Dave O’Brien
Boston University
MU757
Curriculum for High School Classroom
Development of Delta Blues
 Mississippi Delta
considered to be the
birthplace of the Blues.
 Many slaves carried
original songs from their
homeland to America.
 Field Hollers and Songs
are popular means of
communication.
Development of Delta Blues
 Hollers, Chants, and Work songs were not allowed by
plantation owners. Why do you think this is so?
 Slaves would utilize their own voices and clapped
percussion.
 These original methods became the basis for the Delta
Blues style.
Development of Delta Blues
 Slaves and freed slaves become part of American
culture and society.
 Church is a regular Sunday activity.
 White churchgoers sing more hymns while Black
southerners use passionate vocals, clapping, stomping,
and call & response as ways of praise.
 By the 1870s the Spiritual is considered to be
important part of music in the South and influences
the Blues styles to come.
Development of Delta Blues
 Known as the “Father of the Blues.”
 W.C. Handy discovers the “Blues” in 1903.
 “Memphis Blues” is published in 1912 and is the first
composition to contain “Blues” in the title.
 This led to the Blues being a viable
musical form, and gave the Blues validity in
society.
 Blues was now a mainstream musical
form and changed the face of American
music.
Development of Delta Blues
 Juke Joints were the only
places for local
entertainment for rural
Blacks.
 Blues musicians would
travel from one Juke
Joint to the next in a very
nomadic lifestyle.
Development of Delta Blues
 Songs and lyrics were passed down orally.
 Alan and John Lomax created the first recordings of
Blues music in the early 1940s.
 Delta Blues musicians would eventually head up North
to Chicago and Detroit to record more often.
 Eventually, they would return to the Delta to perform
in their hometown Juke Joints and events.
The Delta Blues Style
 Most artists work in a
solo format by singing
and playing guitar or
harmonica.
 “Bottlenecking” is a style
of Delta Blues guitar that
can be heard as a stylistic
trait.
 Can you hear the “Delta
Blues?”
Review
 In which state is the Delta located?
 The Blues took influence from what form of African






communications?
What is a Black “hymn” known as?
Who is the “Father of the Blues?”
Please explain what a Juke Joint is. Why were they
important in the South?
Who created the first recordings of the Delta Blues?
How would YOU describe the Delta Blues sound?
What African innovations started Blues? What European
innovations started the Blues? Please explain.
Charley Patton
 1891-1934
 Moved to Dockery
Plantation in 1912 and
performed with Tommy
Johnson, Willie Brown,
and other Blues performers
who exchanged songs and
performance techniques.
 Known as famous musician
and performer and as a
“jokester.”
Charley Patton
 His influence grew beyond the Mississippi Delta and
into other parts of the country.
 “He had a rasping voice of the ‘heavy’ kind admired by
many other singers.”
 Most themes of his songs were autobiographical.
 His styles of performance led the way for Blues
performers to follow.
Son House
 1902-1988
 Involved with church as a
youngster and eventually
became a preacher.
 Worked at a steel plant
in St. Louis at age 20.
 Returned to Mississippi
and performed with
Charley Patton and
Willie Brown.
Son House
 Two influential recordings:
 Preachin’ The Blues
 Dry Spell Blues
 Both feature repetitive phrases on the guitar played with a
Bottleneck slide.
 “He had a powerful voice, and his use of hummed phrases
was probably a result of his experiences in church.”
 1942 – House moves to Rochester and quits music for
awhile.
 Rediscovered 20 years later, and has a resurgence in interest
and popularity.
Robert Johnson
 1911-1938
 Traveled from plantation
to plantation with his
mother as a boy playing a
Jew’s harp and
harmonica.
 Started guitar in 1927.
 In 1929, he was married
but wife died during
childbirth soon after.
Robert Johnson
 Led a “wild” adult life and was nomadic throughout
the Delta region.
 His famous recordings were made in both San Antonio
and Dallas, TX.
 These recordings “characterize Mississippi blues of the
mid-1930s and form the link between this tradition
and modern Chicago blues.”
 Shows influence from Son House and other earlier
Delta blues musicians.
Robert Johnson
 “Johnson’s voice was taut and often strained, and he
sometimes used falsetto effectively.”
 “His guitar playing combined dramatic rhythms with
agitated whining effects produced by a bottleneck
slide.”
 Johnson’s influence extended not only to the Blues
community, but to other popular styles to follow: Rock
n’ Roll, R&B, etc.
 Rediscovered mid to late 20th century and sold 500,000
copies of his re-released recordings in 1990.