Robert Johnson, a Delta blues singer, is generally considered responsible for the standardization of the 12-bar blues.Sheet music from "St. Louis Blues" (1914)Blind Blake was an influential blues singer and guitarist known as the "King of Ragtime Guitar".Bessie Smith was a very famous early blues singer.Muddy Waters at a young age.
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Blues

The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on a pentatonic scale and a characteristic twelve-bar chord progression. The form evolved in the United States in the communities of former African slaves from spirituals, praise songs, field hollers, shouts, and chants. more...

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The use of blue notes and the prominence of call-and-response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of the blues' West African pedigree. The blues has been a major influence on later American and Western popular music, finding expression in ragtime, jazz, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip-hop, and country music, as well as conventional pop songs.

The phrase the blues is a synonym for having a fit of the blue devils, meaning low spirits, depression and sadness. An early reference to this can be found in George Colman's farce Blue devils, a farce in one act (1798). Later during the 19th century, the phrase was used as a euphemism for delirium tremens and the police. Though usage of the phrase in African American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912 in Memphis, Tennessee with W. C. Handy's "Memphis Blues". In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.

Characteristics

Origins

There are few characteristics common to all blues, because the genre takes its shape from the peculiarities of individual performances. However, some characteristics have been present since before the creation of the modern blues and are common to most styles of African American music. The earliest blues-like music was a "functional expression, rendered in a call-and-response style without accompaniment or harmony and unbounded by the formality of any particular musical structure." This pre-blues music was adapted from slave field shouts and hollers, expanded into "simple solo songs laden with emotional content". The blues, as it is now known, can be seen as a musical style based on both European harmonic structure and the West African call-and-response tradition, transformed into an interplay of voice and guitar.

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		Junior Kimbrough Sad Days Lonely Nights 1994 Vintage Press Kit & Photo
		Junior Kimbrough Sad Days Lonely Nights 1994 Vintage Press Kit & Photo 
		B B King 24k Gold Record Blues R&B Music Gift Limited Edition only 500
		B B King 24k Gold Record Blues R&B Music Gift Limited Edition only 500

		Muddy Waters Blues folk art poster Art By Grego - Mojohand 12x18
		Muddy Waters Blues folk art poster Art By Grego - Mojohand 12x18 
		big Blues folk art poster Art By Grego - Mojohand 12x18 - muddy waters
		big Blues folk art poster Art By Grego - Mojohand 12x18 - muddy waters

		 Greg Irons Dos Californios Coloring Book Rare Ist Edition 1978 Tattoo
		Greg Irons Dos Californios Coloring Book Rare Ist Edition 1978 Tattoo 
		Roomful Of Bues "2 Promo Posters " Bio ,+ Discography
		Roomful Of Bues "2 Promo Posters " Bio ,+ Discography

		Lp Album blues Brook Benton Born to Sing the Blues
		Lp Album blues Brook Benton Born to Sing the Blues 
		Buddy Guy-This Is Buddy Guy Lp Vinyl Record Store Day Rsd 2012 New Rare
		Buddy Guy-This Is Buddy Guy Lp Vinyl Record Store Day Rsd 2012 New Rare

		kenny wayne shepherd limited edition press kit 
		kenny wayne shepherd limited edition press kit 
		Joe Bonamassa Lithograph "infinity"
		Joe Bonamassa Lithograph "infinity"

		Lp Album jazz John Coltrane Quartet Ballads
		Lp Album jazz John Coltrane Quartet Ballads 
		Feel Like Going Home by Peter Guralnick 1981 First Vintage Books Paperback
		Feel Like Going Home by Peter Guralnick 1981 First Vintage Books Paperback

		eric johnson limited edition press kit
		eric johnson limited edition press kit 
		Texas Monthly June 2007~Beaches~L​ight nin' Hopkins
		Texas Monthly June 2007~Beaches~L​ight nin' Hopkins

		C. J. Chenier (zydeco) 'The Big Squeeze' 1999 Alligator Recs. Press Kit w/ Photo
		C. J. Chenier (zydeco) 'The Big Squeeze' 1999 Alligator Recs. Press Kit w/ Photo 
		Lp Album jazz The Origins and Development of Jazz education
		Lp Album jazz The Origins and Development of Jazz education

		1947 Roy Milton photo Specialty Records trade promo ad
		1947 Roy Milton photo Specialty Records trade promo ad 
		Lp Album blues Dinah Washington 6 records The Queen
		Lp Album blues Dinah Washington 6 records The Queen

