musical genre of the month
in this edition we will have a look at the most mystifying form of music. blues. for all you blues fan you would know this only too well how the blues becomes the pinnance between the dulcet sleepy eyes and the starry horizon thourgh the window,or the between the soul and a pinching melancholic moment .
Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues forms exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered. Blue notes are sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of themajor scale for expressive purposes. Blues emerged at the end of the 19th century as an accessible 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 ballads. The use of blue notes and the prominence of call and response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of African traditions. The blues influenced later American and Western popular music, as the blues form became a basic pattern of jazz, rhythm and blues, bluegrass and rock and roll. In the 1960s and 1970s, blues evolved into a hybrid form called blues rock. In the 1990s, punk bluesappeared as an outgrowth of the blues rock and punk movements.
The term "the blues" refers to the "the blue devils", meaning melancholy and sadness; an early use of the term in this sense is found in Georgecolman's one-act farce Blue Devils (1798).Though the use of the phrase in African Americanmay be older, it has been attested to since 1912, when Harts Wind's "Dallas blues" became the first copyrighted Blues composition.
Lyrics
Robert Johnson, an influential Delta bluesmusician
The traditional blues verse was probably a single line, repeated four times. It was only later that the current, most common structure of a line, repeated once and then followed by a single line conclusion, became standard. Two of the first published blues songs, however, Dallas blues (1912) and ST.Louis blues(1914), each featured lines repeated twice, followed by an "answer" line, played over 12 bars of music. W.C Handy wrote that he adopted this convention to avoid the monotony of lines repeated three times. These lines were often sung following a pattern closer to a rhythmic talk than to a melody. Early blues frequently took the form of a loose narrative. The singer voiced his or her "personal woes in a world of harsh reality: a lost love, the cruelty of police officers, oppression at the hands of white folk, [and] hard times." Typical authority figures often include train conductor, judge, landlord/lady, captain (boss), and chief of police.
Author Ed Morales has claimed that Yoruba mythology played a part in early blues, citing Robert Johnson's "cross road blues" as a "thinly veiled reference to Eleggua, the orisha in charge of the crossroads". However, many seminal blues artists such as charley patton, or Skip James had in their repertoire several religious songs or spirituals.Reverand Gary Davis and blind willis are examples of artists often categorized as blues musicians for their music but whose lyrics clearly belong to the spirituals.
Although the blues gained an association with misery and oppression, the blues could also be humorous and raunchy as well:
"Rebecca, Rebecca, get your big legs off of me,
Rebecca, Rebecca, get your big legs off of me,
It may be sending you baby, but it's worrying the hell out of me."
From Big Joe's Turner "Rebecca", a compilation of traditional blues lyrics
Hoku, blues celebrated both comedic lyrical content and a boisterous, farcical performance style. Tampa's red's classic "Tight Like That" is a sly wordplay with the double meaning of being "tight" with someone coupled with a more salacious physical familiarity. Lyrical content of music became slightly simpler in post war-blues in which focus was often almost exclusively on singer's relationship woes or sexual worries. Many lyrical themes that frequently appeared in pre-war blues such as economic depression, farming, devils, gambling, magic, floods and dry periods were less common post war blues.
Ten blues artists you would want to lend an ear
Ten: Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) Before any of the blues players on this list, there was Robert Johnson. He is considered to be the "grandfather of rock'n' roll" and he wrote Crossroads a good four decades before people heard Eric Clapton playing it. Clapton called Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived"* (*quote from Wikipedia). Unfortunately Johnson's life was cut short by an angry husband.
"I went down to the crossroads, I tried to flag a ride".
Nine: Elmore James (1918-1963) "The King of the Slide Guitar", Elmore James was a great guitar player and singer of the blues. I have some greatest hits collections of Elmore James and his four disc set the Fire & Enjoy Sessions. One of his most popular songs was Dust My Broom (written by Robert Johnson). James had a raw sound that really hits you with his accompanying slide guitar skills.
" I'm gonna get up in the mornin I believe I'll dust my broom" .
