tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37293631461999181842024-02-06T22:01:14.847-08:00Everything BluesEverything about the blues, including history of the music form and details about the lives and the music of some well-known blues musicians.Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-69285307354931711762010-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:002010-09-05T14:48:32.773-07:00Steve LaVere's New Robert Johnson ResearchCheck out Living Blues magazine's Issue #203, which details results of <a href="http://www.tdblues.com/?p=578">Steve LaVere's research</a> into the life of blues legend, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_(musician)">Robert Johnson</a>. Jason, who writes <a href="http://www.tdblues.com/">TheDeltaBlues</a>, also published an article about LaVere's look at early census records that shed light on Johnson's short life.Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-30833959335747505232010-08-27T10:43:00.000-07:002010-08-27T11:51:17.106-07:00Delta Blues, by Ted Gioia<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I just bought a copy of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Delta Blues</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> The book was written by <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1463506700">Ted </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://tedgioia.com/TedGioiaBio.html">Gioia</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and published in 2008 by W. W. Norton and Company. Already, Delta Blues has received rave reviews including those published in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The New York</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> New</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Times, Rolling Stone, <a href="http://www.livingblues.com/">Living Blues</a>, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Publishers Weekly, and the Dallas Morning News</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The book's cover even bears a seal identifying it as </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"A Book Review Notable Book of the Year - The New York Times." Nice...... </span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I actually chose </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://tedgioia.com/deltablues.html">Delta Blues</a></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> as a gift for someone special who loves blues music and its history. But since I also like blues and its amazing history, I just had to flip through its pages to see just what this book is all about. Well, let me tell you this: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Delta Blues</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> is destined to be a must-read for blues enthusiasts everywhere. And it will likely become required reading for certain degree programs that focus on music and history. The book is also a perfect fit as reading material in courses that explore society and culture, particularly Southern culture. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Contained within the book's 449 pages are chapters named for some of the best known blues songs around, including </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Hard Time Killin' Floor"</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hellhound</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on My Trail."</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Other chapters are named for locations in Mississippi that are significant not only to those who follow the blues trail, but to others who like to delve into the state's history and its influence on the development of blues as an art form. Examples of these chapter names are <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1463506716">"</a></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1463506716">Dockery's</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dockery_Plantation"> Plantation,"</a> <a href="http://www.deltablues.net/dawg.html">"Where the Southern Crosses the Dog,"</a> and "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Parchman</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Prison." Also included in the book are </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a dozen or so black and white copies of actual photographs of some early blues musicians. One such photograph was taken in <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1463506728">H.C. </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bFZNmK4x1MIJ:www.tdblues.com/%3Fp%3D1111+h+c+speirs+store&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">Speir's</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> store in Jackson, Mississippi, a place, according to the book, that was a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"magnet for blues musicians such as <a href="http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/Bio.html">Robert Johnson</a> and <a href="http://www.nps.gov/history/delta/blues/people/skip_james.htm">Skip James</a>, who came .....to record...." </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By writing "</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Delta Blues</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">," Ted </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gioia</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> has superbly chronicled the history of a music style he believes to be </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"the most influential musical tradition America (has) produced."</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Gioia's early training was in jazz and piano, but he developed an early interest in blues music. Ultimately, it was this interest in and his lifelong dedication to exploring the history and influence of the Delta blues that led to writing this book that is destined to become a classic.</span><br />
