The Blues by: Makayla Leonard

Blues is a mere of music that was made in the 1870s.  It was inspired by negro spirituals and mostly highlighed the pain and suffering that blacks had to go through. However, some musicians of the blues genre did not express their misery. Originating in the deep south, specifically Mississippi, Blues was sang primarily by African American women. It gave them the opportunity to express themselves, their thoughts and feelings about their lives. The first Blues superstar, Bessie Smith, brought the rest of the country’s attention to the Blues being heard in clubs all throughout the Mississippi Delta region. Bessie Smith got her stardom in the 1920s and 30s and became known as the Empress of Blues music. Songs would often be heard with a singer talking about their relationships and how they felt and what they might do about it. Bessie Smith’s music was no different. She had hundreds of thousands of copies sold, her best selling song called Down Hearted Blues, is what put her on the map. The song is closely related to her past and present life, while also foreshadowing the events for her life to soon come.

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