Category: Rhithm & blues

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From blues to rhythm and blues

From blues to rhythm and blues

Recently I explored the worksongs sung by slaves in the US. The 1864 ‘Emancipation Act’ freed all slaves and opened the way for further development of the music of African-Americans. You have already been introduced to the first expressions of this boogiewoogie and ragtime. From the worksongs, a singing style gradually developed that was called ‘blues’ around 1920. Banjo and guitar were often used for accompaniment. The blues, like the worksongs, expressed the feeling of discontent that the inferior position of the African-American population entailed but also sang about relationship problems and natural disasters. The term ‘blues’ stems from seafaring: if a captain or officer died during the voyage, a blue flag was hoisted or a blue band was painted around the ship.

The first blues

In the 1920s, blues was first published as sheet music and the first gramophone records appeared. The blues remained music by black people for black people. That was taken care of by the emerging music industry, which spoke of ‘race music’. Music for and by whites was marketed as ‘country music’, although the two styles did not initially differ much.

The first blues record appeared in 1912, the ‘Dallas Blues’. W.C. Handy’s’ Saint Louis Blues’ (1914) is still played today.  Here, the composer himself plays his ‘Dallas Blues’ on the trumpet. 

Handy contributed to the popularisation of the blues through his orchestral arrangements, which also saw blues played in theatres and policy by choir and orchestra. You can see this here in a 1929 video in which Bessie Smith, one of the first female blues performers, also sings the Saint Louis blues.

Blues as a music style

I pause to consider a few characteristics of the ‘blues’ as a musical style. Blues musicians use a five-tone (‘pentatonic’) scale, unlike ‘western music’, which usually uses a seven-tone major or minor scale. Starting from the C major scale, the pentatonic scale consists of these five notes: C, D, E, G and A, i.e. without the F and the B. This scale is found all over the world, including, for example, in Celtic and Scottish music and in many children’s songs, Negro spirituals and hymns. Here, for example, the first bars of Amazing Grace.

Instead of the omitted notes, blues musicians often add a lowered E (E-flat) and/or lowered B (B-flat) in the C major scale. These are called the ‘blue notes’. Anyone with a keyboard instrument at hand should try playing a C-major chord (C – E – G) and fiddle around with the lowered E and B. This immediately sounds ‘bluesy’. In the minor scale, the raised F (F-sharp) is usually the blues tone. You then get: C, E-flat, F, F-sharp, G, B-flat.  In the following video you can learn in two minutes to play a simple solo on the piano in the C minor scale.

Besides the use of the pentatonic scale, most blues are distinguished by their structure, consisting of three stanzas of four (four-quarter) measures each. The first four bars posit a statement, in the second group it is repeated (‘call and response’) and in the last four bars an explanation follows.  Here, by way of illustration, three lines from Blind Lemon Jefferson’s 1927 ‘Rising high water blues’.

 Backwater rising, Southern peoples can’t make no time 
I said, backwater rising, Southern peoples can’t make no time 
And I can’t get no hearing from that Memphis girl of mine 

Furthermore, in blues you often hear a ‘walking bass’, a series of successive notes played in a driving manner up and down. What is also common are sliding notes, the ‘sliding effect’ on the guitar. On the piano, you achieve this effect – as the video illustrated – by using a fast-leading stroke.

The rise of urban blues

The blues in the product of the southern states and the Mississippi area (‘Delta blues’) and had numerous regional variations. Both at the time of growing prosperity (1920s) and recession (1930s), many African-Americans moved to the northern states and Chicago became the new centre of the ‘urban blues’.  This was somewhat rawer in nature. Big bands also made their appearance, such as the bands of Count Basie (‘One o’clock jump’) and Jimmy Rushin (‘I left my baby’) Big names from the 1930s include Charley Patton and Robert Johnson.  Here is a recording of ‘Sweet home Chicago’, sung by Robert Johnson (1937), a song that would be covered many more times.

