1800’s to 1930’s. Blues
also had its beginnings
as a result of slavery.
Jazz happened to reach
mass popularity first
but as you’ll see, blues
eventually caught up
 -“field calls” later known as “blues calls” are the earliest
forms of vocal performance by African Americans
 -these are used not only to communicate in the field world,
but to set tempos in order to work to.
 -plantation owners often permitted the slaves to sing while
they worked because they were more productive
 -these calls were based on “call and response” and could
also pass secret messages from the masters through
hidden messages in the lyrics
 -cotton producers still
needed to harvest cotton,
so a new form of
payment had to be
arranged because slavery
was now illegal.
 -this new arrangement
was called
“sharecropping” where
employees would earn a
“share” of the profits
 This share was usually enough to rent a shack of a
residence, feed your family and nothing more.
Ironically, slave owners housed and fed their slaves.

Check out the poster
 -many of the first public performances where held at
“juke joints” a small barn or cabin back in the bush or
swamp out of sight and earshot to white law
enforcement, so that bootleg whiskey and lyrics
unflattering toward southern white society wouldn’t
be discovered. The penalties could be fatal.
 Hidden messages fill blues lyrics. Musicians use
analogy, allegory and imagery to tell their stories. A
common example is “a woman” replacing the white
boss. It was acceptable for a black man to complain
about how your woman abuses you, but not how your
boss does.
 “Huddy Ledbelly” Ledbetter
 “On a Monday”

On a Monday, I was arrested
On a Tuesday, I was locked up in jail
On a Wednesday, my trial was attested
On a Thursday, nobody would go my bail
Almost done, I'm almost done, almost done
And I ain't gonna bring them yellow women no
pail
Take these stripes, stripes from around my
shoulder
Take these chains, these chains from around my
legs
Lord, these stripes, it sure don't worry me
But these chains, these chain's gonna kill me
dead
Yes, I'm almost done, almost done, almost done
And I ain't gonna bring them yellow women no
pail
On Friday, my baby went a-walking
On a Saturday, she locked me outa the door
On a Sunday, we were sitting down a-talking
On a Monday, she pawned all of my clothes
 Robert Johnson was a young man
who wanted to learn to play the
guitar.
 This is one of two known photos of
him
 He took lessons from a blues legend
named Son House
 He sounded like this…
 He starts playing at the local juke joints.
 Shortly after that a group from Columbia records
comes through town looking to capture traditional
music
 His songs make the airwaves all throughout America
 He goes on tour and comes as far north as Windsor
Ontario
 He brings blues out of the juke joints of the deep
south.
 Let the rumours begin.
 The rumours are supported by his lyrics
 I went to the crossroads, fell down




on my knees I went to the
crossroads, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above, have mercy
now, save poor Bob if you please
Standin' at the crossroads, tried to
flag a ride Whee-hee, I tried to flag
a ride Didn't nobody seem to know
me, everybody pass me by
Standin' at the crossroads, risin' sun
goin' down Standin' at the
crossroads baby, the risin' sun goin'
down I believe to my soul now, po'
Bob is sinkin'
You can run, you can run, tell my
friend Willie Brown You can run,
you can run, tell my friend Willie
Brown That I got the crossroad blues
this mornin', Lord, baby I'm sinkin'
down
I went to the crossroad, mama, I
looked east and west I went to the
crossroad, babe, I looked east and
west Lord, I didn't have no sweet
woman, ooh well, babe, in my
distress
 I got to keep moving, I got to keep
moving Blues falling down like hail,
blues falling down like hail Mmm,
blues falling down like hail, blues
falling down like hail And the day
keeps on remindin' me, there's a
hellhound on my trail Hellhound on
my trail, hellhound on my trail If
today was Christmas eve, if today
was Christmas eve And tomorrow
was Christmas day If today was
Christmas eve and tomorrow was
Christmas day All I would need is
my little sweet rider Just to pass the
time away, to pass the time away You
sprinkled hot foot powder, mmm,
around my door All around my door
You sprinkled hot foot powder, all
around your daddy's door It keeps
me with ramblin' mind rider Every
old place I go, every old place I go I
can tell the wind is risin', the leaves
tremblin' on the tree Tremblin' on
the tree I can tell the wind is risin',
leaves tremblin' on the tree All I
need is my little sweet woman And
to keep my company, hey, hey, hey,
hey, my company
 “Hellhound” turned out to be his last recording
 Robert Johnson start s acting REALLY strange
 He was killed after a show at a juke joint in Mississippi.
As with the tale that Robert Johnson had sold his soul
to the devil in exchange for the power to make music
beyond the reach of his rivals, it was reported by his
partner Johny Shines that he had died on his hands
and knees “Barking like a dog”
 Word gets around the blues community of his death
and the bluesmen panic.
 Son House would put his guitar away, and not take it
out again until the 1960s
 “Devil’s Music” is born
Supports the Legend
Discredits the Legend
 Did die violently of being
 Apparently had a thing
poisoned
 Did dissappear for a
while when learning to
play
 Did have very erratic
behaviour
with the club owners
wife
 Apparently met another
guitar teacher
 May have suffered from
mental illness
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