History of Detroit Blues
Like the Chicago blues, the Detroit blues emerged as the Great Migration era brought in by workers and musicians who are seeking greener pastures. However, this music style was often overshadowed by the more popular Motown genre and by the active blues scene in its neighbor town Chicago. While it is true that aspiring blues artists often head to Chicago and Memphis, Detroit was also able to attract its share of promising talents. One of the most notable musicians is John Lee Hooker. He was one of the African Americans aiming to seize better work opportunities in the northern cities. He first went to Memphis, and then arrived at Detroit in 1943 to find an assembly line job.
It was between the late 1940s and the early 1950s that Detroit blues picked up momentum. During this period, Hooker began making his first recordings including the “Boogie Chillen” in 1948. What distinguished his style from other artists were his sensual voice and his ability to create music from a single chord. He eventually became a prolific blues recording artist. He signed and created several records for different labels including Chess and Vee-jay. Among his influential compositions were “Dimples” (1956) and “Boom Boom” (1962). His career reached its peak with the release of “The Healer” in 1989 which gave him a Grammy.
The blues in Chicago and Detroit was slowly losing fame as the popularity of newer music genres like soul, R&B and rock increased. Its contributions to the rich history of music in the U.S. were on the verge of being a forgotten. However, in the late 1960s, the blues revival occurred among young listeners in the United States and Great Britain. This sparked a new interest in the Delta blues and its subsequent integration in the Chicago and Detroit blues style. This interest still persists at present.
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