Eight: Howlin' Wolf (1910-1976) His real name was Chester Arthur Burnett, but this large Mississippi blues man has an unmistable deep growling voice that earning him his nickname Howlin' Wolf. With songs like Spoonful and Little Red Rooster he influenced future generations of rock n' roll. Howlin Wolf has been covered by The Rolling Stones, Megadeth, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Thorogood and PJ Harvey.
"one little spoon of your precious love is good enough for me, men lie about that spoonful, some cry about that spoonful, some die about that spoonful, everybody fight about a spoonful that spoon, that spoon that spoonful."
Seven: Sam 'Lightin' Hopkins (1912-1982) Texas blues man 'Lightin' Hopkins was first discovered by me in a compilation called Mojo Hand. Two discs of awesome blues guitar and vocals. He has a rough gritty sound that makes you feel the blues, and his guitar work is incredible.
"I'm goin to Louisiana and get me a mojo hand, I'm gonna fix my woman, so she can't have no other man".
Six: Muddy Waters (1915-1983) Even people who don't know the blues know the name Muddy Waters. He is considered as one of the greatest blues players of all time and the father of the Chicago Blues. His real name was McKinley Morganfield. That info is from Wikipedia. All I can add to it is that a disc of Muddy Waters was one that turned me onto the blues, and many more followed including a big box set of Muddy himself, and most of the artists on this list.
"now when I was a young boy at the age of five my mother said I'll be the greatest man alive. And now I'm a man You know the riff".
Five: Stevie Ray Vaughn (1954-1990) One of the greatest guitar players of all time (no. 7 in a 2003 Rolling Stones list,. Any artist that can cover Hendrix and make it sound great has my respect. He was a highly influential blues musician, and brought blues to generations of rock n roll fans not familiar with the others on this list.
" she's my sweet little thang...she's my pride and joy, she's my sweet little baby I'm her little lover boy"/
Four: Willie Dixon (1915-1992) This former Golden Gloves heavyweight champion was not only a blues singer and bass player, he WROTE many of the most popular blues songs that still exist in rock n' roll today, including tracks like Bring it on Home, Built for Comfort, Evil, Hoochie Coochie Man, I Ain't Superstitious, I can't Quit you Baby, I just want to make love to you, Little Red Rooster, Spoonful, Walkin the Blues, You Shook Me and You Need Love. Led Zeppelin's Whole Lot of Love now credits Dixon for the song after a 1985 lawsuit was settled. (info on Willie Dixon culled from Wikipedia) .
"you know you shook me, you shook me all night long, whoa you shook me pretty mama, you shook me all night long".
Three: Albert Collins (1932-1993) Known as the Master of the Telecaster or The Iceman, Albert Collins was truly a talented blues guitar player. You can see and hear for yourself, some of Collins last shows were preserved for prosperity months before his demise the iceman at mount fiji. The sound of Collins Telecaster is very distinct, he is a great lead guitar player. every Monday mornin' .
"I drink black coffee and I clear my head, because every Sunday night without you baby, it's blue Monday, you know baby you know my soul is dead".
Two: John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) Boom Boom Boom, one of this legendary blues mans songsBoogie chillunwas taken note for note and lyric for lyric by Led Zeppelin in The Lemon Song. He has simple blues compositions that are raw and gritty. You may have seen him play himself in The Blues Brothers. Even in his later years, he continued to release great albums like Mr. lucky.
" one night I was layin down, I heard mama n papa talkin, I heard papa tell mama, let that boy boogie woogie".
One: B.B. King (1925 - ?) The King of the Blues is the only artist on this list that is still rocking today. B.B. King performed last year on his 80the birthday bash tour, and the man can still play that unmistakable blues guitar on Lucille and has a voice that fills a concert hall. If you want a taste of how great B.B. sounded live you could check out chronicles a box set of three live concert CDs. B.B. King has not slowed down in recording great music either as his recent "reflections" proves.
