At a Glance
blues: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
Works of history and criticism include Samuel B. Charters, The Country Blues (1959, reprinted 1975); Amiri Baraka, Blues People: Negro Music in White America (1963); Paul Oliver, Screening the Blues (also published as Aspects of the Blues Tradition, 1968), and The Story of the Blues (1969, reissued 1982); James Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues (1972); Giles Oakley, The Devilâs Music, rev. ed. (1983); William Barlow, âLooking Up at Downâ: The Emergence of Blues Culture (1989); and Lawrence Cohn et al., Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians (1993). Paul Oliver, Blues Fell This Morning: Meaning in the Blues, 2nd ed. (1990), studies the historical context of blues lyrics.
Notable works of the 21st century include Robert Palmer, Deep Blues (2001); Peter Guralnick et al. (eds.), Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey (2003), a companion book to the filmmakerâs documentary series of the same year; and Ted Gioia, Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music (2008).
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add new Web site: Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Robert Johnson and the Rise of the Blues. | Sep 16, 2026 | ||
| Added media and cross-references. | Jul 31, 2026 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 17, 2026 | ||
| Revised a top question and bibliography and added cross-references. | Mar 23, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: ABC listen - The Music Show - Deep Inside the Blues. | Sep 29, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 21, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas - Blues Music. | May 08, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Houston - The Blues: Music of Freedom. | Dec 04, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Earlyblues.org - What is The Blues? | Jun 21, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Open University - History and The Arts - Discovering music: the blues. | Apr 26, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Humanities LibreTexts - The Blues. | Dec 05, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Library of Congress - Blues. | Sep 03, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: BBC Bitesize - History of the Blues. | Apr 25, 2022 | ||
| Expanded discussion on early recordings and the influence of the blues on American literature. | Jul 22, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | May 06, 2021 | ||
| Add new Web site: LiveAbout - A Short, Sad History of the Blues. | Feb 16, 2021 | ||
| Changed âblackâ to âBlackâ throughout article. | Jul 28, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | May 12, 2020 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Blues Museum - The Evolution of the Blues. | Feb 25, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Encyclopedia of Chicago - Blues. | Feb 25, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Public Braodcasting Service - The Blues. | Jul 26, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: All About Jazz - A Brief History of the Blues. | Jun 22, 2018 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 15, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: All About Jazz - A Brief History of the Blues. | Sep 16, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Blues Music. | Sep 16, 2014 | ||
| Media added. | May 06, 2013 | ||
| Clarified parenthetical definition of "melisma." | Aug 08, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: New Georgia Encyclopedia - Arts and Culture - Blues Music. | Jun 10, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: The New Georgia Encyclopedia - Bethesda. | Jun 10, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: The New Georgia Encyclopedia - Bethesda. | Jun 10, 2011 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | May 20, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Year of the Blues 2003 - Celebrating 100 Years of the Blues. | Dec 28, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Year of the Blues 2003 - Celebrating 100 Years of the Blues. | Dec 28, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Jun 16, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 27, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |
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