Essay On Classic Blues

Blues is a popular musical form that has influenced many American popular music. It can be dated back as far as the end of the 19th century. Towards the end of the 19th century, Blues consisted of work songs, spirituals, and African American traditional songs. It was a form of realism because singers were able to discuss about their problems and express their true emotions through Blues. Classic Blues
Although Blues have previously been used to musically express the struggles of people in the United States, Blues is seen to have influenced different music genres that are on top charts now. The genre, Blues, has many distinctive characteristics. Blues generally have four-beat bars in a twelve-bar blues arrangement. Another Blues technique is the call-response form Many singers in today’s music world have used some form of blues technique in some of their songs. Blues is prevalent in popular music and it has contributed as a signifier of American Identity. Blues are important in America’s tradition because during hard times or ambiguous times, there is the idea that people tend to look back to the “ideal” times. Whether they were “ideal” times or not, artists still go back to the blues traditions. It can be seen that blues are still popular among national audiences today because
songs that are on the top charts and billboards have some sort influence of the Blues. The Beatles is a band that typically does not sing Blues traditional songs or use Blues techniques.
When people hear the Beatles, people think of an English pop and rock band. Rarely would people associate Blue bands with the Beatles. However, “Can’t Buy Me Love” is an example of a popular song that displays an influence of blues traditions. There is a “blend of primal blues and sweeter major scales” in this song (Pedler, 2003). This is a technique that is generally not seen done by the Beatles. In addition, the Beatles used the typical twelve-bar blues arrangement for this song. “Can’t Buy Me Love” is a song that has topped the charts and displayed the popularity of Blues
tradition. Another example of a classic blues song that has become popular, rearranged, and sung by non-typical Blues singers is “Baby Please Don’t Go.” Approximately during the 1930’s, Big Joe Williams who was Delta Blues musician, sang the song. Now, it is known as “one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history” (Herzhaft, 1992). Hip-hop is an example of a music genre that is popular among many teens and adults. In today’s music world, hip-hop songs generally tend to have a dark message. The messages are intended to discuss difficulties and hard situations people are facing. Similar to b