Blues Techniques : Instruments : Rhythm : Other Styles

Other Styles

What were some of the other early blues styles performed in the South?

Delta Blues

The first documented blues in the United States, Delta blues adopted a plaintive expression of pain, like the African slave descendants who labored as sharecroppers in Mississippi. Most of the performers could not read or write and were among the poorest blacks, even being rejected from jobs as house servants and by their own communities. The music inspired hope to people in similar straits and gave a meager allowance to its artists. In some way, it sustained a community until they began to experience a breakthrough in freedom during the civil rights era.

Musicians:

Tommy Johnson
Sonny Boy Williamson
Bo Carter
Robert Lockwood, Jr.

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