The Blues lives on…..

The Sixties ‘Blues Boom’ With the massive popularity of Rock’n’roll came a realisation of the origins of that music. The discerning recognised the ‘authenticity’ and importance of both Blues and Country music. Racism in the USA was a barrier to original blues artists reaching mass audience. Many black acts were invited to tour in the UK and Europe – no segregation. British promoters and artists such as Dick Waterman, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, the Rolling Stones and Chris Barber invited original blues acts such as Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and John Lee Hooker to tour and play at festivals. Even as late as 1967, Jimi Hendrix found it preferable to use Britain to launch his career. British blues-based acts like the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Cream and (the original) Fleetwood Mac took their heavily blues-based music ‘back’ to the States, and initiated a huge explosion in white-American blues-rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nivONYe7pY

The British Scene The ‘Post-war baby boom’ came of age in the 1960s. ‘Youth Culture’ was born. Records and players became widely available, broadcast media proliferated, post-war racism saw liking black acts as ‘rebellious’. Many young Brits saw acts like the early Beatles, Shadows, Kinks etc as ‘too clean cut’. Blues acts and hipper US folk acts such as Dylan, Baez, Paxton became fashionable. Blues clubs flourished in the UK, and a major scene evolved led by acts like The Rolling Stones (named after a Muddy Waters song), John Mayall, Alexis Korner, Champion Jack Dupree, Fleetwood Mac, the Yardbirds (featuring Clapton, Beck then Page on guitar), the Animals and Them (featuring a young Van Morrison). By the late 60s, blues-rock was well established, with artists like Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher (originally with Taste), Chickenshack and Ten Years After prominent. Here’s a 6-part documentary on the British 60s blues scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS_l3YLLUBE&list=RDkS_l3YLLUBE&index=1

The USA – can white men sing the blues? Whilst in Europe, race was largely ignored in the pursuit of blues perfection, in the USA it was still a difficult scene for white musicians to approach. It was the ‘British Invasion’ in the mid-60s which saw white British blues/pop bands take the music ‘home’ and give it a new ‘respectability’ for white American audiences. There had always been some white blues performers – the Butterfield Blues Band, Charlie Musselwhite, Delaney & Bonnie and a few others – but none of them enjoyed success beyond their tight musical niche. When audiences saw white faces (on their new TV sets) like Mick Jagger and Eric Burdon singing blues classics like ‘Little Red Rooster’ and ‘Boom Boom’, the cat was out of the bag. There was a ‘hang on – this is OUR music’ moment in the USA in the mid 60s, and white blues musicians appeared in droves. The Vietnam war gave a real focus to the new music, and the racial mix of the soldiers fighting there broke down any barriers that were left. Acts like ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Climax Blues Band, Janis Joplin, Santana, Canned Heat and Johnny Winter based their new rock music heavily on the blues. The musical structures, lyrical lexicography and improvisational styles all drew from blues influences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GOH2vw2q0A

Onwards and Upwards For many people, the 70s represented a high-water mark in rock music. The blues had been absorbed in such a way that the vocabulary, vocal style and pentatonic-based improvisational approach were at the core of what we now call ‘classic rock music’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiLKT5rPHBA Meanwhile, original blues artists were celebrated as ‘originals’ and treated with widespread reverence and respect as never before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ01bSEh4fI Some enjoyed ‘second careers’ as they were feted by successful white acts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFpv1LKrA9s

Later Blues Heroes Blues has retained its popularity, albeit with a somewhat ageing audience. Every so often, an artist will appear who brings the blues to prominence once again. Stevie Ray Vaughn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oK40sPa3SU John Mayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVpGu5-nFJg Gary Clark Jr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woidqWMJ0z0

Guitar Heroes – they come with the territory Too many to mention! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmvBdRLg4k Bonnie Raitt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE4P8r8FENY BB King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPlsqo2bk2M Joe Bonamassa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbUCUjsZm9E Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPntKAWvHs