Kingtut Blues Band - Yellville Performance july 25, 2015

Kingtut Blues Band performed at Yellville's Music on the Square on July 25, 2015. This is the video put together of that performance.

The Weight - Kingtut Blues Band

In December 2011, Kingtut and friends recorded a cover of "The Weight".  This is the video I had directed for them.  I hope you all enjoy it.  very amazing cover!

“If Loving God Was A Crime”

When I first got saved in the summer of 1996, there was a Christian band around at the time called Big Tent Revival that I got turned on to and liked. I think they broke up a few years ago. I started listening to them again about 9 months ago when I decided to put God first in my life. One song that really strikes a meaning for me is "If Loving God Was A Crime". it came out in 1997 but it's very relevant today as it was than.

"If Loving God Was A Crime"
by Big Tent Revival

If loving God was a crime, I'd be an outlaw.
I would join the fight.
They could not shut me down. I would stand tall.
What I know is right.
Would you stand with me, for the world to see,
when all is on the line?
Would you be ashamed, of Jesus name?
If loving God was a crime.

The school room I hear, teaches choices,
to kids who cannot pray.
And the unborn I fear, they have no voice,
in politics today.

Would you stand with me, for the world to see,
when all is on the line?
Would you be ashamed of Jesus name?
If loving God was a crime.

Take a look around.
What will tomorrow hold?
It's time to stand our ground.
We must be bold, we must be bold.

If loving God was a crime, I'd be an outlaw.
I would join the fight.
Will you stand with me, for the world to see,
when all is on the line?
Will you be ashamed, of Jesus name,
when loving God is a crime?

When loving God is a crime...

16 Inspiring Songs That Honor JFK Pictures - The Tragedy That Shattered Camelot | Rolling Stone

*After John F. Kennedy’s assasination, our country went into utter chaos.  1960s started out nice and calm until than.  I’m not a democrat, but I do like what Kennedy stood for and tried to do during his presidency: get world peace, kill poverty, create equality in all of us.  Some songs mentioned in this Rolling stone article I heard of, some I haven’t.  all I didn’t know had parts that are influenced by John Kennedy.  1960s history I always enjoyed, but some of the things that we now have because of events back then probably weren’t good ideas.  people have too much of a “if it feels good do it” mindset, and put all caution to the wind due to it, and just don’t care and have no moral boundaries.

16 Inspiring Songs That Honor JFK Pictures - The Tragedy That Shattered Camelot | Rolling Stone: "16 Inspiring Songs That Honor JFK"

On Nov. 22, 1963, the Beatles released their second album, the Beach Boys played to a record-breaking crowd in Marysville, CA, and Elvis Presley wept with gal pal Ann-Marget as they watched the shocking news on television about President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Before that day, rock and roll was still in its happy-go-lucky infancy. After that fateful convertible ride through Dallas, the '60s became The Sixties, and a fast-maturing rock and roll would help guide the cultural and political shift waged by a generation that began to question the ways of the world. As we recognize the 50th anniversary of the day JFK was shot this week, here are some of our favorite musical nods to Kennedy and the tragedy that shattered Camelot.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/16-inspiring-songs-that-honor-jfk-20131119#ixzz2l9zDJSP3 
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

'via Blog this'

Bob Dylan’s “Pressing On”

Bob Dylan has always been one of my favorite musicians, and I have no clue what his beliefs are currently, but in 1980 he found God and put out a couple of pretty good Christian records: “Saved” and “Slow Train Coming.”  This particular song of his I first heard a few years ago when an artist I never heard of by the name of “John Doe” covered it for the soundtrack to the fictional dylan biopic “I’m Not There.”  The song is called “Pressing On” - one of my favorite Christian songs!

“PRESSING ON” by Bob Dylan

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my lord.

Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind
Say, "Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign"
What kind of sign they need when it all come from within
When what's lost has been found, what's to come has already been ?

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my lord.

Shake the dust off of your feet, don't look back
Nothing can hold you down, nothing that you lack
Temptation's not an easy thing, Adam given the devil reign
Because he sinned I got no choice, it run in my vein.

Well I'm pressing on
Yes, I'm pressing on
Well I'm pressing on
To the higher calling of my lord.

“What Would Jesus Do” by Big Tent Revival

I remember a fad going around amongst Christian kids when I was a senior in high school.  I’m sure the fad is still there amongst Christians, but it’s difficult to find them anywhere.  they were these WWJD armbands.  It would be nice to find one now for my arm. 

When I first started going on my own to church, I got turned on to a great Christian rock band called Big Tent Revival.  I think they are now retired from the music scene, but were a great band.  Their lead singer, Steve Wiggins, I even heard was from Fort Smith, Arkansas - where I lived for the last 3 years of my teenage years and even graduated from high school at.  I heard he even attended the Grand Avenue Baptist Church there.

This song I recently heard again for the first time in years, and it’s a question I ask in every situation I’m in - especially in this time in my life.  What Would Jesus Do?

“What Would Jesus Do” by Big Tent Revival

Some people just want to survive
And I don't know about you
But I am alive
Lately it seems that I need a hand
In a fallen world, I just want to stand

What would Jesus do walkin' in my shoes
Workin' at my job and goin' to my school?
And I hear people say, "Jesus is the way"
I believe and that is way I'm asking you
What would Jesus do?

