History 2134A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Arthur Crudup, Boogie-Woogie, Blind Lemon Jefferson
13 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Hyslop
1
HIS 2134 Class Notes
Lecture 1: The Crossroads
Robert Johnson: reflective of all themes in the course
➢ Importance: songs demonstrate talent (crossroad blues)
➢ Intersection of blues and rock n roll
➢ Influence recognized after death
Keith Richards/Eric Clapton:
➢ Brought their interpretation of the blues to the US
➢ Reintroduced blues, and creation of music enthusiasts
➢ Blues = reflective of a place and time
o Paved the way for rhythm and blues, and then rock n roll
Lecture 2: Race, Resistance, and Blues
June 23, 1964: blues enthusiasts (3 white boys travelling through the south)
➢ Time of the civil rights movement
Son House: black man looking for (^)
➢ One of the most popular musicians in the Mississippi Delta
➢ Inspiration for future stars
➢ Beginning of the counterculture
➢ Life is an allegory for the blues in the US
Alan Wilson: reintroduced House to his music
➢ Rediscovery is a sign of the times, new coming from the old
Mississippi Delta: environment in which blues emerged
➢ Blues originated here and flowed outward
➢ Environment was a product of uncertainties
o E.g. share croppers
Characteristics of the blues:
1. Individualism
2. Centrality of musical instrument
3. Subject matter
➢ Blues brought new characteristics to US music
➢ Challenged and established music traditions
Black Face Minstrelsy:
➢ Paint face dark to play black music
➢ Reinforcing what whites believed blacks could be like
➢ Blues challenged this
Folk Ballad:
➢ Narrative song
➢ Black folk ballad: blues overtook this
➢ Acting outside of organized society
➢ Idea of the blues = commercial creation
➢ Genre of blues become consolidated
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Hyslop
2
Race Records:
➢ Blues, gospel, and jazz
➢ Record companies market to black audience
➢ Blues becomes more “bluesy”
Folk Blues:
➢ Distinguished from classic Blues
➢ Aka country blues
➢ Usually performed by travelling singers
Types of Blues:
1. Texas Blues
2. Delta Blues
3. Piedmont Blues
Blind Lemon Jefferson:
➢ Born blind (vocation – only way to make money)
➢ Improvational single note style
o Anticipated boogie woogie players
➢ T. Bone Walker – guide (in return got lessons)
➢ 1926: began recording
➢ Would come in with first line and make the rest up
➢ Black snake moan
Charley Patton:
➢ Blues performer: powerful/raspy voice
➢ Knife for “sliding style” – helped develop distinctive sound
➢ Wild and reckless lifestyle
➢ Songster – wide variety of material (indicative of the time)
Tom Rushen Blues:
➢ Night in jail
➢ Critique of white supremacy
➢ Reflective of where blues emerged from
Robert Johnson:
➢ Born in Mississippi – delta style blues
➢ Epitome of walking musician
➢ Disappeared a bit in the 1930s
o Came back as a new guitar player
o “Deal with the Devil”
➢ Heavily influential to rock sound in 1960s
➢ Boogie woogie style guitar playing
➢ Influence is seen in blues legends
➢ Achieved more staying power than anyone in the 20th century
Female Blues Performers: more classical
1. Ma Rainey
a. Exception to typical female artists
b. Close to folk blues (had a strong voice)
2. Bessie Smith
a. Style between cabaret and blues
b. Lived life large
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Hyslop
3
The Great Migration (1910):
➢ Agriculture more mechanized
➢ WWI on horizon
➢ Economic opportunity for blacks
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup:
➢ Played electric guitar
➢ Influential on rock (particularly Elvis)
➢ Transitional figure from country into electrified blues
Chicago Blues:
➢ Country blues dying out
➢ 1950s: Chicago emerged as a new center for blues in the US
➢ New blues performance format
Lecture 3:
Blackboard Jungle: 1955
➢ Social commentary about inner-city schools in post war America
➢ Epidemic of juvenile delinquency
➢ Opening credits “Rock Around the Clock” – Bill Haley
➢ Reinforced connection between rock and rebellion
Frank Sinatra/Tony Bennett:
➢ Adult music
➢ Mainstream, middle class audience
➢ No link to adolescent lives
Postwar America:
➢ Late 1940s – wealthiest people in the history of the world
➢ Most affluent
➢ Gap between rich and poor shrinking
GI Bill:
➢ Provided money for veterans to:
o Go to school
o Open new businesses
o Purchase new homes
➢ Suburbs born
➢ Prosperity – expanding of middleclass nation
➢ Age of conspicuous consumption
➢ Social pressures to conform
Cold War:
➢ Ideological confrontation between US and the Soviets
➢ Fear of Soviets desire of world domination
➢ Communist spies: adhere to US values, so you wont be suspect of being communist
➢ Aura of the era: consensus and conformity
Teenagers:
➢ Products of the time – raised in financially secure/safe communities
➢ Extensive leisure time
➢ Disposable income: consumerism
➢ BUT they had an uneasiness about the time
o Resistance because they don’t know anything other than conformity
➢ Youths looking for an outlet
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Robert johnson: reflective of all themes in the course. Brought their interpretation of the blues to the us. Reintroduced blues, and creation of music enthusiasts. Blues = reflective of a place and time: paved the way for rhythm and blues, and then rock n roll. June 23, 1964: blues enthusiasts (3 white boys travelling through the south) One of the most popular musicians in the mississippi delta. Life is an allegory for the blues in the us. Rediscovery is a sign of the times, new coming from the old. Environment was a product of uncertainties: e. g. share croppers. Individualism: centrality of musical instrument, subject matter. Blues brought new characteristics to us music. Paint face dark to play black music. Reinforcing what whites believed blacks could be like. Types of blues: texas blues, delta blues, piedmont blues. Born blind (vocation only way to make money) Improvational single note style: anticipated boogie woogie players. T. bone walker guide (in return got lessons)
