A lot of music lovers will argue that every music genre comes from the blues. The great Willie Dixon was reported to have said, "The Blues is the roots and the rest are the fruits." Was Willie right in saying this? Let's take a look.A lot of music lovers will argue that every music genre comes from the blues. The great Willie Dixon was reported to have said, "The Blues is the roots and the rest are the fruits." Was Willie right in saying this? Let's take a look.
If you pick up a book on the Blues you will surely find the beginning arguing that the Blues originated with African music. The drums. The guitars. Other primitive instruments; many still being played today. Let's agree with this. It sounds reasonable.
The next step seems to come from the dreaded American institution of slavery. The importation of Negroes for free labor has never been justified, and never will. However, the only good thing to come from slavery is the Blues. And, although the idea of slavery never produces anything good, the Blues was good. It still is.
Supposedly the slave would sing and play music while drowning away their sorrows. They would gather around any place that they felt secure in and music would evolve. The blues was just one genre to come out of their misery. There were others including jazz and gospel, but the blues is what we're focusing on.
Just what is the Blues? Is it crying music. Can't be. Some blues songs are uplifting. Yes, there are the sad tunes. The depressing songs.But, what is the blues? And, how long has the term, "Blues" been used for this particular type of music? With its cyclic pattern, is the Blues truly an example of geniousness? Why has it maintained itself despite its cruel beginnings?
W. C. Handy, the great blues man, has been identified as the one who gave Blues its own identity. Although the Blues was around for way longer than Handy's characterization, it was now a unique music form. In Africa, the music there certainly reflects what we know today as the Blues.