The Blues and its Post-War Sub-Genres


Blues was a form of music that originated in the South of America. It originated from African-American musicians and came at the time of slavery and segregation. Due to this, Blues was exclusive to the black community. Blues was developed, built upon within it, and to this day is primarily associated with black musicians. The lyrics of the Blues were quite blue. They spoke of sadness and hardships, but they also echoed messages of hope and eventually progressed into celebration. As this style was developed by the poor and oppressed who did not have access to proper instruments, the dawn of blues involved beats that were rudimentary and primarily percussion. They were based on anything nearby—from animal skin stretched over a hollow box, to toothbrushes. As time went by, the beats became more complex and included a standard of 12 bars and flat notes, that gave Blues its heart and soul. 

The song I have taken as an example for the African Blues is ‘Rosie.’ This song was published in 1947. It was an African prison song and is in the AAB format, which is a classic lyric structure in Blues songs. This means that a part of the song is sung, then repeated, and then the next part is sung. The singers sound like they are making announcements rather than harmonising. It is fascinating to hear powerful lyrics about oppression and slavery being delivered in such a way as it emphasises on music as a form of communication. Its power comes from the simplicity and the raw dialogue created. The lyrics are straightforward and about a man telling his wife to wait until he is a free man before they get married. The only background music is a basic beat to maintain rhythm. Part of the reason for this is due to lack of access to instruments. But I believe that it is mainly because the musicians intended to focus to be on what is being preached. Such songs are presumably very relatable at the time due to widespread oppression and desire to break free. 

Another early form of Blues is the Gospel Blues. Let us take ‘Jesus is a Mighty Good Leader’ by Skip James. Gospel Blues are necessarily songs about God or religion. This sub-genre evolved when slavery had been abolished, but the segregationist policies were still in place. Due to the black community being a minority, they were still severely oppressed. They were often subject to more pain, whether physical or mental. A significant number of these songs also involve pleading the Lord for mercy or talking about His greatness while simultaneously contrasting how He was unfair. I have chosen Skip James as he is considered to be a very gloomy artist because of his lyrics involving death, loneliness, etc. It is essential to note that Skip James was one of the few artists who was able to translate the pain in his music, combine it with hope and resonate with Believers. In Jesus is a Mighty Good Leader, he talks about the Good in God and then proceeds to croon about his mother’s death and then back to God and how He led his mother all the way up to heaven. The Blues aspect of this genre comes from the instrumentation and also the fact that the genre had become associated with black people, history, and culture. 

The song that I have chosen for the New Orleans Blues sub-genre is ‘Big Chief’ by Professor Longhair. New Orleans blues is upbeat and the music has a heavy Caribbean influence in terms of beats and instruments. It makes you want to move. Professor Longhair includes some whistling along with his deft piano skills. This contributes to making the song fun. A crucial observation is that the song revolves around the scenes at Mardi Gras. After listening to a lot of New Orleans blues songs, an inference I have drawn is that a lot of them are regarding the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. This is due to the fact that at the time when news did not travel far or fast, the only personalised songs one could write about are those that one is witnessing in real-time. Since Mardi Gras is an event that everyone in New Orleans looks forward to, even now, the songs reflect the energy of the festival. They involve fast beats and relatively slow singing. This makes the song sound exciting and at the same time, laid-back. 

For Soul Blues, or simply, Soul, I have chosen ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ by Etta James. This song, released in the late 1960s, is wistful, slow, and about losing one’s partner to someone else. Etta captures the essence of Soul; whose main purpose is to convey emotions. Soul is a sub-genre of Blues as it arose from it. It is considered a more urban style, as it moves slightly away from the general chord progression. It adds a horn section to the existing instrument sections of the Blues. It also gave leeway to the artists to sing more about modern life and modern struggles. In comparison to the traditional Blues lyrics, which talk about the battles during Pre-War Era, such as apartheid, slavery. One of the main points that differentiate Soul from other genres and sub-genres is the use of various horns. The trumpet and saxophone are used in similar ways in all the songs. These, in combination with the slow and passionate singing, immediately points to the song being Soul. Etta is the type of musician who places herself in her music, thereby placing the listeners in her voice too. This is the type of song that makes you want to close your eyes, listen and let the music fill you up. 

For Electric Blues, the song I have chosen is ’Lenny’ by Stevie Ray Vaughan because it is the first electric blues song that was introduced to me at the age of 11. The entire song is a guitar instrumental. It is a song that is beautifully executed, is pleasant, yet exciting and that makes it tremendously interesting to listen to. The genre is classified by slides, pull-offs and hammer-ons on the electric guitar. Vaughan adds to this with his signature guitar licks and muting. Lenny is a relatively mellow piece, compared to most electric blues songs. The guitar notes are very smooth and the drum bears are soft and slow. By looking at the live version of this song closely, one might notice that while playing this piece, Vaughan has supreme control of the guitar and can transition from soft to intense seamlessly. It is well known that his distinctive style has been influenced by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, etc. He was also influenced by genres such as rock, jazz, country, rock ‘n’ roll, etc. He has the ability to amaze anyone listening to this piece, regardless of their preferred genre and makes it evident that he is a unique guitarist, all while casually smoking a cigarette. To this day, the Electric Blues continues to remain my favourite sub-genre of Blues.