Electric guitars had now become commonplace, so they were often referred to as ‘electric blues’. In the 1940s, there was a boom in new blues songs. In Chicago, Willy Dixon was constantly writing songs for artists who caused a furore there, such as Muddy Waters (‘I can’t be satisfied’, ‘Rollin’and tumbling’ and ‘Hoochie Coochie man’) and Howlin’ Wolf (‘Wang Dang Doodle’ and ‘Back door man’). 

Here is a recording of Muddy Waters’ ‘Im your hoochie coochie man (1971)

Rhythm and blues

Over the years, the Chicago sound became more rhythmic and the tempo of the melodies became faster and wind instrument support played an increasingly important role. The term ‘rhythm and blues’ made its appearance.  Also because the music industry wanted to get rid of the term ‘race music’.  As the years progressed, ‘rhythm and blues’ became an umbrella term for music originating from the African-American population, even though the number of white artists as well as fans increased rapidly. 

Older people among us still experienced plenty of the stars of the post-war period. Besides Muddy Waters, one can think of John Lee Hooker (‘Boogie Chillen’, ‘Dimples’ and ‘Boom Boom’), the ‘king of blues’ B.B. King (‘The Thrill is gone), Louis Jordan with his band ‘Tympany Five (‘You Ain’t My Baby’, ‘Saturday  Night Fish Fry“.

Here, ‘the king of the blues’ plays ‘Sweet little angel’ with Jeff, Beck, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Albert Collings in 1993.  The diversity of players alone is a sign of the blending of styles and ethnicities that has taken place in recent decades.

From the 1950s, many more can be mentioned Little Richard Penniman (‘Tutti Frutti’, ‘Long tall Sally’), Ruth Brown (‘Teardrops from my eyes’, (Mama) he treats your daughter mean’, Fats Domino (‘Aint that a shame’), Ray Charles (‘I got a woman’) and Chubby Checker (‘The twist’). These songs also show the great influence that rhythm and blues, alongside boogiewoogie, had on rock and roll, think Elvis Presley. 

Here, late 1993 and older Ruth Brown sings ‘Mama, he treats your daughter mean’ along with Bonnie Raitt. You can see the original version from the 1950s by a still-young Ruth Brown here.

The blues in the UK

Had Muddy Waters still shocked audiences in the UK with his performance, he inspired a range of English groups to contemporary blues renditions, such as Cyril Davies, Alexis Korner, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Yardbirds, Eric Clapton and also the Rolling Stones, who performed several times with the older blues luminaries.

The ‘UK invasion’ in the US charts in turn inspired a new generation of blues artists in the US: Paul Butterfield, Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter, J. Geils Band, Ry Cooder, the Temptations, Bonnie Raitt, Etta James, the Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabolous Thunderbirds. All artists who, in turn, influenced many others. 

It is almost impossible to make a choice here, which is why there is a link behind most of the names. I end up choosing guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan and his lifelong band Double Trouble with the classic blues ‘Texas Flood’. He is considered as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues and one of the best guitarists of all time despite his short life (1954 – 1990). He had a lifetime of problems with alcohol, love and drugs, which he had overcome by 1986. He then had four healthy years left to benefit from his fame until he was killed in a helicopter crash in 1990.

During the development of the blues, there has been cross-fertilisation between (rhythm and) blues and other genres.  Initially, these were the (negro) spirituals and gospel songs and, from the 1920s, old-style jazz: ‘Dixieland’ in New Orleans and later in swinging dance orchestras, such as Count Basie and his band. After the war, this was mainly rock ‘n roll. In the 1980s, the term ‘R&B’ was further expanded to include hip-hop, having already been used for soul, funk and even disco. These styles will be discussed later. 

