Blues music…What is it?
By Caroline Montier
One thing that makes blues distinct is how personable and authentic the music truly is. Whenever a blues artist sings, they sing with intention and raw emotion. They also sing lyrics that come from their own lived experiences. A recent example of this would be Blues singer James Johnson who is also known as “Super Chiken”. In an interview with “60 Minutes” television show Johnson expressed the truth behind his lyrics: “I sing about the life I live.” In the interview, Johnson also explained that people come to him saying that “they want the blues” and his response to them is that “you don’t want the blues, you want the blues music.” What Johnson is doing is making a distinction; he is expressing that musicians and singers often aspiring to learn Blues music neglect the fact that playing and creating blues music is the aftermath of living through hardships. Blues music always tells a story, thus it is important for aspiring blues musicians to note that they will have to draw from troublesome experiences in their lives when attempting to make authentic blues music.
Blues music is a product of the social and racial struggles that Black Americans have experienced. Musically, it is a by-product of the field hollers that African American slaves would sing. Blues was born in the Mississippi Delta. The Great Migration, a time where African Americans were migrating from the South to the North for better jobs, the Blues began to spread. During that time Blues singer, Mamie Smith became the first black American to record and release a blues song. The song is titled Crazy Blues and was released in August of 1920. Mamie Smith began to pave the way for the many Blues artists that were to come.
In Summary, like other black music genres, blue music tells the sad yet beautiful stories of black American history.
