FA 4312: Analyzing the Historical Development of Blues Music

This essay delves into the rich history and evolution of Blues music, tracing its origins from the Afro-American community and its development through various regions and styles. Beginning with its roots in the Mississippi Delta, the essay highlights the themes of melancholy and hardship that define the genre, while also acknowledging the presence of hope and aspiration within the music. It examines the evolution of Blues through different forms such as Traditional County Blues, Jump Blues, Chicago Blues, Cool Blues, and West Coast Blues, emphasizing how regional influences and adaptations have shaped the genre's transformation from slave music to a significant element of popular culture. The essay concludes by underscoring the enduring impact of Blues music and its ability to reflect the histories and dreams of diverse communities.

Running head: BLUES MUSIC
BLUES MUSIC
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The history of Blues is not just limited to time rather it has been evolving ever since it
took its first shape as a music form. The most striking feature that is associated with the Blues is
the theme of the melancholy or hardship that gives Blues its identity as a slave’s song. The
stereotypic attachment of the Blues with songs of the plantation workers it does not necessarily
mean that these would only tell of their struggles and their hardships. The blues also includes
songs that inspire of a new hope, a new dream of a better tomorrow.
The Blues evolved with time and since its first inception in the Mississippi Delta with
Muddy waters, Robert Johnson, Son House and Charlie Patton, the Blues evolved with them.
The Origin of the Blues traces back to the Afro American community, and finds its explicit
music form from the various sections of the society.
The music creates a sense of gloomy expression based on plain 12 lyrical compositions.
The music having originated from the working class was born to relieve of the workers from the
daily struggles. The Blues have been continuously evolving with their journey to different lands
and regions collecting the flavours and the music styles and integrating them into their own
genre. Thus the new styles of Blues evolved through the adaptations and improvisations into
their various forms. In the resent day, the various forms of Blues that we find include the
Traditional County Blues and are some of the early form of the Blues originating from the
Mississippi Delta. The Jump Blues evolved with a danceable form and was pioneered by the
legendary Louis Jordan brought a different flavour to the Blues. The Chicago Blues are an
improvised from of the Delta Blues and are generally the electrified form of the Delta Blues and
finds the modification in the music form with an instrument. The cool Blues are another
sophisticated piano based modification of the Blues. The Cool Blues however owes much to the
Jazz that create a sense of the modernization. The West Coast blues are another form of the

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modification of the Blues evolving from the Texas Musicians who had shifted to California. The
West Coast Blues is heavily influenced by the swing beat and is not traditional to original Blues.
Thus the evolution of the Blues has happened throughout the journey and has evolved from place
to place retaining, their true character.
The evolution brought regional flavours changing the Blues from the Slave Music to
popular culture. The music found the predominance of the regions they followed their rationality
by making them popular among the various sections of the society. The Music brought hope and
dreams amalgamated with the various histories of the places they visited thereby transforming
them into the modern Blues.

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Bibliography
YouTube. "B.B. King - Three O Clock Blues". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9ozjCQkqZs
YouTube. "Robert Lockwood Jr - Take A Walk With Me". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjWPyBXrBvI.
YouTube. "Roots Of Blues -- Bukka White „ Special Steamline"". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHsRrq1i0lo.
YouTube. "Roots Of Blues -- Blind Boy Fuller & Sonny Terry „Harmonica B". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUg4E_-0MEU.
YouTube. "Sonny Boy Williamson II Eyesight To The Blind (1951)". Youtube,
2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bxtS6UeOyo
YouTube. "Sister O.M. Terrell - Swing Low, Chariot". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6uizr-4hZM
YouTube. "Bill Monroe - Mule Skinner Blues (1940)". Youtube, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIuuI00XY_Y.
YouTube. "Hank Williams: Lovesick Blues". Youtube, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=-Xu71i89xvs
YouTube. ""Cool Blues" By Charlie Parker". Youtube, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5pVxWdnInWY

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YouTube. "Dust My Broom - Elmore James". Youtube, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=aKo80b-QfK0