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Start of the Blues
The emancipation proclamation in 1863 initiated the start of sharecroppers and 'Juke Joints' which were places where African Americans went to listen to music and gamble. -
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Timeline
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"Maple Leaf Rag" Published
Scott Joplin publishes "Maple Leaf Rag." Ragtime will become a key influence on the Piedmont style of blues. -
W.C. Handy has Blues revealed
W.C. Handy insisted that he had had the Blues revealed to him by a guitarist at a train station. -
Blues Songs First Recorded
The first blues songs, including W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues", are published as sheet music. -
Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith records for Okeh Records. Her "Crazy Blues" becomes the first blues hit, beginning the business of "race" recording. -
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. -
First Folk Blues Records
The first male folk blues records, featuring singers Papa Charlie Jackson and Daddy Stovepipe, are issued. -
Leadbelly and the Blues
Huddie Ledbetter aka Leadbelly introduces the Blues to a wider audience. He was the first artist to play Blues to a white audience outside the South. -
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson was a very influential musician in his time and influenced the developement of the 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. -
ELvis Debuts
Elvis Presley records Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama” for Sun Records in Memphis, TN. This record launched Elvis’ career and a musical style called Rock and Roll. -
Rise of Blues in England and Europe
Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds record "Boom Boom" by John Lee Hooker. This begins the rise of Blues within England and Europe. -
British Invasion
The first U.S. tour by the Rolling Stones marks the invasion of British blues rock bands. -
Robert Johnson recordings released
Columbia Records released the complete recording of Robert Johnson on CD selling over 400,000 Album copies in only six months. -
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.
