History of the Blues
The History of the Blues is a presentation based on the Blues component of the 2013 Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street project. It consists of:
A slide presentation featuring origins of blues music and audio/video clips of early bluesmen and women
A demonstration of the structure of the blues, both musically and lyrically
Performance of a blues medley to illustrate both similarities and differences of classic blues songs
An interactive workshop to write a blues song with the audience
Early blues artists featured in this presentation
- Charley Patton (1891 – 1934)
- Son House (1902 – 1988)
- Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893 – 1929)
- Arthur “Blind” Blake (1890 – 1933)
- Sonny Boy Williamson (Aleck “Rice” Miller, 1899 – 1965)
- Sylvester Weaver (1897 – 1960)
- Joseph Lee “Big Joe” Williams (1903 – 1982)
- Francis Hillman “Scrapper” Blackwell (1903 – 1962)
- James “Kokomo” Arnold (1901 – 1968)
- Robert Leroy Johnson (1911 – 1938)
- Booker T. Washington “Bukka” White (1906 – 1977)
- Big Bill Broonzy (1893 – 1958)
- Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield, 1915 – 1983)
- Chester Arthur “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett (1910 -1976)
- Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker (1910 – 1975)
- “Little Walter” Jacobs (1930 – 1968)
- Otis Spann (1930 – 1970)
- John Lee Hooker (1917 – 2001)
- Riley “B.B.” King (1925 – 2015)
- Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (1886-1939)
- Bessie Smith (1894-1937)
- Mamie Smith (1883-1946)
- Ida Cox (1896-1967)
- Big Mama Thornton (1926 – 1984)
From all of us at the Music District, I wanted to thank you so much for your presentation on the History of the Blues this week. Participants seemed to have had a wonderful time learning and listening to you speak on a topic about which you are clearly passionate.