One of the most important people who has kept the memory of the blues alive and secured its future is Jools Holland, who, together with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, has been performing at many venues for decades and has kept viewers glued to the tube in his weekly programme ‘Later’. In and the annual ‘Hootenanny’, where he ushers in the New Year with the audience.  Here he and his orchestra accompany Ruby Turner in ‘Roll out of this hole’ (2010 – 2011)

Afterword: Recently released is the album The Barnestormers, an international super formation on which Jools Holland plays and sings contemporary rhythm and blues/rockabilly/rock – whatever you name it – together with Jimmy Barnes, Slim Jim Phantom, Chris Cheney and Kevin Shirley.  Here you listen to the song ‘Johnny’s Gone’ from this album, accompanied by a fast-paced cartoons

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From ‘rock & roll to ‘rock’

From ethnical to age group based division of musical preferences

in the second half of the 1950s rock & roll was a previously unprecedentedly popular type of music. But ‘rock & roll’ was played in the black community in the US much earlier and was simply called ‘rhythm and blues’, boogie-woogie or jazz. Examples include: “Roll ’em Pete” by Big Joe Turner and pianist Pete Johnson (1939), “Rocking this house” by Memphis Slim and the House Rockers (1946), “Rock and Roll” by Wild Bill Moore (1948), “Rock the joint” by Jimmy Preston (1949), “Saturday night fish fry” by Louis Jorden (1949) and “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston.

The following short film (15 minutes) shows many artists who can be retrospectively classified under the ‘rock & roll’ label. The influence of Afro-American roots, boogie-woogie in particular, is clearly audible.

While the term ‘rock and roll’ was well known, it did not refer to a type of music in the beginning. It was the name of the movement of a ship on the waves (‘rocking and rolling’) and later took on an explicitly sexual meaning when, among others, Trixie Smith sings ‘My (man) rocks me with one steady roll’ in 1922 or Billy Ward ‘I rock ’em roll ’em all night long’ in 1951.

Disk jockey Alan Feed was the first who used the term in 1951 as a designation for a type of music. His radio show was listened to by both white and black American youths. ‘Rock and roll’ has been said to be the first style of music to appeal to a specific age group and not an ethnic group as had been the case in the US until then. With that, the term is also linked to the development of a youth culture, with its own clothing, style of going out and dancing. The twist is inextricably linked to rock and roll. 

The genre’s breakthrough was caused by white musicians – or perhaps better their record labels – such as Bill Haley and his Commets with “Rock the joint“(1952), which had previously been sung by Jimmy Preston, “Rock around the clock” (1954), and “Shake, rattle and roll” previously sung by Big Joe Turner. 

The song “Rock around the clock” only became a world hit in 1955 thanks to the film ‘Blackboard Jungle’, a film in which later icon Sidney Poitier debuted. For the first time, riots broke out with fans wanting to attend a performance by the group. You can see Bill Haley and his Comets (and his audience) at work here

Bill Haley’s other hits included “See you later alligator” ,” Rock-a-beatin’ boogie“, “Rip it up“, “Hot dog buddy buddy” and more….

Bill Haley’s fame declined rapidly; when Elvis Presley appeared on the scene and appeared to have much greater sex appeal, his fans turned their backs on him. But first and foremost, he had a fantastic voice. Bill Haley was giant on whose shoulders, Elvis could glory. Here you can watch “Ready Teddy” (1957) on the Ed Sullivan Show. Usually only his upper body is in view, as people found the jerky movements with his lower body offensive to viewers.

In an earlier post, I  have explored his songs.

Rockability: Cross-over between rock and roll and hillbilly music

Others who rode the wave of rock & roll were Johnny Cash with “Folsom prison Blues” and, of course, Buddy Holly, whose career ended by a plane crash (1959). Buddy Holly gained great fame with songs “Peggy Sue“, “Oh boy” and “That will be the day“. Here you can listen to Peggy Sue during a performance on the Ed Sullivan show (1957).

Incidentally, some black artists did gain recognition as rock & roll artists, such as Little Richard, here with “Long tall Sally“(1955, with Bill Haley in the audience), Chuck Berry with “Johnny B. Goode“(1958) and Fats Domino. In 1957, the latter said: ‘What they call rock ‘n’ roll now is rhythm and blues. I’ve been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans’.

