The History of Memphis Blues Music

Memphis blues music has a very rich and interesting history that is packed with many of the biggest names in American music. Created in the 1920s and 1930s, Memphis blues music was created by musicians that lived in the area, like Furry Lewis, Frank Stokes, John Estes and Memphis Minnie. At first, it was only popular in vaudeville and medicine shows, but soon it quickly grew to capture the interest of the entire nation.

Memphis blues music really got its start on Beale Street, the place where the nightlife and culture of Memphis was (and still is). There have been several books written, dedicated only to Memphis blues music and Beale Street, including Goin Back to Memphis by James L. Dickerson, which came out in the year 2000.

Memphis blues music gained a lot of popularity very fast, largely in part to its unique sound. Because many of the musicians were poor and could not afford to buy traditional instruments, they were forced to improvise using household items that were previously not known for their sound producing capabilities. For example, washboards, kazoos and Jews harps were all prevalent in early Memphis blues music.

Quite possibly the most unique and frequently used odd instruments found in Memphis blues music is the jug. To replace the sound that an expensive bass guitar would make, people would blow into various sized jugs to create a deep and hollow sound. Of course, some of the people in Memphis blues music were able to get their hands on traditional instruments such as violins, banjos and mandolins.

Memphis blues music never really featured any electric instruments until after World War II, when Memphis blues music musicians slowly started buying and using them. Memphis blues music also started to transform itself as new musicians came onto the Memphis scene. This is because many African Americans started to migrate away from impoverished rural areas in search of cities and good jobs. Among those making the trek to Memphis were Willie Nix, Ike Turner, Howlin Wolf and B.B. King.

Still, Memphis blues music remained confined to the area of Memphis. That is, until Sun Records took an interest in Memphis blues music and started signing local artists as fast as they could. Eventually, Memphis blues music would go on to influence rock and roll, modern jazz and rhythm and blues music, and has been cited by several famous musicians in their songs.

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Bluzapalooza 2009 at Cairo Opera House Memphis Blues

Angola Prison Worksongs $16.98 Angola Prison Worksongs is a harrowing disc to listen to, not so much for the music as because of the circumstances of the recording. These field recordings from Angola prison, circa 1959, are more valuable as a social-historical document than for purely musical value. These work songs are sung by prisoners to the accompaniment of jackhammers, axes, gravel rakes, shovels, and washboards, while the liner notes give a first-person account of a particularly shameful epoch in American penal history. Not exactly “whistle while you work.” The liner notes’ attempt to connect these songs with the current crop of prison inmate rap discs seems a bit of a stretch, though, but you do learn the historical context of songs like “John Henry,” and “Stewball” (which showed up on a Willie Dixon-Memphis Slim disc). The obvious connection is with blues, and it does fit. There are two adaptations of Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years” here, with one by Odea Matthews as she scrubs clothes on a washboard, while the other has more local color — it’s not a great leap to hear echoes of Mardi Gras Indian chants in “I Got A Hurtin’,” and especially “Let Your Hammer Ring.” There are a cappella vocal exchanges, call-and-response group efforts, the moans on “Alberta Let Your Bangs Grow Long,” but it’s a disc that pretty much renders musical judgments superfluous. You could say Matthews is the best singer, since her “Something Within Me” is also very nice. The most jarring piece is Murray Macon singing “Jesus Cares,” in a light, sweet voice with a stamping press metallically clattering behind him like the forerunner of industrial gospel (if that sound exists; and if it doesn’t, here’s a roots source to invent it from), or the assembly line hammer-down of Captain Beefheart’s “Hard Workin’ Man” from the Blue Collar soundtrack. But what does saying that mean in this context?The four CD-bonus tracks are anti-climactic, and listening to Prison Worksongs will bring you down in the sen…

Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4 $31.98 The Harry Smith-compiled three-volume Anthology of American Folk Music set, originally released in the 1950s and reissued to much brouhaha in 1997, was one of the most important records in launching the folk revival. It was not well known, though, that Smith compiled a fourth volume that was unissued. Revenant finally put it out in 2000, and like its three predecessors, it contains classic pre-World War II American country, blues, and folk music, with some gospel and Cajun too. It does differ from the first three volumes in its focus on a slightly later period, with all the tracks culled from the years 1928-1940. Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Joe Williams, Bukka White, Memphis Minnie, and John Estes are all major blues artists; the Monroe Brothers, the Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, and the Blue Sky Boys all giant country/bluegrass pioneers; and the Hackberry Ramblers are one of the pre-eminent Cajun groups. A few of these songs are archetypes that have burned their way into the American collective musical consciousness: John Estes’ “Milk Cow Blues,” the Carter Family’s “No Depression in Heaven,” Joe Williams’ “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and the Monroe Brothers’ “Nine Pound Hammer Is Too Heavy.” Other less famous performances are quite intriguing, like Sister Clara Hudmon’s “Stand By Me” (believed by some to be Bessie Smith recording under a pseudonym) and Jesse James’ raw and rollicking piano blues “Southern Casey Jones.” At 28 songs spread over two CDs, it’s a little shorter than might be expected for a box set, though as compensation, it’s enclosed in a pretty incredible 96-page liner-note-sized hardcover book with writing by Dick Spottswood and John Fahey. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Before the Blues, Vol. 3: The Early American Black Music Scene $17.98 This final volume in an indispensable series collects work by better-known artists like Memphis Minnie and Mississippi John Hurt as well as more obscure geniuses like Henry Thomas and Texas Alexander. What stands out is the amazingly consistent level of quality of the recordings. While some preservation efforts such as this might fill spaces with padding, all the music here is heartbreakingly beautiful. ~ Tim Sheridan, Rovi