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</i>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-78849765944664797242010-08-18T08:55:00.000-07:002010-08-27T18:45:50.169-07:00Free Concert - Willie Brown Blues Benefit - Tampa, FL - August 26, 2010<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">Several months ago, I was contacted by Jason, the administrator of </span></span></span><a href="http://www.tdblues.com/?page_id=977"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">TheDeltaBlues</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;"> website. Jason asked if I might be willing to help promote the </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">Willie Brown Blues Benefit</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;"> scheduled for </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">Sunday, August 26, 2010, at Rick's On The River, in Tampa, Florida</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">. I gladly agreed to do so. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">According to the website, the purpose</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;"> of the benefit is to raise money to have a headstone created and placed at the Good Shepherd Church in Tunica, Mississippi. Mr. Brown is currently buried in an unmarked grave. The expected cost of the headstone is $2100. Although the concert itself is free, money will be raised from raffles and live auctions during the concert. A donation bucket will also be available for those who wish to make cash contributions toward the purchase of the headstone. For more information about this concert and its worthy cause, contact Jason at </span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.tdblues.com/?page_id=977"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #783f04;">http://www.tdblues.com</span><span></span></span></span></a>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-53811548737179839472010-02-13T12:21:00.001-08:002010-02-13T12:45:07.020-08:00Java Music and Books Now Open for Business!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Our new online store, offering 45s and LPs from the 50's to the 80's is now up and running. Check out our selection of Northern Soul, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Doo-Wop, Rock and Roll, and 70s and 80s Rock at </span></span><a href="http://www.gemm.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">www.gemm.com</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Go to "</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">advanced search</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">," locate "seller" box, and type in "j<i>avamusic</i>." Hit search, and all available records will be listed. We offer high quality merchandise shipped securely and expeditiously. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For additional selections of fine music and books, you can also visit us on <a href="http://www.ebay.com">Ebay.com</a>, using search word <i>Vance41</i> to see a complete listing of items for sale. We have unique offerings that include both rare records and a wide assortment of books.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Happy Shopping!</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-75861453030302644562009-01-26T17:29:00.000-08:002009-01-26T19:11:27.762-08:00Blind Lemon Jefferson - "Father of the Texas Blues"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaYHXOpxQrzIWnucLkfgXeeVXPoJUn_v03Rn-zf7UKRmkcRbl9Lxfg0Y1RHqw_sXbMlovQYHJ3nMaBefKHU-6GuGn8f2lH_-e4S3Zbtdg-AmfklpOcabXnAexBEIbl-_40qpTB4apnVs/s1600-h/Blind+Lemon+Jefferson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaYHXOpxQrzIWnucLkfgXeeVXPoJUn_v03Rn-zf7UKRmkcRbl9Lxfg0Y1RHqw_sXbMlovQYHJ3nMaBefKHU-6GuGn8f2lH_-e4S3Zbtdg-AmfklpOcabXnAexBEIbl-_40qpTB4apnVs/s320/Blind+Lemon+Jefferson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295805087838403762" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >Blind Lemon Jefferson was a very influential blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920's and has been called "Father of the Texas Blues".</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >He probably was born in 1897 in Coutchman, Texas, but some claim some earlier and some later dates. In his 1917 draft registration he gave his birth date as October 26, 1894, further stating that he then lived in Dallas, and that he had been blind at birth. He was one of eight children born to a sharecropper. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >Jefferson began playing the guitar in his early teens and played at picnics and parties. He also became a street musician, playing in East Texas towns performing in front of barbershops and on street corners with a tin cup. By the early 1910's, Jefferson began traveling to Dallas, where he met and played with fellow blues musician Leadbelly. He was one of the most prominent figures in the blues movement developing in Dallas' Deep Ellum area. <br /><br />In 1917, he moved more permanently to Deep Ellum where is met T-Bone Walker. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of blues guitar in exchange for Walker occasionally serving as a guide.