History of Blues Music Before 1970

blues man : Very few people know that the blues created rock and roll. Without the blues rock and roll would simply not exist. Let me explain: Rock and Roll can be best classified as a form of music in which the electric guitar is the most or at least a prominent instrument. Guess who created the electric guitar, blues men. Guess who were the first to play guitars with their teeth and do flashy moves on stage blues players. In fact blues players are the first to ever get feedback on purpose and then smash their guitars. No kidding.

The blues cannot really be traced back to a specific date, it's roots are known to have started on slave work fields. At first the blues was extremely primitive. Very old school blues, pre 1900, was backed by guitar, harp or sometimes violin. These instruments were preferred because they were relatively inexpensive, portable and probably also favoured because the notes could be bent. Blues pretty much has always had simple, emotion full lyrics and vocals. The blues was also favoured because you could play and sing it yourself, however it could be done in a large group.

Many aspects of modern rock music came directly from the blues. The blues created turnarounds and bridges, as well as the solo.

This is the transition from blues to rock, ready, OK. When acoustic guitar bluesmen attempted to play in big musical towns they were often drowned out by a big jazz band nearby(by the way, blues also gave birth to jazz). In order to compete players started by placing microphones nearby. After a while they drilled holes or stuck microphones through the sound holes of their acoustics. After a while pickups were created and players realized that a hollow body was not necessary anymore. The electric amp was also created at about this time. Before anyone knew it a new powerful electric sound was sweeping the blues bars of the nation. This powerful snarling overdriven tone lead to a new style of blues(named electric blues) and after a few years became rock and roll.

Of course white people stole it and tried to pass it off as their own. Much like what is happening to rap today, white people embraced this new sound and it soon became the most popular form of music in America.

You can add your information and knowledge about this age of Rock music.