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The Blues

We will examine the blues from its African roots, to work songs and gospel, to rock and roll, and everything in between. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith defined styles of American music that have contributed to later work as varied as Miles Davis and the Rolling Stones. Where did this music come from? How did it develop? It is an exciting story that, by itself, tells much of the local history of the American soul.

Suggested Reading
Bastin, Bruce. Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast, 1995.
Cook, Bruce. Listen to the Blues, 1995.
Wald, Elijah. Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, 2004.
Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey. Edited by Peter Guralnick, et al, 2004.

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