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >What distinguishes Jefferson from the other blues performers of his generation was his singular approach to the guitar, which established the basis of what is today known as the Texas style. He strummed or "hammered" the strings with repetitive bass figures and produced a succession of open and fretted notes, using a quick release and picking single-string, arpeggio runs. T-Bone Walker later applied this technique to the electric guitar and, combined with influences of the jump and swing blues of the regional or "Territory" jazz bands of the 1920's and 1930's, produced the modern sound. <br /><br />But is was also his extraordinary voice which gave him his popularity in every town he visited. His repertoire reached beyond the blues form into rags and dance pieces. Jefferson traveled extensively and seems to have met a great many bluesmen, from Robert Wilkins to Son House, who remembers meeting him not only in Texas but also in the Delta area, Memphis and beyond.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br />In late 1925 or early 1926, he was taken to Chicago, Illinois to record his first tracks. Two gospel recording were released under the name Deacon L. J. Bates. This led to a second recording session in March, 1926. His first release under his own name, "Booster Blues" and "Dry Southern Blues" were hits and led to the release of two other songs "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues", which became a runaway success, with sales in six figures. Between 1926 and 1929, 43 records were issued, all but one for Paramount Records. Studio techniques and quality were infamously bad, sounding as if they had been recorded in a hotel room. He re-recorded his hits "Got the Blues" and Long Lonesome Blues" in superior facilities and subsequent releases used that version.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >Due mainly to his popularity, along with Blind Blake and Ma Rainey, Paramount became the leading recording company for the blues. He was reportedly unhappy with his royalties and in 1927 he moved to Okeh Records. They quickly recorded and released "Matchbox Blues" and "Black Snake Moan", which was to be his only recording for Okeh, because of his contractual obligations. Also in 1927, he recorded another of his now classic songs, the haunting "See That My Grave is Kept Clean". It was such a hit, it was re-recorded in 1928.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br />As his fame grew, so did the stories regarding his life. T-Bone Walker stated that as a boy, he was employed by Jefferson to lead his around the streets of Dallas. A Paramount employee stated that Jefferson was a womanizing sloppy drunk. On the other hand, Jefferson's neighbors report that he "warm and cordial", and singer Rube Lacy states that Jefferson refused to play on Sunday. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" >The best of what he did became the bedrock of the country blues, and his songs later became standards recorded many hundreds times over - often scoring hits for rock 'n' roll performers from Lonnie Donegan to Bob Dylan and The Beatles.<br /><br />He died in 1929, probably from a heart attack suffered during the time of a chilling cold in Chicago. Jefferson became a legend who's career never suffered the hardships of the Depression, or the gradual shift of popularity away from country blues to other forms of musical entertainment. But he will always be known as "The Father of the Texas Blues".<br /><br />Sources: Blues-Keeping the Faith, The Handbook of Texas and Wikipedia </span>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-40609090967201165732009-01-04T12:32:00.000-08:002009-01-04T15:29:23.679-08:00Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tUNudZHu1VZwOgJ_JMXD5f-iOltVbrDjkgLrjyhu8NCXRroMnwPkWIG0TQoFQUw5mbu4QQx2KFuY5cyIhkZGLoJjRLQrHdNgTgZaZbIFKRZJ60Nz_hw2ptBK_js1_cIVPhyphenhyphendUCOnYsQ/s1600-h/robert+johnson+1-2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tUNudZHu1VZwOgJ_JMXD5f-iOltVbrDjkgLrjyhu8NCXRroMnwPkWIG0TQoFQUw5mbu4QQx2KFuY5cyIhkZGLoJjRLQrHdNgTgZaZbIFKRZJ60Nz_hw2ptBK_js1_cIVPhyphenhyphendUCOnYsQ/s320/robert+johnson+1-2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287582097978863906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Robert Johnson was born in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hazlehurst</span>, Mississippi, May 11, 1911, but spent most of his early life in levee camps and on plantations in the Northern Delta. He moved with his family to Memphis in 1914, staying there until 1918, when his stepfather sent him to live at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Abbay</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Leatherman</span> Plantation near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Robinsonville</span>, Mississippi. There Johnson began playing harmonica and associating with older blues musicians. He followed local <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">bluesman</span> Willie Brown to parties and fish fries, accompanying him on many songs. Soon Johnson was playing with Brown and his partner, Charley Patton, when Patton came to town. <br /><br />He was very young when he jumped into marriage in 1929; she was 15, he was 18. The marriage was short lived, in that the mother and baby died in childbirth a year later. <br /><br />During this time of mourning Johnson met <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">bluesman</span> Son House, who had been released from prison at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Parchman</span> Farm. House's guitar playing had a profound effect on Johnson and he abandoned the harmonica for the guitar. Johnson tagged along with Brown and House to Memphis to play for tips at Church's Park. House and Brown would belittle Johnson for his lack of guitar skills when they had been drinking. So Johnson left and returned to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Hazlehurst</span>.<br /><br />While in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Hazlehurst</span> in 1931, Johnson married an older woman, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Caletta</span> Craft, who supported him, during which time he practiced his picking and learned new songs from phonograph records. He had a excellent ability to pick up tunes on his first hearing.