Genres: The Basics
Delta Blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the style. Many Delta blues artists moved to Detroit and Chicago, creating a pop-influenced city blues style, which was displaced by the new Chicago blues sound in the early 1950s that harked back to a Delta-influenced sound, but with amplified instruments. Delta blues was also inspired the creation of British skiffle music, from which emerged the British invasion bands, and influenced the development of British blues, hard rock and heavy metal. Examples of delta blues are found here and here.
Chicago Blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the 20th century. A key feature that distinguishes Chicago blues from earlier traditions is the prominent use of electrified instruments and effects. Chicago Blues reached an international audience by the late 1950s and early 1960s, directly influencing not only the development of early rock and roll musicians, British blues, and early hard rock acts. Examples of Chicago blues are found here and here.
Texas Blues s a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Texas Blues scene began to flourish, particularly in the clubs of Austin, and was influenced by country music and blues rock, The diverse style often featured instruments such as keyboards and horns, with emphasis on guitar soloing. Examples of Texas blues are found here and here.
British Blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s, and reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s. In Britain, blues developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar. Because of the very different circumstances from which they came, the rhythm and blues British bands produced was very different in tone from that of African American artists. They have been criticized for exploiting the massive catalogue of African American music, but it has also been noted that they both popularized that music inside and outside of the US, which helped raise awareness of the African American rhythm and blues artists. Examples of British blues are found here and here.
Zydeco is a genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers, and blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Although it is distinct in origin from the Cajun music of Louisiana, the two forms influenced each other, forming a complex of genres native to the region. Zydeco music is typically played in an uptempo, syncopated manner with a strong rhythmic core, and is centered on the accordion, and a specialized washboard, called a vest frottoir, as a prominent çercussive instrument. Examples of zydeco blues are found here and here.
Country Blues (also known as folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. Exhibiting similarities to blues, bluegrass, and country & western styles with roots in the American south,he mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in the early 20th century. It stands in contrast primarily to the Urban blues style, especially in the pre-war era. Examples of country blues are found here and here.
Rhythm and Blues is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations. Starting in the mid-1950s, after this style of music had contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used more widely to refer to music styles that developed from and incorporated electric blues, gospel and soul music. Examples of rhythm and blues are found here and here.
Blues Rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. From its beginnings in the early to mid-1960s, blues rock has gone through several stylistic shifts and along the way it inspired and influenced hard rock, Southern rock, and early heavy metal. Blues rock started with rock musicians in the United Kingdom and the United States performing American blues songs. They typically recreated electric Chicago blues songs at faster tempos and with a more aggressive sound common to rock. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the style became more hard rock-oriented. Examples of blues rock are found here and here.
Other forms of blues include gospel blues and soul blues.
This content was excerpted from Wikipedia, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).
