From Blues to Modern Day Music

Whether you enjoy Green Day or Nirvana, or enjoy listening to R&B artists like SZA, they likely stem from Blues. Blues is rooted in African American culture and was pioneered in the 19th century in the Deep South, specifically in the Mississippi Delta region, to act as a profound form of emotional expression, coping, and resilience.  

Ma Rainey was the first popular stage entertainer to incorporate authentic blues into her song repertoire. According to Biography.com “Rainey’s music has served as inspirations for such poets as Langston Hughes.” Langston Hughes was an important American poet and social activist. 

One influential bluesman to the pioneering of blues would be Robert Johnson. He plied his craft on street corners and in juke joints. According to RobertJohnsonbluesfoundation.org, Eric Clapton once said, “I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson.”

Robert Johnson

Blues music originated in the Deep South, It emerged from African American work songs, field hollers, and spirituals, evolving from African musical traditions brought by enslaved people.

As Toni, a Program Director in Forsyth's CAMBA office said “They took their drums, guitars and people’s voices to make blues music which expressed what they were feeling. The African American community pioneered it and influenced blues and modern day music.” The ugly history of America’s minstrel shows popularized and made Blues global. Minstrel shows were events where white entertainers or capitalists would impersonate African Americans and take credit or present their music as their own. The popularization of Modern American music comes from an ugly history of American racism and white supremacy.