The Blues as is currently known did not take on its shape until the early 1900’s, thanks in part to the “Father of the Blues,” WC Handy.
However, the Blues can trace its roots back hundreds of years and across the Atlantic Ocean, to both Africa and Europe before taking root in the American South.
African and European Influence and the Origin of the Blues
The origin of the Blues can be traced to the blending (sometimes clashing) of African and European music. In the mixing bowl of America, the ingredients were added, set to bake in the hot Sun of the South and become the Blues.
The basics of the Blues were mostly influenced by African-American culture. The use of flatted notes (the 3rd, 5th, and especially the 7th) comes from the indigenous music of West Africa (although sometimes used in English and Irish folk music). The use of “call and response” lyrics comes from the “field hollers” of slaves and later of sharecroppers.
The instruments most associated with the blues:
- Guitar
- Piano
- Harmonica
are not African in origin, but they come from Europe (the guitar is actually of Indo-European origin, having developed in many forms across the continent).
Proto-Blues and the American Juke Joint
During the Reconstruction Era in America (the period after the American Civil War), proto-blues music began to develop. Juke joints-- dance halls and bars that catered to the rural working class-- began to sprout up across the South.
The music popularized in juke joints was made for dancing, and with time a shuffling beat similar to the “ragtime beat” became popular. This rhythm would soon become well known and associated with the Blues.
The Blues Separates from Folk
Blues is essentially a form of Folk music, although modern Blues sound very little like the Folk music of old. A major difference between Folk and Blues that began to develop in the late 1800s is the individualization of the Blues. Blues lyrics (or proto-blues) became more of an individual expression of feeling, rather than the ballads that were previously popular in the South.
This emphasis on personified lyrics came partially from the call and response songs of field hollers. The difference is where in a field holler, it was expected that other workers would “respond” to the “call,” in the juke joint, the singer responded to himself. This created a lyrical structure that is so often associated with the Blues:
- First line (the call) sung over the Tonic (I) chord
- First line repeated over the Subdominant (IV) chord
- Second line (response) sung over the Dominant (V) chord
The chord progression above was often used in the later part of the century, but it did not become standardized until the early 20th century.
Turn of the Century: The Blues are Ready to be Born
As Reconstruction ended and Jim Crow laws began to take effect, African Americans were faced with renewed and virulent racism and poverty. Many musicians took to traveling in an attempt to make a living with their guitars and escape the Jim Crow laws in an area. With all that traveling, it is no wonder why trains are such an important symbol in the Blues
As these musicians traveled, they spread the influence of the Blues. With the basic characteristics in place, the Blues were ready for birth.
