1. The Blues U.S. History

2. Quotes on the Blues • “If you don’t know the blues, there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.” • Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones • “Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed” • Alberta Hunter • “Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen” • Amy Winehouse

3. Amy Winehouse and the Rolling Stones

4. What is “The Blues” ? • Generally speaking, blues refers to a genre (type) of American music • In considered to be folk music, along with country, bluegrass, gospel, and jazz. • Predominantly African American • Guitar is the central instrument, piano and harmonica are also important • Lyrics deal with struggle, spirituality, death, “hard living” • Blues has influenced many other genres of music, including jazz, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues (R&B)

5. Guitars

6. Origins of the Blues • The Blues originated in the Deep South towards the end of the 1800’s. • However, music that influenced the Blues started long before • West African (drums and rhythm) • Slave Work Songs (timed with work) • Negro Spirituals (call and response) • European Folk Music (use of guitar)

7. Origins of the Blues

8. The Mississippi Delta • The Mississippi Delta refers to the Northwestern part of Mississippi. • “The Most Southern Place on Earth” • Mississippi and Yazoo rivers; flooding • Major cotton producing region • Slavery before the Civil War; sharecropping after. • High poverty, then and now.

9. Delta Blues • One of the most well-known styles of the Blues. • Heavily rhythmic • Use of a bottleneck slide • Lyrics about the hard life in the Delta.

10. The Delta Today

11. Robert Johnson • Hazelhurst, Miss • Widely considered to be the greatest bluesman • Sold his soul to the devil! • Died at age 27 (poisoned) • “Crossroads Blues” • “Sweet Home Chicago”

12. Eddie “Son” House • Clarksdale, Miss • MARCH 21st, 1902!!! • Originally a preacher/ pastor • Imprisoned from 1928-29 for killing a man (allegedly in self defense) • “Re-discovered” in the 1960’s and began playing again until his death. • “Death Letter Blues”

13. Skip James • Bentonia, Miss • Known for his dark, sad, minor sound • Worked as a sharecropper and laborer • Rediscovered around the same time as Son House. • “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues”

14. Blind Willie Johnson • Brenham, Texas • Learned how to play on a cigar box guitar • More religious than most bluesmen. • Remained a preacher until his death. • “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground”