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Blues
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"Slave Songs" Published
Slave Songs are the first published set of African American Spirituals in the United States. -
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Blues Timeline
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A Bluesman is Discovered
Famous musician W.C. Handy sees a "bluesman" playing a guitar with a knife at a train station in Mississippi. This is where some say blues was first discovered. -
Blues Music Published
W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" are published as sheet music, creating the first widespread acceptance of blues music. -
"Crazy Blues"
"Crazy Blues," Written by Mamie Smith, is the first blues hit. Blues has now become a popular geanre of music -
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemmon Jefferson is first introduced in 1920. He will become the dominate blues player in the 1920's. He will also be the first artist to become famous for his folk blues. -
Folk Blues is Introduced
Artist Ralph Peer markets a record that first introduces folk blues, what will later be known as Country Music -
Great Depression
With the mass amounts of housholds in poverty, records and phonograph sales plummet. This cripplles not only the blues music industry, but all musical geanres. -
Electric Guitar Introduced
Artist Eddie Durham records the first music featuring the electric guitar. The insturment was first developed in the early 1930's by muscian's George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher, which transformed the way blues music was played. -
Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters becomes a dominate blues player in Chicago. He becomes the key link between the Mississippi Delta and the urban style of blues. -
T-Bone Walker Goes Electric
The electric guitar gains popularity when artist T-Bone Walker uses it in his record "Call it Stormy Monday." -
B.B. King
"Three O'Clock Blues" becomes a major rhythm and blues hit for artist B.B. King. This is his first of many hits throughout his career. -
Elvis
Elvis Presley makes his recording debut on Sun Records with a version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." Elvi's music combined rock and blues to create a new geanre of music. -
The Country Blues
Samuel Charters debutes his Album "The Country Blues," which re-sparks the folk music era. -
Muddy Waters gets Famous
Muddy Waters performs at the Newport Jazz Festival to tremendous acclaim. -
British Invasion
The first U.S. tour by the Rolling Stones marks the invasion of British blues rock bands. This may also mark the end of the Blues era as being the frontrunner of the music industry.
