Commercial or Arranged Blues

Overview

As mentioned in Lesson 1, the 12-bar blues was one of the most popular African American musical forms in the early to mid-twentieth century. In this lesson, we look at the blues as a genre, focusing on two specific types: the rural blues and the urban blues. These two types of blues shared many characteristics, but at the same time, they are clearly distinguishable from each other. Early blues recordings also make an excellent case study of race records and the treatment of African American musicians in the recording studio and by the recording industry. In addition, we will see some other blues-inspired music, such as boogie woogie and blues-based or blues-inspired popular songs.

Objectives

Examine two specific types of blues to understand the musical form, instrumentation, harmony, and lyric content of each
Consider the listenership of each type of blues music, examining how these musics were recorded, marketed, and consumed by both white and African American audiences
Examine the specific aspects that are key to African American music, such as call and response and blue notes
Identify the 12- bar blues form
Identify the performers associated with rural blues
Identify the performers associated with urban blues

Commercial or Arranged Blues

W.C. Handy

Much in the way that ragtime inspired many songs that were about ragtime but included very few musical characteristics of ragtime, the blues also inspired many popular songs by Tin Pan Alley and popular song composers. The most prolific composer of these songs was W.C. Handy, who churned out dozens of blues-inspired songs in the 1910s. His campaign song for E. H. Crump’s mayoral race became the famous "Memphis Blues ♫." Several more blues compositions followed, and in 1914, "St. Louis Blues ♫" took the world by storm. In no time at all, Handy was the darling of Tin Pan Alley. In fact, he was even called "the father of the blues," although it is probably more accurate to call him "the father of the arranged blues" because very few of his songs were in 12-bar blues forms.

Although not in the 12-bar blues form, "St. Louis Blues ♫" started a national craze for this new type of blues music. Tin Pan Alley composers began writing blues-inspired songs, before long, some 200 different blues titles appeared on Broadway, in sheet music, and on recordings. These songs were examples of commercial or arranged blues numbers, very few of which were in 12-bar form or included performative aspects like blue notes. Instead, these songs were inspired by the growing national interest in the blues.

W.C. Handy

“Because the blues is the basis of most American music in the 20th century. It's a 12-bar form that's played by jazz, bluegrass and country musicians. It has a rhythmic vocabulary that's been used by rock n' roll. It's related to spirituals, and even the American fiddle tradition.”

-Wynton Marsalis

“I think we as a band, as individuals, understand that all popular music stems from blues and jazz and even pop, but rock 'n' roll especially comes from blues.”

-David Johansen

This short film St. Louis Blues (1929) starring Bessie Smith--and based on W.C. Handy's song of the same title--is the only known footage of her in existence.

St. Louis Blues by Mark Cantor