History 2134A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Son House, Texas Blues, Delta Blues
6 Feb 2018
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Week 2: antecedents: race, resistance and the blues. Note: robert johnston was influenced by son house sold soul for talent. 3 white dudes travelled to the south to find a black dude to join their band: dangerous b/c during the civil rights movement. Son house: one of the most powerful musicians, embodied the blues when he played. He was an allegory for the blues: music reflects the hard life in the south v influential, blues can be seen as a reaction against life in the south if you were an african. Alan wilson brought son house to the spotlight. Economic uncertainty and mobility fueled the blues: product of life in the south for african-americans, sharecropping, little education, legacy of slavery, lynching. Common denominator through ppl who nurtured the blues = the economic uncertainty and mobility that governed their lives: individuals possessed none of the certainties that came with owning property or the stabilities of plantation life.