Discovery: The Rebirth of Mississippi John Hurt $16.98 Mississippi John Hurt recorded 20 tracks for OKeh Records in three sessions (one in Memphis and two in New York City) in 1928, and of these, seven were never issued and are now lost, leaving 13 tracks that vanished out into the world almost as quickly as they were recorded. In a genre known for slashing bottleneck stylists and gruff-voiced shouters suited to street corners and gin mills, Hurt was an unassuming front-porch performer with an intricate, delicate guitar style and a soft, gentle voice. The recording studio microphones allowed the gentle nuances of his songs to be heard, and Hurt? s guitar style, a bluesy blend of ragtime rhythms and Piedmont-style picking, is completely his own. Then the Great Depression hit, and many record companies and their artists, Hurt among them, were washed away. Hurt returned to his home in Avalon, Mississippi, and he stepped back into his life there for the next 30 years or so, occasionally playing porch parties, picnics, and other community functions. Then one day in 1963, Thomas Hoskins knocked on the door of Hurt’s small home in rural Mississippi. Hoskins, a serious blues fanatic and deeply involved in the folk and blues revival then sweeping colleges and the hip big-city intellectual centers, had found Hurt by following the lyrics to one of Hurt’s 1928 recordings, ? Avalon Blues,? in which Hurt sings ? Avalon? s my home town, always on my mind….? Hoskins drove to Avalon from the East Coast, and started inquiring about a guitar player named John Hurt, thus eventually ending up at Hurt’s door. He had brought a guitar and a tape recorder. When he opened the door, Hurt was hardly expecting to be talking about music. It was the last thing on his mind. He no longer even owned a guitar and hadn? t played in ages. Plus he had a sore throat and wasn? t feeling well. But Hurt did his best to accommodate, and using Hoskins’ guitar, he began to remember lyrics, chord progressions, picking patterns, and arrangements, and …

Electric Blue Watermelon $9.99 Although they may mix elements of hip-hop and alternative rock into their repertoire, the North Mississippi Allstars are really at their best when they blow out the rust on the kind of Mississippi folk-blues numbers they learned first hand from the likes of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Othar Turner. The lead track here, a blisteringly ragged version of Charley Patton’s “Mississippi Boll Weevil Blues,” is a case in point. Stripped down and raw, it thunders along on Cody Dickinson’s drums, throwing dynamics to the wind until the end, when it breaks down to just washboard and drums, then rises back up into a furious, marching stomp rhythm, before winding wistfully away on Luther Dickinson’s slide guitar work. It’s a wonderful rendition, and it reestablishes the past in the present without doing damage to either, a balancing act that the NMA do as well as anyone currently on the rock or blues scenes. Produced by legendary Memphis producer (and the father of Luther and Cody) Jim Dickinson, Electric Blue Watermelon has lots of similar moments that reach back to older songs, but instead of re-imagining them, as many artists would do, the Allstars simply amplify what is already there, a bit like tweaking out (but not replacing) the engine in an old stock car. This means the songs still carry the original package of nuts and bolts that made them work in the first place, but with the added kick of being covered by a top-notch band that understands that no one gets anywhere without understanding the past. This doesn’t mean that the NMA reproduces the past, just that they understand it. For their version of Odetta’s “Deep Blue Sea,” for instance, the Allstars actually speed things a hair, but keep the churchy feel of the original, and the result is a delightfully nuanced and bluesy folk hymn that is reverent to its source, but expands on it as well. Two of the songs here (“Teasin’ Brown” and “Hurry Up Sunrise,”) were worked up by Luther from tapes of the late…

