Blues

Joni Mitchell’s Blue (1971) is the fourth album she recorded and is regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made. The brutally honest and emotionally laced songs received all positive reviews. One of those music pieces is “A Case of You” and features “James Taylor on acoustic guitar, Russ Kunkel on drums, and Joni on Appalachian dulcimer” (Beviglia 1). Being one of her best-known songs, “A Case of You” have been covered by over two hundred music artists. There are, however, only rumors and…

field hollers and ring shouts. African slaves used blues music for their religion and pray god within songs and their instruments. Over time, blues music and gospel emerged within oral tradition of African American culture in black community churches and they started to use blues music in the worship of God and the base music of the religious expression. “In the early to middle 1930s, the first notes of gospel blues—a blend of sacred texts and blues tunes—were heard in Protestant black churches…

House of Blues, A Place Where Good Eats and Good Beats Come Together House of Blues first opened in Cambridge, MA in 1992. It began as a concert venue with an original folk art setting, live music and delta-inspired cuisine (House of Blues), with locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. The House of Blues in Orlando, FL offers a wide variety of food, live music, and a welcoming setting with a tad of a folk influence. House of Blues Orlando…

Rene Rosales Literary Heritage Essay 2 November 24, 2017 Sonny’s Blues: Behind the Notes Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin tells the story of brothers and their attempt to make it out of a situation they feel trapped in. The story is told through a narrator that tells the story of his own struggles, but also tells us of his brother Sonny. Sonny is addicted to drugs and is trying to become a better person. Through this story, James Baldwin focuses on the impacts drugs have on poor communities like…

Eric Clapton: The Blues Legend. Eric Clapton’s music and his musical style have had a great impact on our world today. He was a small village boy who transformed into the blues and rock giant that we know him as today. This transformation was not easy, and it was not quick either. It involved many bad decisions, many good decisions, and lots of hard work. Many of these consequences had a great impact on his life today. He got through this with the support of family and friends. All of these had…

“St. Louis Blues” was first composed in 1914. The song is coded with a story about Handy’s near escape from a lynching in Tennessee. “St. Louis Blues” should be preserved as W. C. Handy was described as “Father of the Blues” and is one of the most famous African-American songwriters. Handy was also a talented trumpet performer, and the song has been performed by many famous singers throughout history (Gussow, 2001). I During the same year as the release of the song, “St. Louis Blues” was the…

“groove” of blues emerged (Carruth 53). Similar to ragtime, blues resulted from the traditional sound of West African music. However, it is very different in terms of its tone and mood. “While ragtime is jangly and spirited, the blues takes after its name: blue, or melancholy” (Szepesi). Blues is known for its call-and-response and twelve-bar blues contributions to jazz. Most notably, its hypnotically smooth “groove” rhythm is what really sets it apart from ragtime. Also, unlike ragtime,…

Alan Lomax once said, “ Blues has always been a state of being as well as a way of singing”. (Lomax IX) Blues music started in the African American community as a way of expressing the weights upon their hearts.These songs were their interpretation of their protest against discrimination. Blues is a genre of music that began around the nineteen hundreds, which have impact our world by giving a voice to the Afro Americans. The blues was a key factor in the intergration of whites and blacks in…

In what ways have Ragtime and Blues contributed to the emergence of Jazz? Beyond the fact that Jazz has several contributors, Ragtime and Blues each have their own way of adding onto and impacting what is already a well-known genre. Jazz is a type of music of black American origin (which emerged at the beginning of the 20th century) characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. The two styles (Ragtime and Blues) of music contributing to Jazz differentiate…

strongly influenced by two specific genres known as the Blues and Ragtime. Before formally taking on the name blues, the blues originated within the slave communities of the south as spritual songs and narrative ballads. As African and European musical cultures began to merge, the blues became a unique blend of both African and European musical traditions that did not exist anywhere else before its emergence in the United States. Eventually the blues…