<br /><br />There are several stories on how Johnson became so proficient at playing the guitar. There is a story that he met and practiced with Ike Zimmerman and that he learned to play the guitar while sitting on tombstones in a graveyard. Another, more popular story, was that Johnson, who was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician, was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Dockery</span> plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it, giving him the mastery of the guitar, and handed it back to him in return for his soul. In exchange, Johnson became able to play, sing and create the greatest blues anyone had ever heard.<br /><br />He and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Caletta</span> took to the road, but before long, he deserted her and severed all ties with her and her family. His wanderlust took him to coal yards, speakeasies, camps and taverns in the Midwest and East Coast. He returned in 1933, demonstrating his proficiency and was accepted as a truly outstanding <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">bluesman</span>.<br /><br />But it was his recordings that were to have the widest impact. He recorded twice, once in San Antonio, Texas in November, 1936 and again in Dallas in June, 1937. Listening to commercial records yielded him artistic dividends. The 29 songs recorded during <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">those</span> two sessions display an appreciation for the medium by being tight, thematically coherent and short enough for one side of a 78 disc. The performances were unequalled. Bottleneck leads alternating with driving <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">rhythms</span> and lyrics sung in a high tense voice created masterpieces of the genre. When the recordings were over, Johnson <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">presumably</span> returned home with cash in his pocket, probably more money than he'd ever had at one time in his life.<br /><br />He was quite young, 27, when his life was cut short when he was poisoned at a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">juke</span> joint in Three Forks, Mississippi. There are a number of accounts and theories regarding the events preceding Johnson's death. One of these is that one evening Johnson began flirting with a woman at a dance. One version of this rumor says that she was the wife of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">juke</span> joint owner, who unknowingly provided Johnson with a bottle of poisoned whiskey from her husband. Researcher Mark McCormick claims to have interviewed Johnson's poisoner in the 1970's, and obtained a tacit admission of guilt from the man. When Johnson was offered an open bottle of whiskey, his friend and fellow blues legend, Sonny Boy Williamson knocked the bottle out of his hand, warning him that he should never drink from an offered bottle that had already been opened. Johnson allegedly said "don't ever knock a bottle out of my hand." Soon after, he was offered another open bottle and accepted it, and it was that bottle that was laced with strychnine. David "Honey Boy" Edwards, another famous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">bluesman</span> was also present, and essentially confirms this account.<br /><br />After feeling ill, he was helped back to his room in the early morning hours. Over the next three days, his condition steadily worsened and witnesses reported that he died, August 16, 1938, in a convulsive state of severe pain, symptoms that are consistent with strychnine <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">poisoning</span>.<br /><br />The precise location of his grave remains a source of ongoing controversy, and three different markers have been erected at supposed burial sites outside Greenwood. Research in the 1980's and 90's strongly suggests Johnson was buried in the graveyard at Mt. Zion Missionary <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Baptist</span> Church, north of Greenwood.<br /><br />Robert Johnson is considered to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll. His vocal phrasing, original songs and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians. He is ranked 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">th</span> in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time.<br /></span></span>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-30445687409416110912008-09-26T10:51:00.000-07:002008-09-30T14:44:02.775-07:00Beale Street - The Rebirth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSpeDi3Ct0Tqxe0dC4xzlzJecXw5rYhpQ_kvNcXrW6RVP1-qQoQ0-_W04tHAowhoLdpgBtHkV7gV7iYfpd0l5jRdijdFBBcgQU3L1luv7BAuDNLtEaWE0GC_OktaUySJDSi_BovN7auU/s1600-h/beale+street+rebirth.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251922608313164674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSpeDi3Ct0Tqxe0dC4xzlzJecXw5rYhpQ_kvNcXrW6RVP1-qQoQ0-_W04tHAowhoLdpgBtHkV7gV7iYfpd0l5jRdijdFBBcgQU3L1luv7BAuDNLtEaWE0GC_OktaUySJDSi_BovN7auU/s400/beale+street+rebirth.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span><div></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">1982 was the beginning of the rebirth of Beale Street. John Elkington headed the new commercial development, when at the time, there was only two businesses that were operating between Second and Fourth in the heart of the Beale Street district. Only one survived the decade. Only A. Schwab continued its century-long tradition of selling dry goods from the same storefront.