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| Delta blues | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Blues |
| Cultural origins | Early twentieth century Mississippi, U.S. |
| Derivative forms | |
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles ofblues. It originated in theMississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant ofcountry blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments;slide guitar is a hallmark of the style. Vocal styles in Delta blues range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.
Although Delta blues certainly existed in some form or another at the turn of the twentieth century, it was first recorded in the late 1920s, when record companies realized the potential African-American market for "race records". The major labels produced the earliest recordings, consisting mostly of one person singing and playing an instrument. Live performances, however, more commonly involved a group of musicians. Record company talent scouts made some of the early recordings on field trips to the South, and some performers were invited to travel to northern cities to record. Current research suggests thatFreddie Spruell is the first Delta blues artist to have been recorded; his "Milk Cow Blues" was recorded in Chicago in June 1926.[1] According to Dixon and Godrich (1981),Tommy Johnson andIshmon Bracey were recorded byVictor on that company's second field trip to Memphis, in 1928.Robert Wilkins was first recorded by Victor in Memphis in 1928, andBig Joe Williams andGarfield Akers byBrunswick/Vocalion, also in Memphis, in 1929.
Charley Patton recorded for Paramount in Grafton, in June 1929 and May 1930. He also traveled to New York City for recording sessions in January and February 1934.
Son House first recorded in Grafton, Wisconsin, in 1930 forParamount Records.[2]
Robert Johnson recorded his only sessions, in San Antonio in 1936 and in Dallas in 1937, forARC. Many other artists were recorded during this period.
Subsequently, the early Delta blues (as well as other genres) were extensively recorded byJohn Lomax and his sonAlan Lomax, who crisscrossed the southern U.S. recording music played and sung by ordinary people, helping establish the canon of genres known today asAmerican folk music. Their recordings, numbering in the thousands, now reside in theSmithsonian Institution. According to Dixon and Godrich (1981) and Leadbitter and Slaven (1968), Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress researchers did not record any Delta bluesmen or blueswomen prior to 1941, when he recordedSon House andWillie Brown nearLake Cormorant, Mississippi, andMuddy Waters atStovall, Mississippi. However, among others, John and Alan Lomax recordedLead Belly in 1933,[3] andBukka White in 1939.[4]
In big-city blues, female singers such asMa Rainey,Bessie Smith, andMamie Smith dominated the recordings of the 1920s.[5] Although very few women were recorded playing Delta blues and other rural or folk-style blues, many performers did not get professionally recorded.
Geeshie Wiley was a blues singer and guitar player who recorded six songs forParamount Records that were issued on three records in April 1930. According to the blues historianDon Kent, Wiley "may well have been the rural South's greatest female blues singer and musician".[6]
L.V. Thomas, better known asElvie Thomas, was a blues singer and guitarist fromHouston, Texas, who recorded with Geeshie Wiley.[7]
Memphis Minnie was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for more than three decades. She recorded approximately 200 songs, some of the best known being "Bumble Bee", "Nothing in Rambling", and "Me and My Chauffeur Blues".
Bertha Lee was a blues singer, active in the 1920s and 1930s. She recorded with, and was thecommon-law wife of, Charley Patton.[8]
Rosa Lee Hill, daughter of Sid Hemphill, learned guitar from her father and by the time she was ten, was playing at dances with him.[9] Several of her songs, such as "Rolled and Tumbled", were recorded by Alan Lomax between 1959 and 1960.[10] In the late 1960s,Jo Ann Kelly (UK) started her recording career.[11] In the 1970s,Bonnie Raitt andPhoebe Snow performed blues.[12]
Bonnie Raitt,Susan Tedeschi andRory Block are contemporary female blues artists, who were influenced by Delta blues and learned from some of the most notable of the original artists still living.Sue Foley andShannon Curfman also performed blues music.
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Many Delta blues artists, such asBig Joe Williams, moved to Detroit and Chicago, creating a pop-influenced city blues style. This was displaced by the newChicago blues sound in the early 1950s, pioneered by Delta bluesmenMuddy Waters,Howlin' Wolf, andLittle Walter, that was harking back to a Delta-influenced sound, but with amplified instruments.
Delta blues was also an inspiration for the creation ofBritish skiffle music, from which eventually came theBritish invasion bands, while simultaneously influencingBritish blues that led to the birth of earlyhard rock andheavy metal.
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