"The thrill is gone baby, the thrill is gone away, you know you done me wrong baby, and you'll be sorry someday".
in this edition we will have a look at the most mystifying form of music. blues. for all you blues fan you would know this only too well how the blues becomes the pinnance between the dulcet sleepy eyes and the starry horizon thourgh the window,or the between the soul and a pinching melancholic moment .
Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues forms exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered. Blue notes are sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of themajor scale for expressive purposes. Blues emerged at the end of the 19th century as an accessible 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 ballads. The use of blue notes and the prominence of call and response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of African traditions. The blues influenced later American and Western popular music, as the blues form became a basic pattern of jazz, rhythm and blues, bluegrass and rock and roll. In the 1960s and 1970s, blues evolved into a hybrid form called blues rock. In the 1990s, punk bluesappeared as an outgrowth of the blues rock and punk movements.
The term "the blues" refers to the "the blue devils", meaning melancholy and sadness; an early use of the term in this sense is found in Georgecolman's one-act farce Blue Devils (1798).Though the use of the phrase in African Americanmay be older, it has been attested to since 1912, when Harts Wind's "Dallas blues" became the first copyrighted Blues composition.
Lyrics
Robert Johnson, an influential Delta bluesmusician
The traditional blues verse was probably a single line, repeated four times. It was only later that the current, most common structure of a line, repeated once and then followed by a single line conclusion, became standard. Two of the first published blues songs, however, Dallas blues (1912) and ST.Louis blues(1914), each featured lines repeated twice, followed by an "answer" line, played over 12 bars of music. W.C Handy wrote that he adopted this convention to avoid the monotony of lines repeated three times. These lines were often sung following a pattern closer to a rhythmic talk than to a melody. Early blues frequently took the form of a loose narrative. The singer voiced his or her "personal woes in a world of harsh reality: a lost love, the cruelty of police officers, oppression at the hands of white folk, [and] hard times." Typical authority figures often include train conductor, judge, landlord/lady, captain (boss), and chief of police.
Author Ed Morales has claimed that Yoruba mythology played a part in early blues, citing Robert Johnson's "cross road blues" as a "thinly veiled reference to Eleggua, the orisha in charge of the crossroads". However, many seminal blues artists such as charley patton, or Skip James had in their repertoire several religious songs or spirituals.Reverand Gary Davis and blind willis are examples of artists often categorized as blues musicians for their music but whose lyrics clearly belong to the spirituals.
Although the blues gained an association with misery and oppression, the blues could also be humorous and raunchy as well:
"Rebecca, Rebecca, get your big legs off of me,
Rebecca, Rebecca, get your big legs off of me,
It may be sending you baby, but it's worrying the hell out of me."
From Big Joe's Turner "Rebecca", a compilation of traditional blues lyrics
Hoku, blues celebrated both comedic lyrical content and a boisterous, farcical performance style. Tampa's red's classic "Tight Like That" is a sly wordplay with the double meaning of being "tight" with someone coupled with a more salacious physical familiarity. Lyrical content of music became slightly simpler in post war-blues in which focus was often almost exclusively on singer's relationship woes or sexual worries. Many lyrical themes that frequently appeared in pre-war blues such as economic depression, farming, devils, gambling, magic, floods and dry periods were less common post war blues.
Ten blues artists you would want to lend an ear
Ten: Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) Before any of the blues players on this list, there was Robert Johnson. He is considered to be the "grandfather of rock'n' roll" and he wrote Crossroads a good four decades before people heard Eric Clapton playing it. Clapton called Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived"* (*quote from Wikipedia). Unfortunately Johnson's life was cut short by an angry husband.
"I went down to the crossroads, I tried to flag a ride".
Nine: Elmore James (1918-1963) "The King of the Slide Guitar", Elmore James was a great guitar player and singer of the blues. I have some greatest hits collections of Elmore James and his four disc set the Fire & Enjoy Sessions. One of his most popular songs was Dust My Broom (written by Robert Johnson). James had a raw sound that really hits you with his accompanying slide guitar skills.
" I'm gonna get up in the mornin I believe I'll dust my broom" .