<br /><br />In 1983, Senator John Ford pushed a bill through that allowed alcoholic drink purchasers to buy a drink between Second and Fourth on Beale Street and legally carry it on the street. This helped in transforming Beale Street back to its earlier position as an entertainment center for the city. This measure allowed visitors and locals to enjoy the music and spirit in a more relaxed, carefree and open environment. </span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">Another important decision made in 1983 was to allow businesses to be opened on Sunday. This made possible full weekend utilization of the entertainment district and allowed a more "inclusive" approach to Beale Street. Also, in 1987, a special board of the National Park Service voted to continue the Historic Landark status between Second and Fourth Streets.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">Other attractions that helped in the rebirth of Beale Street was the moving of W.C. Handy's "shotgun" type home to Fourth and Beale and and the Walk-of-Fame with its notes than lined the sidewalks between Second and Fourth. Among the earliest honorees were W. C. Handy, Memphis Silm, Nat D. Williams, Furry Lewis and B. B. King.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#ffffff;">In 1988, John Elkington summed up the goals of Beale Street as (1) Returning commerce to the street, (2) the street would become the music and entertainment center of the community and (3) it would be become a place where citizens of all races would be welcome.<br /><br />It isn't hard to see the connection between Beale Street and the blues. Rural blacks came to the city to find work and less oppression. Their music traveled with them in their head, hands and hearts. A good example is that of B. B. King coming to Memphis to find his cousin, Bukka White.<br /><br />The connection between the blues and rock 'n' roll is a little less obvious. Rock 'n' roll is what happened when whites tried to sing the blues. Rythm and blues is what happened when blacks speeded up the blues and added special touches. Stax Records became one of the foremost rythm and blues recording studios in the early 1960's with artists like Otis Redding, Issac Hayes and Rufus and Carla Thomas. None of this music would have happened if not for Beale Street<br /><br />The buildings of Beale Street today include the folowing famous establishments: Alfred's on Beale, Alley Cats, A. Schwab, B.B, King's Blues Club, Beale Street Tap Room, The Black Diamond, Blues City Cafe and Band Box, Club 152, Dyer's Famous Hamburgers, Double Duece, Eel Etc. Fashions, Hard Rock Cafe, King's Palace Cafe, Memphis Music, Mr. Handy's Blues Hall, New Daisy Theatre, New York Pizza, Pat O'Briens, People's Billard Club, The Pig on Beale, Psychics of Beale Street, Rum Boogie Cafe, Shake Shack, Silky O Sullivan's, Strange Cargo, Tater Red's and Wet Willies<br /><br />And if you want to experience a real "Blues Happening" visit Beale Street on May 1, 2 and 3, 2009 for the Beale Street Music Festival. It's the Mardi Gras of the Mid-South.</span> </span></div>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-3421319229341572702008-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:002008-09-26T10:50:47.809-07:00Beale Street - The Early Years<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXdhlObxFVxduCvSbFRv6tZuyhACV6o_t-zj5kdLNVB5OEvEN6CInXBqs1k_v8zuM1fUWG-W4UTvhEKf6ff0khkqt5Dym1-OynF7o-eIILVYWW3hZfiHQAaO4xH2jGiCFMa0DUB9G6Uw/s1600-h/Beale+Street+for+Blues+Blog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXdhlObxFVxduCvSbFRv6tZuyhACV6o_t-zj5kdLNVB5OEvEN6CInXBqs1k_v8zuM1fUWG-W4UTvhEKf6ff0khkqt5Dym1-OynF7o-eIILVYWW3hZfiHQAaO4xH2jGiCFMa0DUB9G6Uw/s400/Beale+Street+for+Blues+Blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250388849775453458" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;font-size:130%;" >P</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;font-size:130%;" >rior to the 1860's, Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee was a residential area for middle-to-upper income whites, and where blacks worked as their house servants. But after the end of the Civil War, blacks came in increasing numbers to live on or near Beale Street, as many former slaves fled to relative freedom of the city rather than stay on the plantations.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">After 1878, Memphis suffered greatly from cholera and yellow fever epidemics. But the African-American population continued to increase due to a lower death rate than the whites. The blacks also continued to live in town because they had nowhere else they could go. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">Around 1890, the African-American population was 50% of the areas population. By this time, black Memphis now had its own commercial center - Beale Street. Though is was never fully complete, Beale Street became known as the "Main Street of black Memphis" by the 1890's.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">One of the first to develop Beale Street as a black business center was Robert R. Church, who ran a saloon on Beale Street in the 1860's. He also bought up property, established businesses and sold property to blacks and whites who also wished to serve the growing African-American community in south Memphis. He also established a bank to primarily serve the local businesses and residents. Another great contribution by the Church family was "Church Park", six acres around the First Baptist Church, which included a 2,000 seat auditorium. It served as as a scene of school graduations, political events, dances and held large church meetings and conventions. It was replaced in 1929 with a smaller community center that continued to serve the above mentioned functions.