A Brief History of the Blues

-blending of European and African music

-“blue” means depression or melancholy (since the Elizabethan era)

-through oral tradition as far back as the 1860s.

- the slaves sang songs filled with words telling of their extreme suffering-field holler: “They gave voice to the mood of alienation that prevailed in the construction camps of the South,”

-Mississippi Delta that blacks were often forced to work on the levee and land-clearing crews, where they were often abused and then tossed asideor worked to death

-Southern prisons also contributed considerably to the blues tradition through work songs and the songs of death row and murder, prostitutes, the warden, the hot sun, etc.

-call and response emerged

-the guitar did not enjoy widespread popularity with blues musicians until about the early 1900s. Until then, the banjo was the primary blues instrument.

-the blues first became popular around 1910 and gained popularity through the publication of W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914).

-During the 1930s and 1940s, the blues spread northward with the migration of many blacks from the South and entered into the repertoire of big-band jazz

-The blues also became electrified with the introduction of the amplified guitar. In some Northern cities like Chicago and Detroit, during the later forties and early fifties, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, and Elmore James among others, played what was basically Mississippi Delta blues, backed by bass, drums, piano and occasionally harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs

-In the early nineteen-sixties, the urban bluesmen were "discovered” by young white American and European musicians.

-Many of these blues-based bands like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Cream, Canned Heat, and Fleetwood Mac, brought the blues to young white audiences

-Some rock guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen have used the blues as a foundation for their original styles.  

20 Greatest Blues Albums of All Time: http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/the-20-greatest-blues-albums-of-all-time/

Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911–August 16, 1938) Blues Legend

Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911–August 16, 1938)

ROBERT JOHNSON (1911- 1938) “Many have dubbed Johnson the father of modern rock and roll.

Of all early bluesmen, Robert Johnson can be considered one of the more prolific. Although he did not live long enough to become as popular as many of the other earlier blues artists, his music has influenced a number of musicians who dramatically changed music history.

Popular covers of his songs have been recorded by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Elmore James, The Red Hot Chile Peppers, and many, many others.

Some find interesting the Legend behind the Legend: a partnership with the Devil- his soul for music infamy.

Even more interesting is the reality of the man. Although little is known about his history (adding to the rumors surrounding his life) the music remains.

(con’t)

ROBERT JOHNSON (1911- 1938) (Pt. 2)

Throughout Rock and Roll, among guitar player's circles, and reverberating through blues fans conversations, Robert Johnson is a name commonly heard.

Including the material that never saw issuance on 78's, there are 29 compositions and alternate versions of nearly half of them. Including the recent discovery of a previously unknown alternate take of one of Johnson's recordings, a total of 42 recordings remain to this day--the only recordings of one of the true geniuses of American music, blues singer extraordinaire Robert Johnson.

He was rambling so fast, in fact, that he rarely gave anyone more than a glimpse at his shining star. Indeed, he hardly received more than a casual, passing glance, and was seen at the time by only a few of his musical associates and even fewer aficionados to be the consummate artist he was.

To the world at large…Robert Johnson is the most influential Bluesman of all time and the person most responsible for the shape popular music has taken in the last six decades!”

Some Song Titles: “I Believe I’ll dust My Broom”“Rambling on my Mind”“Dead Shrimp Blues”“Cross Road Blues”“Hellhound on my Trail”“They’re Red Hot”“Me and the Devil Blues”“Milk Cow’s Calf Blues”“Drunken Hearted Man”

   

Taken from: http://www.deltahaze.com/johnson/index.htm

Cross Road Blues -Robert Johnson I went down to the crossroadfell down on my knees I went down to the crossroad fell down on my knees Asked the lord above "Have mercy now save poor Bob if you please"Yeeooo, standin at the crossroadtried to flag a rideooo ooo eeeI tried to flag a ride Didn't nobody seem to know me babeeverybody pass me byStandin at the crossroad baberisin sun goin downStandin at the crossroad babe eee eee eee, risin sun goin downI believe to my soul now, Poor Bob is sinkin downYou can run, you can run tell my friend Willie BrownYou can run, you can run tell my friend Willie Brown(th)'at I got the croosroad blues this mornin Lordbabe, I'm sinkin downAnd I went to the crossraod mommaI looked east and westI went to the crossroad babyI looked east and westLord, I didn't have no sweet woman ooh-well babe, in my distress

