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American Roots Music
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The Fisk Jubilee Singers
They begin touring America performing their spirituals for white audiences -
Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith and her Jazz Hounds record “Crazy Blues” for Okeh, the first blues recording by a black singer, triggering an enormous popular demand for blues recordings and “race” records -
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson—one of country blues’ big three, along with Charley Patton and Son House—begins his recording career with Paramount Records. -
The Golden Gate Quartet - Gospel Music
The Golden Gate Quartet revolutionize gospel music with their elaborate, percussive jubilee-style vocals. -
Bluegrass
The banjo hits it big when Bill Monroe adds banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt to his band, creating the bluegrass sound. -
Hank Williams
Honky-tonk country artist Hank Williams debuts at the Grand Ole Opry, performing “Lovesick Blues” -
B.B. King
Local blues sensation Riley King hosts and plays the “Pepticon Boy” show on WDIA radio in Memphis; he goes on to DJ as the “Beale Street Blues Boy,” later shortened to his nickname “B.B.” King. -
The Weavers
The Weavers score a Number One hit with a version of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight Irene,” creating a new sound that anticipates the folk revival -
Elvis Presley
Sam Phillips signs and records Elvis Presley. Their first single, “That’s All Right Mama,” a blues song written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup; the b-side is Bill Monroe’s bluegrass track, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” -
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival becomes one of the most important roots music showcases in the world.
