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The Earliest start of blues
During the Civil War it was known that enslaved people working on plantation farms would write and produce music about how they were feeling or what the environment was like. This was the start of blues music to come for generations. -
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin publishes Maple Leaf Rag which starts the knowledge of influence on rag time and blues music. -
Memphis Blues
In 1912 an inspirational band leader named W.C. Handy created and published Memphis Blues which went on to be one of the most popular songs at the time. This opened the door to tin pan music -
Paramount Records
Created from it's former parent company, Paramount Records became the hit place to listen to the most popular blues and jazz music at the time. One of the signed and played artists being Blind Lemon Jefferson. 1929-1932 -
Beale Street
Beale Street was where all artists flocked to, this street was known for multiple famous blues and jazz artists which is why it is so popular, it was a helping hand in creating the honorable music. One of the famous artists was Muddy Waters. -
Folk Blues
Folk Blues, later to be called country, was created by Ralph Peer and issued by Victor Records. Folk Blues became one of the earliest forms of blues. Another popular artist was Blind Lemon Jefferson. -
Black Snake Moan
Black Snake Moan became a infuential song created and written by Blind Lemon Jefferson. Many artists have used the base of the song or lyrics to use in different songs, which helped launch new and upcoming artists. -
The Great Depression plummeting sales
On Black Tuesday, when the market and sales fell, everything in the economy faced a plummet. This plummet affected the sales of music, radios, vinyls and many more creative outputs. This directly affected blues due to the loss of sales for artists. -
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson had the shortest career out of every blues artist, but in his short 7 months of creating, writing, producing and singing, his music became one of the most influential musical pieces to this date. One of his most known pieces include Love In Vain. -
Chicago Blues
Chicago blues was a branch off of blues music, it had similar key notes as delta blues. With known artists joining in, like Muddy Waters, Chicago blues was able to inspire a new form of art called rock and roll. -
Electric Guitar played in blues
T-Bone Walker was the first to introduce electric guitar into blues music which amplified the sound. This created a new genre of blues called Electric blues. -
Jump Blues
Jump Blues also known for being an up tempo type of blues and jazz. Jump Blues got really popular in 1940 and had musicians employed to sing and perform at dances. -
B.B. King
B.B. King was well known for creating his own style of blues based on the way he used the strings, this style later influenced electric guitar to be used in blues. His first hit was the song "Three O'Clock Blues" which was his most popular hit. -
The development of blues
The inspiration from the blues spread throughout other music forms. The blues helped inspire Rhythm, Jazz, and Rock. -
Muddy Waters
When Muddy Waters played concerts with Big Joe Williams, they introduced blues to the white population, this became huge and successful for the sales and knowledge of blues music. Some of his best work was "They call me Muddy Waters" which won him a grammy.