Blues and the Community

Paper Summary:

This paper begins by discussing how Mississippi Delta was the birthplace of the Blues movement and introduces the first musicians of this form of music. It then discusses how the Blues movement developed into a form of community bonding and how it benefited the community. It mentions landmark institutions which developed from the Delta Blues. These include the Delta Blues Museum and the The Delta Blues Education Program, The Delta Blues Hall of Fame and The Mississippi Delta Blues Society.

From the Paper:

"The Mississippi Delta is not a large area geographically, yet writer Robert Palmer argues that it has contributed more to American music than any other region (Palmer, 1993, p. 11). Famous Delta blues musicians include Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, B.B. King, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Floyd Jones and Howlin' Wolf. And even though Delta natives such as Albert King and John Lee Hooker left for more promising opportunities elsewhere, hundreds of other artists stayed behind and kept the blues tradition alive at home where today it is played at weddings, house parties, fish fries, juke joints and festivals (Clarksdale, 1999)."

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