each other and in trouble with the law.  NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I'VE SEEN!  But, the blues also has a flip side celebrating life. . . to it's fullest.  A bluesman may sing a song of despair and turn right around a follow it up with a real fest of happiness.  The blues covers both ends of the mood spectrum.  Somewhere along the line, soul music replaced blues as the preferred popular music of many American blacks.  Of recent years, rap is the rage, with blacks and whites.

Blues is now, quite amazingly, appealing to as many or maybe more whites than blacks.  The audiences of many black blues artists are now predominately white folks.  It may be this ongoing search by many to find the roots of the music they enjoy today with country, rock and roll, or whatever.

Blues has been called THE DEVIL'S MUSIC, even by some blues musicians.  Part of this reason may have come from the fact that much of blues came from church goers who acquired their vocal and instrumental skills singing spirited gospel songs.  They then began singing lyrics with secular messages and felt they had abandoned the church and lent their talents to the Devil.  Many believe that the blues has its roots in gospel music.  The Bible has a special message for those who are among the "poor in spirit".

The racial answer to why many today are not familiar with pure blues may be that many cannot relate to these troubles in America, early in the century, because they are not black.  The blues is just another world to many white music listeners and even to some blacks.  The class answer may be that many do not relate to the troubles that a lower class of people expresses in their music (lower class meaning "people who are easily taken advantage of by other people" (or feel they are taken advantage of by other people)--the exploitED rather than the exploitERS).  All blues singers and performers seem to understand and feel empathy for those who are anguished in their lives with all their personal troubles--whether they are black, white or any other color.  The blues in the music of Hank Williams, Sr. expresses the plight of poor whites sharing their hardships in verse.  But again, just because Hank Williams was white, doesn't mean some blacks could not relate to his music.  It works both ways!

With a lack of curiosity and investigation; no doubt, many music listeners will live their lives without hearing the blues in its root form, recorded by these polished musicians.  This page is meant to act as an introduction to the blues for those who are curious and wish to investigate the blues for themselves to gain a better appreciation of what this genre of music is all about.  The first time I watched the movie "The Blues Brothers", I had a hard time relating to the blues I heard in the movie.  Then in time and with several viewings of this classic, I learned to enjoy the rich fabric of this style of music performed by the Blues Brothers and other blues artists.  "Blues Brothers 2000" is also full of blues music and blues musicians.

Out of curiosity, I rented The Complete Works of Robert Johnson from my local library.  His blues were very primitive and raw, but the same is said about the country recordings of Hank Williams, and my page on country music expresses my appreciation for Hank's music.  Johnson had a great influence on many blues artists who followed him and although he was not the first bluesmen, he is the one they still all talk about with such reverence.  More than any other genre of music, blues performers are known for their live performances and the works of many throughout the years were never recorded for future generations of listeners.  Robert Johnson's 29 songs were, along with alternate takes on about a dozen of them.

The following is a list of bluesmen, I've listened to and enjoyed.  These are the handful that I'm familiar with to a degree, as I'm very new to this style of music.  My favorite at this point in time is Howlin' Wolf--maybe its the Wolf in him that wins me over?:

B. B. King is known for "Everyday I Have the Blues" and "The Thrill Is Gone".  John Lee Hooker is known for "Boom Boom" and "Boogie Chillen'", among many others.  Elmore James hit the bluesworld with "Dust My Broom", "Standing At the Crossroads", "The Sky Is Crying" and the electrifying "Shake Your Moneymaker"; to name just a few of his famous numbers.

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