Music is responsible for a lot of great things and talented people. Some of the best tunes can make us more creative and calm, or they can even enhance your cannabis high. But only some genres are so influential that they still impact modern music, like Mississippi’s Delta blues.
The Origins of Delta Blues
The history of delta blues music starts at the turn of the twentieth century. It’s widely believed that Freddie Spruell was the first Delta blues artist to have been recorded. His song, “Milk Cow Blues,” was recorded in Chicago in 1926, but it’s contested that Ma Rainey recorded music before that. In fact, Rainey, known as the “Assassinator of the blues,” had first recorded in 1923.
And even before that, WC Handy, called the “Father of Blues,” heard a player slide a knife across the strings of their guitar to mimic wailing. Handy used his skills as a composer to make blues songs in 1903, using the famous A-A-B rhyme patterns and other chord progressions.
How Blues Birthed Modern Music
The current cultural zeitgeist rarely gives blues credit for its contribution to music. It’s usually rock or jazz that gets the praise, but all modern records and artists have blues to thank.
Black Americans and the Blues
Mississippi Delta is rooted in Black slavery, spirituality, and work songs. The end of slavery didn’t pull Black people out of poverty, nor did it provide many chances for fairly paid work. Life was hard, the hours were long, and Black workers coped by singing and writing music.
The singing styles, pentatonic scale, instrument playing, and rhythms unique to the blues wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the talented black musicians from America. Even the subject matter depicted in blues songs appears in every genre across the globe.
Delta Blues and “The Devil’s Music”
By the mid-twenties, every club in town was listening to the blues. Willie Brown, Charley Patton, and Son House would often swap songs with other musicians during their travels. Sam Carr, Tommy Honson, Howlin’ Wolf, and Robert Johnson went to open unofficial blues schools.
But it wasn’t easy to get a gig, and it was sometimes even harder to stay alive. In the early 1900s, the blues was called “devil’s music” and suffered from moral and ethical outcries.
That remained true until white people started singing the blues. Musicians like Bobby Rush were alive during a time when Black musicians were forced to play behind a curtain. While the Civil Rights movement didn’t get rid of racism, it definitely had an impact on popular music.
The Legacy of Delta Blues
It can’t be understated how important Delta blues was for modern music. American music tradition simply wouldn’t look the same without the blue. It influenced jazz, rock-and-roll, country, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, and rap music. Even pop has its roots in 1900s blues records.
Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones credit talent like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf for their own music. While the influence of Delta Blues is most felt in the ‘60s and ‘70s, it’s clear that solo acts in the new Millenium grew up on blues, jazz, and rock-and-roll.
For example, Gary Clark Jr., Jack White, and John Mayer don’t shy away from their love of the classics. Blues is, and always will be, a cultural phenomenon weaved into American history.
To commemorate Delta blues, the Mississippi Blues Commission created The Blue Music Trail, a path that takes visitors through the genre’s history. You can see more history on display at the Delta Blues Museum, which has programs that connect blues musicians to established artists.
