The History of Blues Music
Before the blues came along, there was little solo music in the African-American culture. With the emergence of the solo singer and instrumentalist, the lyrics became more individualized and the meaning of the music began to take on a more emotional tone.
The Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival
I have attended this festival twice. It is located in West Helena Arkansas. It was the first festival I attended outside of St. Louis. It is a free festival and I was very impressed by the effort to which the local people had gone to make the towm ready for the festival. Like most small town downtown areas, West Helena has pretty much deserted. It was obvious that buildings had a fresh coat of paint and there were some shops set up in the vacant stores. There were a lot of venders set up along main street and some of the side streets. There were several small stages and one main stage.
Skip James
Skip James was born in Bentonia, Mississippi. He recorded for the first time at Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin.
