Who originally sang the blues?

Who originally sang the blues?

One of the first professional blues singers was Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, who claimed to have coined the term blues. Classic female urban or vaudeville blues singers were popular in the 1920s, among them Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Victoria Spivey.

Who was a blues singer?

Pre-1940 blues

Name Birth year Primary style
Papa Charlie Jackson 1890* Country blues
Skip James 1902 Delta blues
Blind Lemon Jefferson 1893 Country blues
Blind Willie Johnson 1897 Gospel blues

Who are the major performers of blues genre?

The main source being The All Music Guide To The Blues (Miller Freeman Books).

  • The Top Ten.
  • Charley Patton (1887 – 1934)
  • Blind Blake (early 1890s – 1933)
  • Blind Lemon Jefferson (1897 – 1929)
  • Lonnie Johnson (1899 – 1970)
  • Louis Jordan (1908 -1975)
  • T-Bone Walker (1910 – 1975)
  • John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson (1914 -1948)

Who are some great blues singers?

Top 10 Legendary Blues Artists

  1. B.B. King. A legendary singer, songwriter and guitarist, that was B.B. King.
  2. Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters is the stage name of McKinley Morganfield who lived from 1913 to 1983.
  3. Robert Johnson.
  4. Ray Charles.
  5. Howlin ‘Wolf.
  6. Eric Clapton.
  7. John Lee Hooker.
  8. Etta James.

Which came first blues or jazz?

Both genres originated in the Southern United States around the late 1800s to early 1900s, with blues arriving first, then jazz a little later. Both were inventions of African Americans, who combined African musical concepts with European musical concepts, thus making these both uniquely American music genres.

Which genre of African American music formed the basis of the blues?

spirituals
The Beginnings of the Blues The blues developed from the musical traditions that African slaves brought to America. It was based on two forms of music: spirituals and work songs. Both of these were developed by African American slaves and freedmen. Spirituals were religious songs.

Who was a famous blues singer 1920s?

Bessie Smith
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s.

Who was the number one blues singer?

Whether you like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, or Etta James, there’s no denying that they’re some of the most famous blues musicians of all time.

Is Billie Holiday a blues singer?

Who Was Billie Holiday? Billie Holiday is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday had a thriving career as a jazz singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance abuse. Also known as Lady Day, her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues.

Is Louis Armstrong blues?

Satchmo’s made a lasting impression on modern Blues music with the cornet solo in his 1929 record ‘West End Blues’, where he produced a perfect, coherent elaboration of the melody line, giving the blueprint for generations of lead guitarists to try to do the same thing! …

Where did blues originated in America?

1860s, Deep South, U.S. Blues is a music genre and musical form which was originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s by African-Americans from roots in African-American work songs and spirituals.

Who was the first blues guitarist?

Robert Johnson
Born May 8, 1911 Hazlehurst, Mississippi, U.S.
Died August 16, 1938 (aged 27) Greenwood, Mississippi
Genres Blues Delta blues
Occupation(s) Musician songwriter

Who were some of the first blues singers?

The first blues recordings were made in the 1920s by Black women such as Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, and Bessie Smith. These performers were primarily stage singers backed by jazz bands; their style is known as classic blues. Ma Rainey (centre) and her band, 1923. Bessie Smith, photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1936.

Who was the first person to copyright a blues song?

The first musician known to use the word blues in a song title was Antonio Maggio, who did so in 1908 in his track, “I got the blues.” It was, however, Hart Wand’s “Dallas Blues” that was the first to be copyrighted. The first African American to record and copyright blues track was Mamie Smith in 1920.

What is the history of blues and country music?

Recorded blues and country can be found from as far back as the 1920s, when the popular record industry developed and created marketing categories called ” race music ” and ” hillbilly music ” to sell music by blacks for blacks and by whites for whites respectively.

What was the name of the blues singer who recorded for Columbia?

Blues singers Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, and Clara Smith recorded for Columbia, while Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, and Alberta Hunter recorded for Paramount, which billed itself as the “Premier Race Label.”