History of the Blues

Although the era of blues recording started in the 1920s, it was not until Blind Lemon Jefferson's debut in 1926 that there was popular star of blues music. The 1910s marked first occurrence of the blues, although up until Jefferson's debut, most blues music was played on the vaudeville stage - a mockery of black culture of the time. Also, before Jefferson, almost all blues music was sung by females, or duets where male singers would accompany female singers (Evans 2000). And, as Abbot and Seroff note, "Although a few male blues singer-pianists became well known on the vaudeville circuit prior to 1920, solo performers with guitar are virtually unreported in this setting" (Abbot and Seroff 1996).

From the popularity of Blind Lemon Jefferson came an outburst of blues musicians such as Eddie "Son" House, Leadbelly, and perhaps most importantly, Robert Johnson.

According to David Evans, "The Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson is often given credit for adapting the harmonic and rhythmic ideas, as well as specific melodic patterns, of pianists and swing bands to the guitar in his remarkable 1936 and 1937 recording sessions" (Evans 2000). These harmonic and rhythmic ideas have adapted into the twelve bar blues known today. Robert Johnson's influence can be heard in the music of Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and others who have carried on the blues tradition.

By the 1950s, the blues had become popular in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and St. Louis. With the migration of blues from the rural areas of the south to urban settings came the implementation of amplified instruments such as the electric guitar. This type of electric blues, otherwise known as Chicago blues, was popularized by artists such as Elmore James, Muddy Waters, BB King, Freddy King, and Albert King (no relation). The audience of these artists were predominantly black, however.

With many of the artists of the British invasion of the 1960s and 1970s, who were influenced by early blues artists, came an increase in the white audience of the blues. Bands such as John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Cream, and The Yardbirds popularized the blues for a white audience. In is important to note that Eric Clapton was a member of three of these influential bands, and was one of the most facilitating figures for a "white" blues. These bands often reworked songs by American bluesmen such as the ones mentioned, and added their own twist - most commonly, a distorted guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan further popularized the blues for a more diverse audience in the 1980s.

At the same time blues was evolving, jazz was evolving as well. This often meant that many jazz artists, such as John Coltrane and Charlie Parker crossed over into the blues, while some blues artists, such as BB King put a jazzy spin on the blues as well.

Today, the blues and bluesy influences can be observed in almost every genre of popular music, from blues to jazz to rock to pop and even to rap. The twelve bar blues has survived as, still, one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music.





Abbott, Lynn, and Doug Seroff. 1996. "They cert'ly sound good to me": Sheet music, southern vaudeville, and the commercial ascendancy of the blues. American Music 14, no. 4: 402-454.

David Evans. "The Musical Innovations in the Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson". Black Music Research Journal. Vol. 20, No. 1, Blind Lemon Jefferson (Spring, 2000), pp. 83-116. Published by: Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press