Music of the South

2002 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How does globalization affect music culture

As you are driving down the road of the countryside of the American South, you see the dry fields of grass spread for miles. You turn on the radio and all you hear is country music or the blues. This is the culture and music of the South. The South has two types of music, country music of the whites and the blues of the blacks. Due to the isolation and conservatism of the South, the South had their own forms of rural music.

First, we look at the blues and how grief can become a form of popular music. Great blues singers include Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, B.B. King, and Muddy Waters. Secondly, we look at the origins of country music. Examples of great country singers include Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Randy Travis.

The first music of the South is the blues which is about an expression of an individual's grief while facing the world by your own self. Later, The blues was a type of music that played in the South and wasn't printed until 1912. William C. Handy was a composer who brought and promoted blues as a popular type of music and brought it to the people. Some of his beginning publishing work include "Baby Seals Blues", "Dallas Blues", and "Memphis Blues".

The blues was very popular during the 1920s to the 1930s with the blacks and was starting to grow for whites. Classic city blues was dominated by female singers. Usually they performed with jazz musicians with a call-and-response between the music and the singer. The blues was very closely distinguished with jazz because both included each other in their music and the blues had an influence towards the beginnings of jazz. The boogie-woogie, which is like ragtime, is closely related to the blues. The blues became popular about the same time as country...

... middle of paper ...

...NYCASH.COM, 2009. Web. 9 Oct 2011. .

Kingman, Daniel. American Music: A Panorama. 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1979. 3- 101. Print

Loretta Lynn. Loretta Lynn Biography. LORETTALYNN.COM, 2010. Web. 7 Oct 2011. < http://www.lorettalynn.com/50/?page_id=2>

"PBS." B.B. King. HD READY, LLC and WTTW, 2010. Web. 8 Oct 2011. .

"Randy Travis." Randy Travis Bio. 2010. Web. 8 Oct 2011. .

"Rock & Roll Hall of Fame." Ma Rainey Biography. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc, 2010. Web. 9 Oct 2011. .

Welding, Pete. "Muddy Waters." Muddy Waters Biography. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, Inc, 1992. Web. 7 Oct 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • A Voice From The South

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her book, A Voice from the South, Anna J. Cooper expressly addresses two issues: the participation of women in American society and America’s race problem. These are two issues very close to Cooper as an African American woman herself and she claims to speak for all African American women on these points. She argues that for America to be a truly democratic country that has freedoms for all people, it must have participation by women and blacks.

    Read More

  • Country Music Argumentative Essay

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many would argue that country music isn't country anymore; straying too far from the older generation of fiddles, violins and guitars by incorporating a "pop" feel and focusing more on the beat than the content. Pop music is typically viewed as up-beat and differs from the sad, lonesome sounds of country from the past. I would agree that today's country has a very different sound than previous years, however, still incorporates the down-to-earth feel many of us can relate

    Read More

  • What Role Does Blues Play In Today's Music

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    Blues has played an extreme role in todays’ music. The music genre of blues, helps us express ourselves in which you can feel it from the ubiquitous in the jazz to the blues scale and the specific chord progressions. To start off, the blues is musically originated by African Americans in the deep South of the United States. Growing up in a southern household, I was used to listening to a variety music, but blues was always most listened to. Every time I listen to blues, the lyrics often deal with personal adversity, and it goes far beyond pity.

    Read More

  • Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith: Two Legendary Classical Blues Artists

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    The blues emerged as a distinct African-American musical form in the early twentieth century. It typically employed a twelve-bar framework and three-lined stanzas; its roots are based in early African-American songs, such as field hollers and work songs, and generally have a melancholy mood. The blues can be divided into many sub-genres, including Classical, Country, and Urban. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the careers of two of Classical blues most influential and legendary singers: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

    Read More

  • R & B Research Paper

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rhythm and Blues also known as R&B has become one of the most identifiable art-forms of the 20th Century, with an enormous influence on the development of both the sound and attitude of modern music. The history of R&B series of box sets investigates the accidental synthesis of Jazz, Gospel, Blues, Ragtime, Latin, Country and Pop into a definable from of Black music. The hardship of segregation caused by the Jim Crow laws caused a cultural revolution within Afro-American society. In the 1900s, as a method of self-expression in the southern states, the Blues gradually became a form of public entertainment in juke joints and dance halls picking up new rhythm along the way. In 1910, nearly five million African Americans left the south for the

    Read More

  • Jimi Hendrix Are You Experience Meaning

    3021 Words  | 7 Pages

    "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inductees." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | RockHall.com. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. .

