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Slaves arrive
African slaves enter America -
End of Slave transportation
Congress legislates an end to importation of slaves into the United States -
Minstrel shows gain popularity
The Minstrel show, with its blackface performers, crude racial caricatures, and the song "Jump Jim Crow" becomes a part of american popular culture -
Emancipation Proclamation issued
Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves -
Slave songs published
slave songs of the united states, earliest collection of African-American spirituals, is published -
"Maple Leaf Rag" Published
Scott Joplin publishes "Maple Leaf Rag" Ragtime will become a key influence on the Piedmont style of blues -
The Great Migration
The United States enters World War I. Military and economic mobilization accelerates the great internal migration of African Americans that is already underway -
Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith records for Okeh Records. Her "Crazy Blues" becomes the first blues hit, beginning the business of "race" recording. -
Folk Blues Debutes
Ralph Peer, the famous Artist & Repertory man for Okeh and Victor Records, makes his first field recordings in Atlanta, Georgia, marking the recording debut of both the folk blues and what will later be called country music. -
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson is first recorded. He will become the dominant blues figure of the late 1920s and the first star of the folk blues. -
Great Depression
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 begins on Black Thursday, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States. Amid widespread economic ruin, sales of records and phonographs plummet, crippling the recording industry. -
U.S. Enters WW2; Migration Continues
The Japanese bombing attack on Pearl Harbor marks the entry of the United States into World War II. As had been the case during World War I, economic and military mobilization creates new opportunities for African Americans, particularly in the urban centers of the North. -
Elvis Debuts
Elvis Presley makes his recording debut on Sun Records with a version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right." -
Muddy Waters Performs
Muddy Waters performs at the Newport Jazz Festival to tremendous acclaim. -
"Year of The Blues" Declared
Congress declares 2003 the "Year of the Blues," commemorating the 100th anniversary of W.C. Handy's encounter with an unknown early bluesman at a train station in Mississippi.