The Blues
|
I love listening to the blues. Whether its harmonica or guitar,
saxophone or keyboard. The blues is music truly of America and
the blues has touched every part of the American Music Scene. You
probably find it strange that I can listen to the upbeat style
of Jimmy Buffett, and still enjoy blues of B.B. King and Buddy Guy;
but I see the two styles as the Ying and the Yang of my musical taste.
The blues were originally sung by the slaves while they worked, but it was a music style with new beat that is hard to explain since I have no formal music training... but that what the blues brought... a non-formal music style. This new rhythm could be heard in the gospel as well as jazz music that was indigenous to the Black Americans at the turn of the century. In the 30's & 40's White Americans started incorporating the new beat into their big band sounds and swing music. As the 50's rolled around the a new music evolved for teenagers and it's name was rock and roll. Rock and roll was a term used by blacks sometime ago as a phrase for "sex". Well Elvis helped make it mainstream. Chuck Berry and Little Richard pushed music to new places. At the same time country music had started incorporating tales of woe and desperation into it's themes. Well the 60's came with it's British Invasion and it is difficult to find British Artists of the 60's that weren't inspired by American Blues. Led Zeppelin was highly influenced by blues musicians of the 30's like Blind Lemmon Jefferson... and from Zeppelin evolved the Heavy Metal scene of the 70's and 80's. Well the 90's have brought us to Rap Music which I see more as urban poetry rather than a form of blues music, but it has the necessary elements... I guess. A lot of Country Music in the 90's has more of a rock sound as well as picking up more despair while loosing some of its twang. Blues music has come along way and has influenced many forms of music. If you listen to music more than likely blues has touched the music you listen to some how. Some of my favorite blues artists are Keb' Mo',Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Gary Moore, The Blues Brothers, Ray Charles, Melissa Etheridge, Muddy Waters, Sam and Dave, and of course the man that got me listening to blues music when all I wanted to listen to was incredible guitar work...the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn. Just for reference this is knowledge I have come across without verification, but somewhere along the line I picked up these pieces of information of music that I love. If you find any inaccuracies that you can verify please let me know. I just felt like creating a page in tribute to my favorite music and I am willing to make any corrections and document such information. Mike |