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">Around 1900, the ownership of local businesses spread to include Irish and Italian-Americans, and from the 1920's to the 1970's, a significant number of Beale Street businesses were owned and operated by Jewish-Americans. In 1898, a city public works project - Beale Street Market, brought about greater interaction among the local African-Americans and the new immigrants to this country. By 1910, a good-sized Italian population centered their businesses near the market. The "Market" was torn down in 1928 and the site converted to become W. C. Handy Park.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">Saturday night was primarily the time for the hard-working African-Americans to "let off" a little steam. The bars and clubs stayed open as long as was allowed. Jam sessions by blues musicians were heard throughout the night and the entertainment ranged from fancy parties to wild and rowdy gambling and drinking establishments. Pee Wee's Saloon was where W. C. Handy did the orchestration for his first blues song, "Memphis Blues". He used a rented office on Beale Street to compose and write the lyrics to the that song and where he also composed his famous song "St. Louis Blues". Music echoed up and down the street almost any hour of the day or night. Without question, Saturday night was when the musicians played the loudest and longest.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">From the 1890's to the 1940's the music was mostly the blues. More particularly, it was the Mississippi Delta blues. But even in the black community, there were many who opposed the blues and all its connections. Understandably, the ministers of the community opposed the late nights, the alcohol and the loose sexual behavior that went on around the blues joints of Beale Street. Plus, the money that was spent on Beale Street would never make it to the church coffers. Even middle and upper class blacks were as opposed to the goings-on of Beale Street because that was a reminder of all that they sought to avoid or get beyond.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">One event on Beale Street that started in the great depression, the "Cotton Makers Jubilee" parade has continued into the latter part of the 20th Century. Black churches, schools and civic organizations competed on the march down Beale Street for prizes and other honors. In 1982, the "white" Cotton Carnival and the "black" Cotton Makers Jubilee parade joined together to become Carnival Memphis.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: georgia;">In this place, where many culture changes have been made, where cotton was king, "Beale Street" and the "Blues" have endured.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span><br /></span></span></span></div></div>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-63440355635985549952008-09-24T14:23:00.000-07:002008-09-24T15:38:58.831-07:00Delta Blues-Where the Music Meets the Soul<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmevO_6QorkqNhkPSpm9aKIi5bJkz3-JdzCbgetdAZzH8gmduNZXktQbZ5YD280OaamjLNL4k9mfriVyqHlcaqx35NhMgEkvD6g_YAkWRzDkz0sxS30_0qHigPZZ4lbvf7WDF3ySKeL_w/s1600-h/Everything+Blues-Delta+Map.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249720535781954242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmevO_6QorkqNhkPSpm9aKIi5bJkz3-JdzCbgetdAZzH8gmduNZXktQbZ5YD280OaamjLNL4k9mfriVyqHlcaqx35NhMgEkvD6g_YAkWRzDkz0sxS30_0qHigPZZ4lbvf7WDF3ySKeL_w/s400/Everything+Blues-Delta+Map.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:180%;">D</span><span style="font-size:130%;">elta Blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis in the north to Vicksburg in the south, the Mississippi River on the west to the Yazoo River on the east. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Mississippi Delta was fertile ground for the roots of the blues. With its history of racial oppression, the Klu Klux Klan and Jim Crow laws, with baking heat, rampant poverty and illiteracy, the delta was a cruel place for many African-Americans well into the middle of the 20th Century.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The songs and music of the early Delta blues were passed down orally, in written form, and later preserved in field recordings made by traveling musicologists such as the father and son team of John and Alan Lomax in the early 1940's. The earliest blues recordings were made in the 1920's, but very little recording took place in the Mississippi Delta area. Delta blues musicians headed to northern cities for recording sessions, then headed back home to the Delta to continue playing juke joints, fish fries and dances.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Delta area has produced the largest number of important and influencial blues artists. Although it was never a major center for the music business, its is still the emotional heart of the blues for musicians, travelers, fans and historians. Some of the more famous Delta blues musicians were Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Robert Johnson, Bukka White, Elmore James, Skip James, Willie Brown, Muddy Waters and Mississippi John Hurt, to name a few.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The defining characteristics of Delta blues is instrumentation and the emphasis on rhythm and "bottleneck" slide; but the basic harmonic structure is not substantially different from that of blues performed elsewhere. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery. The early recordings consist mainly of one person singing and playing an instrument, though the use of a band was more common during live performances.