		Muddy Waters & James Cotton & Johnny Winter 1981 Pic/Tx
		Muddy Waters & James Cotton & Johnny Winter 1981 Pic/Tx 
		The Blues Brothers Dollar Bill W/Cert
		The Blues Brothers Dollar Bill W/Cert

		Press Photo & Release: Sugar Blue 8x10 B&W
		Press Photo & Release: Sugar Blue 8x10 B&W 
		B B King Bobby 'Blue' Bland Uncut Concert Poster Signed
		B B King Bobby 'Blue' Bland Uncut Concert Poster Signed

		Lp Album blues Joe Williams nothing but the blues
		Lp Album blues Joe Williams nothing but the blues 
		Leadbelly Huddie Ledbetter Bluesman Blues Man Postcard
		Leadbelly Huddie Ledbetter Bluesman Blues Man Postcard

		Bessie Smith Photo Print Bessie Smith Postal Stamp
		Bessie Smith Photo Print Bessie Smith Postal Stamp 
		John Lee Hooker - The Healer First Aid Kit Promotional
		John Lee Hooker - The Healer First Aid Kit Promotional

		B.B. King Great Promo Poster Ad Happy 70th Birthday
		B.B. King Great Promo Poster Ad Happy 70th Birthday

		Compay Segundo Mini Poster / Ad Rare french #1
		Compay Segundo Mini Poster / Ad Rare french #1 
		1969 First Day Cover *Memphis Tn W.C.Handy-Fath​er of the Blues* cachet-stamp
		1969 First Day Cover *Memphis Tn W.C.Handy-Fath​er of the Blues* cachet-stamp

		Memphis Slim Print Music from Memphis to Paris L Walker
		Memphis Slim Print Music from Memphis to Paris L Walker 
		John Hammond - 2001 Signed Concert Ticket Stub
		
			John Hammond - 2001 Signed Concert Ticket Stub

		Debbie Davies Loose Tonight Promo Poster
		Debbie Davies Loose Tonight Promo Poster 
		2903418Dr John Lee Hooker Endless Boogie Interview September 23 1972 Newspaper
		2903418Dr John Lee Hooker Endless Boogie Interview September 23 1972 Newspaper

		b.b. king eric clapton limited edition press kit
		b.b. king eric clapton limited edition press kit 
		William Clarke Signed Super 64 Case, Signed 1995 at the Turning Point
		William Clarke Signed Super 64 Case, Signed 1995 at the Turning Point

		debbie davies limited edition press kit
		debbie davies limited edition press kit 
		Lowell Fulson the ol' blues singer Do You Love Me 1976 Promo Only Advertisement
		Lowell Fulson the ol' blues singer Do You Love Me 1976 Promo Only Advertisement

		Orig. 2003 Muddy Waters Ny Newspaper Review of Pbs American Masters Profile
		Orig. 2003 Muddy Waters Ny Newspaper Review of Pbs American Masters Profile 
		1993 Dave Hole Working Overtime Photo Print Ad
		1993 Dave Hole Working Overtime Photo Print Ad

		John Mayall, Jimmie Vaughan 1998 Concert Ticket Stub
		John Mayall, Jimmie Vaughan 1998 Concert Ticket Stub 
		Furry Lewis Cigar Box And Guitar Strings From Memphis Hall Of Fame Museum
		Furry Lewis Cigar Box And Guitar Strings From Memphis Hall Of Fame Museum

		tinsley ellis limited edition press kit
		tinsley ellis limited edition press kit 
		1992 Otis Rush Photo (Blues) Vintage Ghs Strings Ad
		1992 Otis Rush Photo (Blues) Vintage Ghs Strings Ad

		Chess Records - Blues - Original Masters Button - Near Mint
		Chess Records - Blues - Original Masters Button - Near Mint 
		Herby Joe Abco Chicago Blues Original 8 X 10 Photo*
		Herby Joe Abco Chicago Blues Original 8 X 10 Photo*

		Blue Horizon 1970 Promo Ad Otis Spann Jellybread others
		Blue Horizon 1970 Promo Ad Otis Spann Jellybread others 
		Junior Wells 1934-1998 In Memory Promo Ad Hoodoo Man
		Junior Wells 1934-1998 In Memory Promo Ad Hoodoo Man

		Down Beat 8/69 B.B.King Magic Sam Bobby Bland Magazine*
		Down Beat 8/69 B.B.King Magic Sam Bobby Bland Magazine*
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Prices current as of last update, 05/18/12 6:58am.

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