In the 19th century American South, African-American slaves sang songs in the fields to ease mental anguish and communicate to the rhythm of their work without their masters' knowledge. At the time the songs were known as field hollers, and they were really the foundation of the blues known today. The first forms of blues were not recorded or written down but memorized and shared live.
The term “blues” is coined from how the singers and instrumentalists utilize the “blue notes”. They are tonally between two standard notes, blurring the line between the major and minor scales.
The early blues music is known as the Memphis Blues, which began to gain popularity in the early 1900s. W.C. Handy, an educator turned minstrel show leader, is considered the father of blues. He made it popular in 1912 when he published “Memphis Blues”, originally a campaign song called “Mr. Crump.” He then published “St. Louis Blues” in 1914.
In 1920 Mamie Smith recorded the first vocal blues song, “Crazy Blues,” which became the first commercially popular blues album.
Only few years later the blues exploded in popularity and a record race began in the music industry that catered specifically to African-American audiences.
Blues was not the only form of music influenced by the slave songs and field hollers. In the 1920s a mixture of Creole and black music developed in New Orleans. At first jazz was played in small marching bands or by solo players on banjo or piano. Jazz’s popularity traveled up the Mississippi Delta into Chicago. Right around the time of prohibition, jazz music was almost synonymous with speakeasies. It was frowned upon by the older generations and thought of as immoral, but this was the roaring '20s! Decadence was all the rage.
Louis Armstrong recorded his first Hot Five albums, which are considered absolute classics of jazz. Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and Hot Seven never performed live, but recorded until 1928.
Just like jazz, the blues migrated up the Mississippi Delta to Chicago around the same time Mayor Crump shut down Beale street in Memphis to prevent prostitution, gambling and drug distribution. The juke joints, which housed the blues and helped make Crump popular, left too.
Jazz dominated the 1930s; as they say, “swing is king,” and was mostly performed by big band ensembles. This new era offered more opportunities for soloists who mostly playing improvisation. In many cases the soloist became just as celebrated as the band leader. Bands comprised of ten or more players were broken into three groups: brass, reed and rhythm.
In Chicago the blues transformed once again in the 1940s when artists such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker made the switch from acoustic to electric guitars and added percussion and piano. Muddy Waters was one of the biggest blues influences. The guitar riff from “Manish Boy” is commonly associated with blues music, but listeners add their own lyrics. Waters really broke out big when he published “I Can’t be Satisfied.”
Jazz and blues may have dwindled in the late 1940s and '50s, but without their influence we would not have any of the music we have today.
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