The now next song “Jambalaya” was certainly not meant to be rock and roll, but the musicians didn’t care about that and the audience even less. The musicians are none others than Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Ron Wood (now Rolling Stones) and Paul Shaffer. The totally revved-up audience provides the background ‘vocals’ (well, background….).

Elvis Presley was well acquainted with and greatly admire ‘black’ rock & roll artists.  When he was called ‘King of rock & roll’ he held it off by referring to Fats Domino, in his opinion (rightly) the only singer to whom this title was appropriate. 

The record industry, which was responsible for landing Bill Haley and Elvis Presley, later thought it would do well to launch a somewhat more polished version of rock & roll that was accessible to a wider audience and therefore more commercial. Partly as a result, artists like Ricky Nelson, here with “Hello Mary-Lou“(1959), and Del Shannon with “Runaway‘ (1959). 

This ‘new’ type of music was named ‘rockabilly’, a word that refers to the crossover of rock and country & western (‘hillbilly’ music). This is an example of how whites left their mark on historiography. Rock & roll music, as you have heard, was played from as early as the 1940s and has African-American roots.

Rather, whites, some of whom were country singers until then, were adopting the musical style of their black colleagues. 

Provider of a British rock and roll version was Harry Webb, who later adopted the stage name Cliff Richard, and his band ‘The Shadows’, previously called ‘the Drifters’. Their songs and instrumental numbers became world famous. They were widely imitated, especially in the rest of Europe.

Here, Cliff Richard sings with the Shadows “Move it” (1958), which was considered the first authentically British rock and roll song. 

The record company pushed Cliff Richard to impersonate Elvis, to dress as much as possible. It looks a bit forced, but he does his best. Here you can also see him in “Do you wanna dance“(1958).

It is fun to compare this performance of “Move it” from a performance by the same Cliff, now with Hank Marvin, one of the former Shadows in 1995. They perform at London’s Dominion Theatre with ‘The Queen’ in the front row. You can see it here.

But Great Britain had another answer….  

By the late 1950s, ‘skiffle’ music had gained high popularity. In essence, skiffle has the same roots as American country music, which in turn emerged from European folk music.  This can be well heard on a recording of Lonnie Donegan’s “Putting on thes tyle”(1957). 

The rise of skiffle was in response to the growing commercialization of mainstream pop music. The thousands of skiffle groups that sprang up all over the UK used simple instruments like guitar, mandolin and washboard or drums. For many, Lonnie Donegan was the role model. For ‘The Quarryman’ too.

Over time, ‘The Quarrymen’ developed their own sound, by adding a bit more ‘beat’ to their songs. They changed their name and with it music history. You can see their first gig at ‘The Cavern’ here (1962)

With their new name, ‘The Beatles’ conquered the world, at least musically, the ‘British Invasion’. Countless other English ‘beat groups’, such as Freddie and the Dreamers, Herman Hermits, Dave Clark Five traveled to the States. This list could also include the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Yardbirds, but their music, especially in the early days, was more strongly inspired by the ‘rhythm & blues’ genre. All recordings date from the early 1960s.

The second half of the 1960s saw the emergence of many new styles of music, generally referred to by the term ‘rock’.  Within rock, a division tok place between ‘hard rock’, sometimes also referred to as ‘metal’, and ‘soft rock’, sometimes called ‘folk rock’.  Famous exponents of the former include Steppenwolf with, for example, “Born to be wild” and of the latter the Eagles with “Hotel California. From the turn of the century, the boundaries between pop and rock blurred and we also saw the rise of electronic (dance) music, with all its variations.   Of course, I will come back to all this later.

However, there are also musicians who keep the spirit of rock and roll alive. Some of them have recently formed the group “The Barnstones” and they made a brilliant album. This  super formation is featuring Jimmy Barnes, Slim Jim Phantom, Chris Cheney , Kevin Shirley and Jools Holland’, whose piano is unmistakably present.  Here you listen to the song ‘Johnny’s Gone ‘from this album, accompanied by a fast-paced cartoon. The best rock & roll ever from 2023….