Eight: Howlin' Wolf (1910-1976) His real name was Chester Arthur Burnett, but this large Mississippi blues man has an unmistable deep growling voice that earning him his nickname Howlin' Wolf. With songs like Spoonful and Little Red Rooster he influenced future generations of rock n' roll. Howlin Wolf has been covered by The Rolling Stones, Megadeth, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Thorogood and PJ Harvey.
"one little spoon of your precious love is good enough for me, men lie about that spoonful, some cry about that spoonful, some die about that spoonful, everybody fight about a spoonful that spoon, that spoon that spoonful."
Seven: Sam 'Lightin' Hopkins (1912-1982) Texas blues man 'Lightin' Hopkins was first discovered by me in a compilation called Mojo Hand. Two discs of awesome blues guitar and vocals. He has a rough gritty sound that makes you feel the blues, and his guitar work is incredible.
"I'm goin to Louisiana and get me a mojo hand, I'm gonna fix my woman, so she can't have no other man".
Six: Muddy Waters (1915-1983) Even people who don't know the blues know the name Muddy Waters. He is considered as one of the greatest blues players of all time and the father of the Chicago Blues. His real name was McKinley Morganfield. That info is from Wikipedia. All I can add to it is that a disc of Muddy Waters was one that turned me onto the blues, and many more followed including a big box set of Muddy himself, and most of the artists on this list.
"now when I was a young boy at the age of five my mother said I'll be the greatest man alive. And now I'm a man You know the riff".
Five: Stevie Ray Vaughn (1954-1990) One of the greatest guitar players of all time (no. 7 in a 2003 Rolling Stones list,. Any artist that can cover Hendrix and make it sound great has my respect. He was a highly influential blues musician, and brought blues to generations of rock n roll fans not familiar with the others on this list.
" she's my sweet little thang...she's my pride and joy, she's my sweet little baby I'm her little lover boy"/
Four: Willie Dixon (1915-1992) This former Golden Gloves heavyweight champion was not only a blues singer and bass player, he WROTE many of the most popular blues songs that still exist in rock n' roll today, including tracks like Bring it on Home, Built for Comfort, Evil, Hoochie Coochie Man, I Ain't Superstitious, I can't Quit you Baby, I just want to make love to you, Little Red Rooster, Spoonful, Walkin the Blues, You Shook Me and You Need Love. Led Zeppelin's Whole Lot of Love now credits Dixon for the song after a 1985 lawsuit was settled. (info on Willie Dixon culled from Wikipedia) .
"you know you shook me, you shook me all night long, whoa you shook me pretty mama, you shook me all night long".
Three: Albert Collins (1932-1993) Known as the Master of the Telecaster or The Iceman, Albert Collins was truly a talented blues guitar player. You can see and hear for yourself, some of Collins last shows were preserved for prosperity months before his demise the iceman at mount fiji. The sound of Collins Telecaster is very distinct, he is a great lead guitar player. every Monday mornin' .
"I drink black coffee and I clear my head, because every Sunday night without you baby, it's blue Monday, you know baby you know my soul is dead".
Two: John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) Boom Boom Boom, one of this legendary blues mans songsBoogie chillunwas taken note for note and lyric for lyric by Led Zeppelin in The Lemon Song. He has simple blues compositions that are raw and gritty. You may have seen him play himself in The Blues Brothers. Even in his later years, he continued to release great albums like Mr. lucky.
" one night I was layin down, I heard mama n papa talkin, I heard papa tell mama, let that boy boogie woogie".
One: B.B. King (1925 - ?) The King of the Blues is the only artist on this list that is still rocking today. B.B. King performed last year on his 80the birthday bash tour, and the man can still play that unmistakable blues guitar on Lucille and has a voice that fills a concert hall. If you want a taste of how great B.B. sounded live you could check out chronicles a box set of three live concert CDs. B.B. King has not slowed down in recording great music either as his recent "reflections" proves.
"The thrill is gone baby, the thrill is gone away, you know you done me wrong baby, and you'll be sorry someday".
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