Mark Henderson answered
The Blues originated from African-American communities in the south of the United States.
At the beginning of the 20th century, blues music began to develop out of traditional work songs, shouts and chants practiced by African Americans.
The first blues songs to be published as sheet music were "Dallas Blues" by Hart Wand in 1912 and "The Memphis Blues" by W.C Handy in 1913. The first African American vocalist to be recorded was Mamie Smith who sang a rendition of Perry Bradford's "Crazy Blues".
Little was documented about the roots of the blues, due both to low literacy rates of African American communities, and to institutionalized racism within American society and academic circles.
The blues became popular during the 1920s and especially after the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Before the crash, the blues had been rooted in the social alienation and injustice experienced by African Americans. However, in the harsh economic times of the great depression, everybody could identify with the melancholy nature of the genre.
After the Second World War - and with the introduction of electric guitars and amplifiers - blues became to take a new form. Spearheaded by artists such as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, B.B King and Jimmy Reed, the music eventually began to evolve into what became known as rock n roll.
This then influenced pioneering artists such as Elvis, who in turn heavily influenced The Beatles and The Rolling Stones; and which led to the formation of rock and pop music. All modern guitar based music has its roots in the blues.
At the beginning of the 20th century, blues music began to develop out of traditional work songs, shouts and chants practiced by African Americans.
The first blues songs to be published as sheet music were "Dallas Blues" by Hart Wand in 1912 and "The Memphis Blues" by W.C Handy in 1913. The first African American vocalist to be recorded was Mamie Smith who sang a rendition of Perry Bradford's "Crazy Blues".
Little was documented about the roots of the blues, due both to low literacy rates of African American communities, and to institutionalized racism within American society and academic circles.
The blues became popular during the 1920s and especially after the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Before the crash, the blues had been rooted in the social alienation and injustice experienced by African Americans. However, in the harsh economic times of the great depression, everybody could identify with the melancholy nature of the genre.
After the Second World War - and with the introduction of electric guitars and amplifiers - blues became to take a new form. Spearheaded by artists such as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, B.B King and Jimmy Reed, the music eventually began to evolve into what became known as rock n roll.
This then influenced pioneering artists such as Elvis, who in turn heavily influenced The Beatles and The Rolling Stones; and which led to the formation of rock and pop music. All modern guitar based music has its roots in the blues.