I Believe I'll dust My Broom -Robert Johnson I'm gonna get up in the morninI believe I'll dust my broomI'm gonna get up in the morninI believe I'll dust my broomGirlfriend the black man you've been lovingirlfriend can get my room 

I'm gonna write a lettertelephone every town I knowI'm gonna write a lettertelephone every town I knowIf I can't find her in West Helenashe must be in East Monroe I know 

I don't want no womanwants every downtown man she meetsI don't want no womanwants every downtown man she meetsShe's a no good dooneythey shouldn't allow her on the street  (con’t)

I Believe I'll Dust My Broom (p. 2) -Robert Johnson

I believe, I believe I'll go back homeI believe, I believe I'll go back homeYou can mistreat me here babe,but you can't when I'm back home 

And I'm gettin up in the morninI believe I'll dust my broomI'm gettin up in the morninI believe I'll dust my broomGirlfriend the black man you been lovingirlfriend can get my room I'm gonna call up Chineysee is my good girl over thereI'm gonna call up Chinasee is my good girl over thereI can't find her on Phillipine's islandshe must be in Ethiopia somewhere

Sweet Home Chicago -Robert Johnson 

Oh baby don't you want to goOh baby don't you want to goBack to the land of Californiato my sweet home Chicago 

Oh baby don't you want to goOh baby don't you want to goBack to the land of Californiato my sweet home Chicago 

Now one and one is twotwo and two is fourI'm heavy loaded babyI'm booked I gotta go

Cryin babyhoney don't you want to goback to the land of Californiato my sweet home Chicago (con’t)

Sweet Home Chicago -Robert Johnson (p. 2)

Now two and two is fourfour and two is sixYou gonna keep monkeyin round here friend-boyyou gonna get your business all in a trick 

But I'm cryin babyhoney don't you wanna goBack to the land of Californiato my sweet home chicago 

Now six and two is eighteight and two is tenFriend-boy she trick you one timeshe sure gonna do it again 

But I'm cryin hey heybaby don't you want to goback to the land of Californiato my sweet home Chicago

Dead Shrimp Blues -Robert Johnson 

I woke up this mornin and all my shrimp was dead and goneI woke up this mornin ooh and all my shrimp was dead and goneI was thinin about you baby, why you hear me weep and moan

I got dead shrimp here someone is fishin in my pondI got dead shrimp here, oohsomeone fishin in my pondI served my best bait baby and I can't do that no harm 

Everything I do babe you got your mouth stuck upHole where I used to fish, you got me posted upEverything I do,You got your mouth stuck upAnd the hole where I used to fish baby you've got me posted out

I got dead shrimp here someone fishin in my pondI got dead shrimp here someone fishin in my pondCatchin my goggle eyed perches and they barbequein the bone

Now you take my shrimp babeyou know you turned me downI couldn't do nothin, till I got myself unwound 

Eric Clapton sees Johnson as "the most important blues musician who ever lived.” He described Johnson's music as "the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice."

When Keith Richards was first introduced to Johnson's music by his band mateBrian Jones, he replied, "Who is the other guy playing with him?", not realizing it was all Johnson playing on one guitar.

"Robert Johnson, to whom we all owed our existence, in some way.” —Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin

An important aspect of Johnson's singing, and indeed of all Delta Blues singing styles, and also of Chicago blues guitar playing, is the use of microtonality—his subtle inflections of pitch are part of the reason why his singing conveys such powerful emotion.

In the summer of 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Johnson at number five in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

The Influence of Robert Johnson