American Blues Origins and Subsequent Influences on Music

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USA Blues Music

Undoubtedly, if people are fans of blues music, they should consider a visit to the birthplace of the blues in the United States of America. Originating from the end of the 19th century, the music was inspired by African culture among the plantation workers in the Deep South of the US.

History of American Blues

By forcibly bringing slaves from the African continent, they inevitably bought with them their own musical influences. While working in the cotton fields, the repatriated Africans would constantly sing in unison, as was the traditional tribal custom of a host of people all chanting together. Using a unique call and response style, the leader would often ask a question to which the rest would respond en masse. It wasn't long before ethnic African music began to fuse with folk and European styles to form a blues fusion. Perhaps, the best-known original form of blues is the gospel songs performed in churches across the community.

The Evolution of American Blues

Even today," feeling the blues" is synonymous with feeling sad, and since it was borne out of slavery, the American variant often contained melancholy lyrics. Some of the most famous early blues guitarists and singers were Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Leadbelly. Subsequently, this genre of music became very popular in the 1920s, and Bessie Smith was a star at the time. It wasn't long before new instruments were added, and the blues became rhythm and blues. This later involved into a separate genre of music called jazz. It was also responsible for the British "beat boom" in the UK in the sixties.