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Blues music evolved from African and then African American musical traditions.
It had its earliest roots in Africa and was brought to the U.S. by the people who were forced to work in the Plantations of the South.
Blues music has its roots in African American musical traditions and has a complex and evolving history.
It emerged in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing from various influences, including African musical traditions, work songs, filed hollers, spirituals, and folk music.
African Musical traditions were a major influence on the blues.
The December 17, 2023, episode of Sixty Minutes on CBS television did an episode on Gnawa music.
This is a music that is still played in Africa and is believed to be an influence on blues music.
Some of the people listening to this music go into a trance-like state.
It reminded me of Mississippi Hill Country Blues.
I was at The Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
One of the acts was a Hill Country Bluesman.
I had never fully understood the attraction of this music but sitting there, in the hot Mississippi sun in August the music was hypnotic.
A good example of this type of music would be some of the Boogy Beats played by John Lee Hooker.
Work Songs and Field Hollers were a major influence on the blues.
Enslaved African Americans often sang work songs and field hollers while performing laborious tasks.
These songs helped pass the time, alleviate the drudgery of work, and maintain a sense of community.
These vocal styles and rhythms laid the foundation for blues singing.
Spirituals were a major influence on the blues.
Spirituals were religious songs developed by African Americans during slavery.
They often featured powerful emotions and vocal expressions, and some elements of spirituals found their way into blues music.
Folk music was a major influence on the blues.
Blues also drew from European-American folk music traditions, such as ballads and fiddle tunes.
This fusion of African and European musical elements contributed to the unique sound of blues.
The early working blues artists were performing for money.
They tended to play whatever their audiences wanted to hear.
Sometimes the audience asked for folk, sometimes country, sometimes jazz, and sometimes blues.
As a result, some of the elements of other genres were melded into the blues tradition.
Urban migration was a major influence on the blues.
The Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban areas in the North during the early 20th century played a significant role in the evolution of the blues.
In cities like Chicago blues musicians adapted their music to the urban environment, giving rise to urban or electric blues.
Recording technology was a major influence on the blues.
The advent of recording technology in the early 20th century allowed blues musicians to reach a wider audience.
Pioneering blues artists like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Bessie Smith recorded their music, helping to popularize the genre.
Conclusion
Blues music has since evolved into various subgenres, including Delta Blues, Chicago Blues,
Texas Blues and more
.It has had a profound influence on many other musical styles, including jazz, rock, rock ‘n’ roll, and soul, making it a fundamental element in American music history.