Blues Review

Published by Jewel Lewis

The genre of Blues rooted in Africa, but it developed in the southern united states after the American Civil War that took place from 1861-1865. It was heavily influenced by ragtime music and the music of white people. It is so simple that it seems timeless, but it started as women singing on stage about sex sadness and feeling “blue”. The genre of Blues wasn’t just for the race of black people, a various number of races sang it and enjoyed it.

From the beginning, the genre spoke in the first person discussing moving on and leaving your troubles behind. The genre could easily be improvised to anyone’s liking, but it was formed as dance music for people. The instruments for this genre were usually anything that you could find that made a noise, you just had to have a catchy unique beat. The subject matter of the Blues made it seem like sad music, but it is meant to be humorous. People sign about their misfortunes, but they make a joke out of it.  

            Eventually, the Blues inspired a lot of factors in the music industry such as minstrel shows (an American form of entertainment developed in the early 19th century), record companies (that initially ignored black artist and their music), and race records (music made by black people for black people). The most fertile soil for the Blues had to be in the Mississippi.

            The first Blues superstar was Bessie Smith. She sung about domestic violence, fighting back, and sex. Her music enticed a lot of people and that is why she became so famous. Then came Blind Lemon Jefferson, originally a street singer from Texas. Some people thought he sounded horrible, but once his music was put on records it sold all over the country.

            The genre of Blues is and has been a versatile genre of music. It ranged from the poorest people singing it while playing made-up instruments to famous Blues singers selling millions of records across the United States. It didn’t matter what you talked about as long as you said words to the rhythm of a beat.

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