Gene Summers Songs $20.68 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Blue Moon, School of Rock ‘n Roll, Mystery Train, Straight Skirt, Big Blue Diamonds, Do Right Daddy, Love Me Tender, Reminisce Cafe, Singing the Blues, the Great Pretender, Good Rocking Tonight, Don’t Be Cruel, Susie Q, Memphis, Tennessee, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Kansas City, Burning Love, Hot Pants, Nervous, Trying to Get to You, Rip It Up, Back in the U.s.a., Mister Rock and Roll, Twixteen, Blue Monday, Tennessee Saturday Night, Fannie Mae. Excerpt: “Back in the U.S.A.” “Back in the U.S.A.” is a song by Chuck Berry , which was first issued in 1959 as a single a-side and on Berry’s 1962 album More Chuck Berry , (both Chess Records ). The song’s lyrics were supposedly written based upon Chuck returning to the USA following a trip to Australia and witnessing the living standards of Australian Aborigines . The song has been recorded by many artists. MC5 covered the song in 1970 on their second album, also titled Back in the USA . In 1972, a live version of the song appeared on the album Roadwork by Edgar Winter’s White Trash . The song was covered by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers in 1976 on their self-titled second album. The song received its biggest commercial success when Linda Ronstadt included it in her 1978 double platinum album Living in the USA . The single reached #16 on the Billboard 100 Pop singles chart. Ronstadt performed the song with Berry and Keith Richards in the feature film, Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll . Gene Summers included “Back In The USA” on his 1983 album ‘Live’ In Scandinavia , and he has also used the song as his opening number on numerous occasions. (see references) Back in the USA was famously parodied by The Beatles with their song Back in the U.S.S.R. from their self-titled 1968 album The Beatles (aka the White Album ). Chris Robinson and Rich

King Curtis $36.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Curtis Ousley (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), who performed under the name King Curtis, was an American tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist and session musician who played rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. He was also a musical director and record producer. He was best known for his distinctive sax riffs and solos such as on “Yakety Yak”, which later became the inspiration for Boots Randolph’s “Yakety Sax” and his own “Memphis Soul Stew”. During his career many artists musically influenced King Curtis. He took inspiration from saxophonists Lester Young, Louis Jordan, Illinois Jacquet, Earl Bostic, and Gene Ammons. King Curtis started playing saxophone at the age of twelve in the Fort Worth area. He took interest in many musical genres including jazz, rhythm and blues, and popular music. As a student pursuing music he turned down college scholarships in order to join the Lionel Hampton Band. During his time with Lionel Hampton he was able to write music, arrange music, and learn guitar.

Last Soul Company [Box] $81.98 When Malaco Records started out in the late 1960s, the label that small Southern R&B companies looked up to was Stax. The Jackson, MS-based Malaco, like the Memphis-based Stax, focused mainly on deep-fried Southern soul in the beginning — only in 1968 and 1969, Malaco was a struggling young operation that was fighting to stay afloat. But ironically, Malaco would still be in business long after Stax’s 1975 demise, and it would continue to favor classic soul long after most labels had moved away from it. When other black-oriented independents were putting out urban contemporary, rap and house music in the 1980s and 1990s, Malaco was the place you went to hear soulsters like Johnnie Taylor, Denise LaSalle and Latimore and soul-minded bluesmen like Little Milton and Bobby “Blue” Bland. In 1999, Malaco celebrated its 30 years in business with The Last Soul Company, a six-CD box set that spans 1968-1998 and ranges from the decent to the superb. It’s miraculous that the company survived long enough to have a 30th anniversary — small R&B labels have come and gone over the years, and Malaco itself almost went under at various times. This collection contains all of the hits that defined Malaco, including King Floyd’s “Groove Me” in 1970, Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff” in 1971, Dorothy Moore’s “Misty Blue” in 1976 and Z.Z. Hill’s “Down Home Blues” in 1982. Over the years, Malaco Records and the Malaco studio dabbled in disco (one of this collection’s most famous tunes is Anita Ward’s 1979 disco smash “Ring My Bell”), funk and urban contemporary, but essentially, Malaco has remained a soul label with an interest in blues and gospel. Half the fun of hearing a collection like this one is discovering some obscure gems — on The Last Soul Company, such gems include Jewell Bass’ seductive “Let Your Love Rain Down on Me,” Power’s remake of the Rascals’ “Groovin’,” and male singer Ona Watson’s soul makeover of Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It.” Obvio…

Memphis Blues Bands & Singers: The 1980S CD $12.85 This final record in the High Water/HMG series of 20 blues and gospel CDs by Memphis and Mid-South artists is intended to showcase the variety as well as the common features and continuities of the…

Memphis Masters: Early American Blues Classics CD $16.15 A companion to Yazoo’s excellent Mississippi Masters collection, this time focusing on Memphis artists recorded between 1927 to 1934. The tracks collected here offer up a musical ambience that accu…