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Take a trip through the Mississippi Delta region and as you travel through this historic area, see if you can feel the heart and heartbeat of the music, the people, the events and the culture that make up the Delta Blues.. </span></span></div>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-31947946113224924422008-09-23T15:07:00.000-07:002008-09-23T17:02:08.596-07:00Father of the Blues - W.C.Handy<span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;">A</span>s stated in " Blues-Keeping the Faith ", W.C. Handy's role in the propagation of blues is not without controversy: his early status as "Father of the Blues" is a title he gave himself in his autobiography. In the decades since his death in 1958, there has begun to emerge constant scrutiny to the fact that he was an astute and sharp-eared musician/publisher who was sufficiently on the ball to incorporate blues elements into the music of his bands, collect blues materials in his travels and publish some of the earliest blues songs. Whether these were his own compositions or 'realized' and codified from melodies and samples he came across in his professional life is often a moot point, because it was a widespread practice of copyrighting the works of others in the first 40 years of 1900's.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Handy was born in Florence, Alabama and was trained at an early age to play a variety of instruments, specializing in the coronet. He was also trained to read and notate music and the basics of arranging. all thses skills were used as he began to earn a living with traveling minstrel</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">shows, which was the principal means of entertainment for the common folks during those days. From 1896 to the mid-1900's he was a fixture in Mahara's Minstrels, running his own troupes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">A song written in 1908 as "Mr. Crump", was published in 1912 as "Memphis Blues" and became a huge success. Two years later came the classic "St. Louis Blues", which possibly Handy took the two simple melodies from folk sources and wove them into his own composition. Nevertheless, the song became immensley popular and helped launch a blues craze in the next 5 years.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">During the 1920's and 1930's Handy ran his own business for a while and used a variety of orchestras, working wiht Jelly Roll Morton and later swing players J. C. Higginbotham</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">and Big Sid Catlett. As he became out of step with performing practices and fashion, he concentrated on publishing and songwriting. This withdrawal from performance was confirmed by an accident which left him blind in 1943. He spent the rest of his life writing his autobiography, arranging publishing matters and being an elder statesman for his race and musical peers.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;"></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;color:#ffffff;"></span>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-75892322144495953372008-09-21T12:58:00.000-07:002008-09-21T14:39:37.306-07:00W. C. Handy<span style="color:#ffffff;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248591630893059650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtfaFvXhrvxjPUFQw52FV6rcHhjxz1EoZcwpT2vQbjyJAIRaEE98Laojds3HU6QvJKg03XP_7ZPLEJTfE-M0N6qaRxBSle9k5CzAv09IYYFDHCsYim7l77Ji-C94N5dSJR-9Na-Kz3vY/s400/everything+blues+-+w+c+handy.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">W. C. Handy </span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;color:#ffffff;">wrote St. Louis Blues, and his statue stands big and tall A Handy Park in Memphis, Tennessee, near the popular area known as Beale Street. handy is often called "The Father of the Blues."<br /><br />But who was W. C. Handy, and how did get that title?<br /><br />"The geography of the blues," Martin Scorsese, who produced a series of videos that chronicle the history of the blues, says "is both a route to a particular time and place as well as a road map to the human soul. The ability of the music to connect with universal feelings of desire, love, loss and bitter disappointment makes the music fertile soil." </span>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3729363146199918184.post-64127615850203404002008-09-19T11:47:00.001-07:002008-09-19T12:21:32.589-07:00The Beginning of the Blues<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXAYD5Pzd0WaC8dNe4ddnritOYa7D-En0-QjKwB6GmZi23ybDD4-IEjnfJdcl1utEjtKoYdDEYOHA5gFZuM54etkCGKdjqBA-AeyM1n-kcWQnhRQ-eo0VWnb57Rwst1xoX_miBMSeVCo/s1600-h/Mississippi+Delta+Blues+Blog.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247813925683385586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXAYD5Pzd0WaC8dNe4ddnritOYa7D-En0-QjKwB6GmZi23ybDD4-IEjnfJdcl1utEjtKoYdDEYOHA5gFZuM54etkCGKdjqBA-AeyM1n-kcWQnhRQ-eo0VWnb57Rwst1xoX_miBMSeVCo/s400/Mississippi+Delta+Blues+Blog.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#330000;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;color:#330000;"></span></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:180%;">A</span>ccording to Wikipedia, the word "blues" is "a vocal and instrumental form of music, based on the use of the 'blue' notes. It emerged a......form of self-expression in African-American communities of the United States, from spirituals, work songs, 'field hollers', shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballards. The use of 'blue' notes and the prominance of 'call and response' patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of African influence." </span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">W. C. Handy has been called the "Father of the Blues."<br /></span></div><br /><div></div>Janice Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11418381065941525964noreply@blogger.com0