All peoples sing the Blues. Every culture on Earth uses music and verse to express deep emotions, ease a hard workload, or blow off steam. This is the definition of "Roots" music. Africans brought to slavery in this country and prohibited from practicing old cultures, developed work songs and field hollers to shorten a long day's work. Spirituals eased hearts. But as modern recording was developed, the medicine tuned into popular music.
The Blues led to the American Jazz art form. But some musicians and fans didn't quite evolve with the music. They held a deep appreciation for the rawness and depth of the Blues. The Blues as a music genre evolved. In juke joints and clubs all over the nation, local Blues performers crafted local styles. Kansas City, New Orleans, Chicago, and Memphis all have distinct styles of Blues. Whites mostly ignored the music. Some condemned it. Some took advantage of artists, But some embraced it.
White musicians and fans enthralled by the truth and rhythm of the Blues began copying the recorded black artists. Rebellious white teens, when seeing how much their parents hated the music, embraced it. One of several clashes between the Blues and white society resulted in Rock & Roll. More white artists continued on the Blues path.
Black to be Blue? Today the Blues is a patchwork of racial backgrounds all playing the music of African-Americans. But is it the Blues? Must you be Black to be Blue? Certainly not by commercial standards. The best selling Blues artists in the last 10 years have been white with today's big-record-label emphasis being on young white players. (Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, etc.) The majority of Blues bands in this nation are white. For some fans this is a problem. For they want authenticity. They want the "Real Deal". About.com Poll
What do the artists think? Most "Real Deal" Bluesmen embraced whoever showed the talent and drive to continue the song. Muddy Waters gave Jerry Portnoy and Bob Margolin a "Blues Torch" to pass along. The 1999 release "In Session" features the late great Albert King giving cool lessons to Stevie Ray Vaughan. The list goes on, and so does the Blues thanks to love of all peoples for the Blues.
