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The beginning of the blues
The blues first started in the 19th century. It originated from the southern plantations. It descended from african-american slaves. -
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Historical Blues Moments
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First blues musician discovered
In a train station in Mississippi, musician W.C. Handy found a bluesman playing guitar with a knife. -
Blues song officially recorded
The first ong from the blues was published as sheet music -
Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith records for Okeh Records. Her song "Cazy Blues" becomes the first hit blues song. -
Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey
Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, the defining performers of the classic blues, make their recording debuts. -
Folk Blues Debuts
Ralph Peer, the famous Artist & Repertory man for Okeh and Victor Records, makes his first field recordings in Atlanta, Georgia, marking the recording debut of both the folk blues and what will later be called country music. -
Firs Folk Blues Records
The first male folk blues records, featuring singers Papa Charlie Jackson and Daddy Stovepipe, are issued. -
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson is first recorded. He will become the dominant blues figure of the late 1920s and the first star of the folk blues. -
Electric Guitar
Eddie Durham records the first music featuring the electric guitar. The modern instrument, first developed by musician George Beauchamp and engineer Adolph Rickenbacher in the early 1930s, will help to transform the sound of the blues. -
Muddy Waters Recorded
Alan Lomax records McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, for the Library of Congress at Stovall's Farm in Mississippi. -
Muddy Waters and Chicago Blues
Muddy Waters makes his first Chicago recordings, beginning his tenure as the dominant figure in the Chicago blues and a key link between the Mississippi Delta and the urban styles. -
"Rhythm and Blues" is Born
Jerry Wexler, an editor at Billboard magazine, substitutes the term "rhythm and blues" for the older "race" records. -
Elvis Debuts
Elvis Presley makes his recording debut on Sun Records with a version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." -
The Country Blues
Samuel Charters publishes The Country Blues, fueling the blues element of the folk music revival. -
"Year of the Blues"
Congress declares 2003 the "Year of the Blues," commemorating the 100th anniversary of W.C. Handy's encounter with an unknown early bluesman at a train station in Mississippi.
