University of Wisconsin-Madison 3 credits MUSIC
Traces the history of the blues in America's racial history. Begins by examining the living conditions that produced the blues in rural Mississippi (sharecropping, the cotton industry, the Great Flood of 1927). Continues by detailing the emergence of blues in the early recording industry (Paramount, OKeh), including the earliest examples (W.C. Handy, Mamie Smith), as well as the singers emerging in the 1920s (Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson). Follows migrations northward to Memphis (jug bands) and Chicago (electric blues), tracing the emerging importance of radio and live performance (King Biscuit Time, WDIA, the Chittlin' Circuit), living conditions in Chicago (Maxwell Street). Tracks early marketing of blues to white audiences (Josh White, Lead Belly). Ends with the reemergence of the blues as '60s folk music (Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson II) and British Invasion (Yardbirds). Supplemented with extensive musical selections, documentary footage of interviews.
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