    Read More

  • Birth Of Blues Essay

    3363 Words  | 7 Pages

    Although folk music played a big role in most of these artists’ performances, folk links back to the blues, and is similar...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Blame It On The Blues By Angela Davis

    561 Words  | 2 Pages

    Blues music emerged as an African American music genre derived from spiritual and work songs at the end of the 19th century and became increasingly popular across cultures in America. The Blues is the parent to modern day genre’s like jazz, rhythm and blue and even rock and roll, it uses a call-and-response pattern. While Blues songs frequently expressed individual emotions and problems, such as lost love, they were also used to express despair at social injustice. Even though Blues singing was started by men, it became increasing popular among women, creating one of the first feminist movements. Ma Rainey, a pioneer in women’s

    Read More

  • Blues And Ragtime: A Comparison Of Jazz And Ragtime

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ragtime and Blues are different in that they originated from different places. Blues developed in the south. Blues is mainly a vocal music. It was emotional, in that the earliest form was singing and hand clapping. The blues started out with slaves because they would use it to sing about their pain and problems. However, ragtime was popular among many Americans and flourished. The term “ragged time” came to be used to describe its key trait which was syncopation. Ragtime music is tuneful, but it is primarily rhythmic. Whereas a blues song can be sung freely by one person, or a chorus, without a strict rhythm, ragtime is more like a march. The popularity of ragtime flourished at world fairs and was welcomed by many people. Both styles

    Read More

  • Genre History: Blues

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    The musical genre of blues is one that has continued to be a prolific style of music for many years. The blues began as working songs and field hollers sung by African American slave communities, beginning in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. The blues genre has since become a major influence on other developing genres. Most modern genres can be traced back to the genre, originating in the deep south of the United States. The musical style of blues is very distinct, and is identifiable to almost anyone. The many instruments generally used include acoustic guitar, bass, body and voice, piano and harmonica, as well as several others. In terms of production elements, traditional blues music is produced using minimal mics, and room ambiance plays a large role in producing the sound of the music. Some of the first major names in blues music was Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Leadbelly and Robert Johnson; all of whom were major influences on the blues as a musical style.

    Read More

  • Appalachian Music

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    It should be brief but comprehensive, as it may also be the introduction of the music to teachers as a study guide before or after an in-school presentation, or they may include this information in a history of social studies discussion if a program presentation is not possible. Bluegrass Music: The Roots. The street balladry of the people who began migrating to America in the early 1600s is considered to be the roots of traditional American music. As the early Jamestown settlers began to spread out into the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Virginias, they composed new songs about day to day experiences in the new land. Since most of these people lived in rural areas, the songs reflected life on the farm or in the hills and this type of music was called &quot;mountain music&quot; or &quot;country music.&quot; The invention of the phonograph and the onset of the radio in the early 1900s brought this old-time music out of the rural Southern mountains to people all over the United States.

    Read More

  • Sonny's Blues

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is very difficult to determine the exact origin of the blues. Although its earliest roots evolved from West Africa, the blues probably emerged in the United States around the 1800's relative to the African America plight into slavery, as spirituals, work songs, and "arhoolies" (traditional, vernacular, or regional music) (The Arhoolie Foundation). All had some form of influence on the blues as a distinct form of music. The emergence of the blues would have occurred with the social and economic circumstances of the African Americans. (Crosby) Blues was a way of communicating discontent. But it was the spiritual blues that was the music of an unhappy people - the music that told of death, and suffering, and a cry for some hope of freedom and liberation from their torment. Yes, the slaves did get their freedom but were still bound to their "Chains" by racism.

    Read More

  • The Roots Of Blues Music

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The first country blues that was written and published was "Memphis Blues" by W.C. Handy in the early 1900's. The first recorded blues was " Crazy Blues" by Mamie Smith in 1915. Most country blues were played with an acoustic guitar and with someone singing. It also has a definite call and response between the voice and guitar.

    Read More

  • The Blues Music

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    The blues, a uniquely American art form, was born on the dusty street corners of the Deep South in the late 1800s. An evolution of West African music brought to the United States by slaves, created the blues which was a way for black people in the south to express their hardships, heartbreaks, religion, passion, and politics that they experienced in their day-to-day lives. The majority of blues songs were never written down, let alone recorded, but instead, were passed on from one musician to another and played on a variety of instruments including a number of stringed instruments, harmonicas, and horns. Once blues songs began to be officially recorded in the 1920s, the most frequently found instruments were guitars and pianos. However, the basic 12-bar style and three.-chord progression have remained the same throughout the years and continue to be key components of the blues.

    Read More

  • The Blues: The Origin Of The Blues

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition, they agree that slaves from these regions carried with them their culture and started singing a type of genre that did not exist in the United States. However, as the groups from different linguistic cultures gathered and worked together, there was a telling influence giving rise to the blues. The two authors contrasted heavily while explaining the type of influence leading to the blues. On the one hand, Palmer associates the blues origin with country music. On the other hand, Barlow notes that the blues origin had to do with rural folk songs including African-American

    Read More

More about Music of the South

Open Document