History of the Blues Essay

“Sonny’s Blues” is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers. This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. The title is significant, and helped me to understand the underlining meaning of the story. The title can be divided into two main reasons, the first, “Sonny’s Blues, meaning the music he plays. Second is the reference to his life, his feelings, his style, and most importantly his way of life.

Blues is one of the most captivating genres of music. The genre was originated in the late 1800’s as a method used by African American slaves to express the circumstances as well as to put emphasis on their feelings and emotions. In order to create these feelings in this music, blues artists incorporate many of the same techniques used to write poetry. One of the most easily identifiable songs in which it is easy to see the relation between poetic elements and blues music is the song “Empty Bed Blues” by Bessie Smith.

How did Blues Influence Rock and Roll? When we think of rock and roll, we think electric guitars, amplified sounds. Blues music is one of the most influential characteristics that gave birth to rock and roll. Beginning in the Mississippi region with African slave work songs and expanding to areas of Chicago and Dallas, blues went on to inspire rock legends such as: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix.

The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.

Blues is a music genre originating in Africa .This genre emerged with the introduction of African people as slaves to America's south. Slaves were employed in poor conditions in the cotton fields before the Civil War. Making music meant avoiding the pain for them. People think Blues music is slow and smooth because the lyrics of the Blues music always includes depression, loneliness and anger.

The blues have deep roots embedded within American history—particularly that of African American history. The history of the blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century and was created by slaves, ex-slaves, and descendants of slaves. They were created by individuals who endured great hardship while performing endless hours of arduous labor and blues served as a form of escapism. To these individuals, songs provided them with the strength to persevere through their struggles. Blues songs depicted individuals who persevered in the face of adversity. They were symbols of hope to those squandering in the depths of oppression. In relations to the blues, every song has a story behind it and within every story, there is something to be said. Blues artists, through their struggles, detail how they overcame hardship and laughed at the face of oppression. They defied the rules and in doing so, showed African Americans that they too are beacons of hope for the hopeless. The best blues is instinctive, cathartic, and intensely emotional. From irrepressible bliss to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion than that of the blues. Like many bluesmen of his day, Robert Johnson applied his craft as a lonely traveling musician on street corners and in juke joints. He was a lonely man whose songs romanticized that existence. With Johnson’s unique vocal style, haunting lyrics, and creative guitar techniques, Johnson’s innovation embodied the essence of

As a young boy living on cotton plantations, Robert witnessed the harsh treatment of fellow black African Americans. The cruel treatment of the plantation owners continued into daily life where Johnson was received as inferior by the white general public. He received unjust segregated treatment as a result of his black skin. As a small child he watched in amazement to the powerful music of the bluesmen. In beautiful song they captured the pain of injustice which Robert, as well as most other African Americans of the time, had been forced to endure all their lives. Young Robert was intrigued by these men, and dreamed of one day singing the blues himself.

On the other hand, Blues were basically from work songs of African Americans slaves at the time. “It is a native American music, the product of the black man in this country, or, to put it more exactly the way I have come to think about it, blues could not exist if the African captives had not become American captives”(pp.17), said Jones and Baraka. In Jazz – A History, Frank Tirro wisely analyzes and explains the relationship between the unique background and

Many times in life we find ourselves in situations that end in suffering. This can become a very dark place, unless we can find something to pull us out. In the story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin music was the remedy. The main factors that make up this story is suffering, the overall theme of darkness, and the meaning of the music.

Even after slavery, African American women are still imprisoned by their inferior role to men. The women could be from different statuses based on job, wealth, or marital status, but they are would find themselves suffering under the rules of their men. The blues “Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues” by Ida Cox and “Mamie’s Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton talk about the challenges of women living during the Harlem Renaissance. The blues surrounded the African American women during this time, and these songs talk about women facing hardships in life because they are second class citizens compared to men.

When you think of the blues you mostly think of men in a smoky, gloomy lounge, weeping among each other about their problems. Problems such a money, love, and many other issues. But one thing all these issues tie into each other is women. Without women in this world, there would be no blues. Blues is about women, for men mostly told from a man's perspective. But as I have done my research I have come to a conclusion that women are the blues and the blues actually wouldn't be what it is without them.

The Blues first appeared in the southern states of America around the beginning of the 19th century. Originally the poorest people in the southern plantations, often slaves near the Mississippi Delta, were the ones to create Blues music. The documentary, Blues America, focuses on some of the earlier years of Blues music to discover how musicians such as Bessie Smith (known as Empress of the Blues), Blind Lemon Jefferson (the first Country Blues star who was famous for his song “Black Snake Moan”), and Charley Patton (the Father of the Blues who was inspired by the Delta blues musicians of his era) used the latest technologies in media to bring their music to the public.

To let us know both the successes and defeats of this incredible talent of the blues-rock-soul scene of 60’s and 70’s, Ms. Berg uses the classical approach, interweaving archival footage, a strong narration by Cat Power, and interviews with many personalities

The blue has been the benchmark for jazz musician since the time jazz evolved from the sounds of Mississippi Delta, a century ago right up to the modern today. People may ask what blues is, well blues is a “feeling of melancholy, sadness, depression.” The way that blues has influence jazz from its inception to today cannot be explained by mere words alone; one has to hear their sound to truly comprehend their meaning. Jazz and blues both developed around the turn of the 20th century, mostly within African –American communities throughout the southern United States. Once the delta blues made their way up the Mississippi to urban areas, the music evolved in to electrified Chicago blues, other regional blues style, and various jazz- blue hybrids. A decade or so later the blues gave birth to rhythm and blues rock and roll. The two have declined in popularity since the middle of the 20th century, and much of their cultural energy has been absorbed by other style. One that has help jazz influence blues is the vocal blues, with has always been important of some segments of jazz. During the 1900s a vocalist singing a blues occasionally occurred in concerts. The singing style was also a significant for jazz and the reason why is because of the horn men often decorated their melody lines with the ornaments of pitch and tone that blues singers used. Bessie smith one of the vocalist singers; she was the empress of the

Around the turn of the Twentieth Century, out of the loose partially improvised music sung by blacks, the Blues was born and subsequently evolved into the smorgasbord of musical styles indigenous to today's culture. This new genre spawned the rhythm section (i.e. guitar, bass, keyboard, and percussion), which continues to anchor every other form of modern music. Each of these musical languages commands a large and loyal following. Each form, in union with the others contained in the contemporary musical landscape, represents a realistic and fitting alternative to classic