The Birth of The Blues

By: Arisay Gonzalez & Ever Paz

Louis Armstrong

Sidney Bechet

Bunk Johnson

The Blues

• Where did blues start?The blues had its roots in other forms of black music that included African rhythms, field hollers, jump-ups, spirituals, and church music, but it became a distinct for by the turn of the century. “Blues came from the suffering and the aching hearts of of poor black workers and sharecroppers. The blues were like spirituals to people. They prayed to God and for themselves.”

• Where did people sing the blues at?People sang the blues at work and at home, on chain gangs and in dance halls, walking along a road, riding a mule or a train.

Lyrics

• The lyrics were about love or the love they’ve lost, about riding horses and working on a farm. Also about walking along the road, sex and lust, or about going away and coming home

Questions

• By when was the blues part of America’s music?By world war 1, the blues had become a part of Americas music.

• What year’s did blues spread northward?The blues spread northward during the 1930s and 1940s.

Louis Armstrong• He was the greatest of all Jazz musicians• He was sent to reform school for hiring a gun up in the air on

New Years Eve at age 11• He learned how to play the cornet at the school • Joe “King” Oliver was his favorite musician and he acted like a

father to Louis• Oliver bought Louis his first real cornet• In 1917 he played with Oliver in his band at dive bars in New

Orleans• In 1924 Armstrong married Lillian Hardin, a piano player and the

arranger of the band• He recorded with many Blues singers such as Bessie Smith,

Clarence Williams and the Red Onion Jazz Babies

Sidney Bechet

• Was one of the greatest Jazz musicians of all time

• Bechet was a Creole of color, a member of an ethnic group from Louisiana

• He played in local bands in his teens• Bechet played in London, England• He mastered the soprano saxophone

Bunk Johnson

• Johnson was a an early Jazz pioneer• He played in bands led by Buddy Bolden• He left New Orleans in 1915 & played minstrel shows• He play with the Black Eagles in 1930 as the trumpet player• He played for a long time but retired in 1931 because his

heart was no longer feeling it• He lied about his age to make it seem as if he was one of the

first Jazz musicians• Authors of a book collected money to fix Bunk’s teeth & buy

him a new horn• His first recordings was in 1942

Questions

• During the late 1940s who continued the tradition?Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, and B.B. King were the ones to continue the tradition.

• Who “discovered” bluesmen?Bluesmen were dicovered by a young white American & European musicians from The Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton & Bob Dylan.

Powerful Quotes

Why are they important?• Louis Armstrong said, “What we play is life”

meaning that music gets to your soul and that it sends you a message about life.

• He also said, “ The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician” meaning that what ever it is you have been through inspires you to tell your story to others and can teach you.

Powerful Images

Why they are important?

• Armstrong was an inspiring person to African Americans since he was the first African American to become recognized by others

• Bechet was one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time

• Johnson’s name kept coming up as one of the early influential jazz musicians in New Orleans