And as we all know
Life can be tough
And all that we need is love - sweet love
So where do we go? Well here's what I see
To change my world
I gotta change me
Sometimes choices don't seem black and white
And they can leave you black and blue

What would Jesus do - He'd give His life for you
If you follow Him - you'll give your life to them
Shine on - Shine on - Follow with Jesus
Shine on - Shine on - Follow with Jesus

“Awaken” by Natalie Grant

I have been going through some very difficult times lately, and have been reaching out more towards God lately because of it.  A couple weeks ago I was driving to walmart at night and listening to a contemporary Christian station.  “Awaken” by Natalie Grant came on.  I never heard the song before, nor have I ever heard of Natalie Grant.  But the song touched me deeply.  It explains how I have been feeling.

“Awaken” by Natalie Grant

Sometimes I feel like I'm just existing
I'm not really living
I'm only watching the time slip away
I've forgotten who I am in you
I'm not who I'm meant to be
I'm drifting farther away from my destiny

[Chorus:]
Awaken my heart, awaken my soul
Awaken your power and take control
Awaken the passion to live for you, lord
Awaken me

My soul is longing, my heart is searching
I'm desperate for you to move
Give me a hunger, pull me closer
I'm crying out to you

Awaken my heart, awaken my soul
Awaken your power and take control
Awaken the passion to live for you, lord
Open my eyes so I can see your presence
Dwelling inside

Wake me up, cause I can't live another minute
if I'm not shining your light

Awaken my heart, awaken my soul
Awaken the passion in me

Lord, awaken me to live my destiny
Lord, awaken me and shine your light through me
Lord, awaken me to live my destiny
Lord, awaken me and shine your light through me

Crazy Lyrics In Pop Songs

I was listening to the  “90s on 9” channel on XM radio, and  one song made me remember a show I seen recently where celebrities talked about stupid and crazy lyrics used in songs.  It seems as if no one pays attention to lyrics in songs besides me, lol.  Is it just me or are lyrics in some of the most popular songs just lame?  I touch myself?   I’m a mother father gentleman? give me a break lol.  what will they think up next? lol.

Brad Paisley’s “Accidental Racist”

I just heard this generation’s “Ebony And Ivory” (Paul McCartney song featuring Stevie Wonder).  It’s a song called “Accidental Racist” performed by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J from Brad Paisley’s new CD “Wheelhouse.”  It’s a great song with a great message.  Definitely an anti-racist song.

I sometimes feel people are racist because of history.  The real racists don’t seem to understand, to be honest.  I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and when I was growing up I knew nothing about the confederate flag.  What I knew about it, I learned from TV and in history books, and at the time it seemed like anyone waving the confederate flag was racist - so yes, even I misunderstood it where I hated seeing that flag because I was never racist.  As I got older however, I learned waving the flag has nothing to do with being racist.  It has to do with being proud of where you’re from - not what your ancestors have done though necessarily.  This song speaks on that Perspective.

“ACCIDENTAL RACIST”  (Featuring LL Cool J) [written by Brad Paisley, LL Cool J, Lee Thomas Miller]

To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you understand
When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan
The red flag on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south
And I just walked him right in the room
Just a proud rebel son with an ‘ol can of worms
Lookin’ like I got a lot to learn but from my point of view

I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland
Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be
I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done
And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn’t start this nation
We’re still pickin’ up the pieces, walkin’ on eggshells, fightin’ over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, dried some tears
We’re still siftin’ through the rubble after a hundred-fifty years
I try to put myself in your shoes and that’s a good place to begin
But it ain’t like I can walk a mile in someone else’s skin

‘Cause I’m a white man livin’ in the southland
Just like you I’m more than what you see
I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done
And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn’t start this nation
And we’re still paying for mistakes
That a bunch of folks made long before we came
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

(LL Cool J’s Rap Verse:) Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood
What the world is really like when you’re livin’ in the hood
Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good
You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would
Now my chains are gold but I’m still misunderstood
I wasn’t there when Sherman’s March turned the south into firewood
I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could
Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin’ invisible white hoods
So when I see that white cowboy hat, I’m thinkin’ it’s not all good
I guess we’re both guilty of judgin’ the cover not the book
I’d love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air
But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn’t here

I’m just a white man
(If you don’t judge my do-rag)
Comin’ to you from the southland
(I won’t judge your red flag)
Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be

I’m proud of where I’m from
(If you don’t judge my gold chains)
But not everything we’ve done
(I’ll forget the iron chains)
it ain’t like you and me can re-write history
(Can’t re-write history baby)

Oh, Dixieland
(The relationship between the Mason-Dixon needs some fixin’)
I hope you understand what this is all about
(Quite frankly I’m a black Yankee but I’ve been thinkin’ about this lately)
I’m a son of the new south
(The past is the past, you feel me)
And I just want to make things right
(Let bygones be bygones)
Where all that’s left is southern pride
(RIP Robert E. Lee but I’ve gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me, know what I mean)
It’s real, it’s real
It’s truth

Music Is Very Beneficial

Music and music history has been a major part of my life. I have been a closet musician myself, having been playing guitar since I was 10. I am not the greatest guitarist however, since I am only able to play one song by memory and can’t play lead scales. I am also an amateur musicologist. I enjoy reading books on music history, particularly 20^th century American music, and it remains my most favorite topic of discussion. Whether performing in a band or just listening to it, music can be a very beneficial activity to take part in because it is very healthy, it can teach one how to be a team player and can also teach about different cultures.

One way that music can be a beneficial activity is because it’s a very therapeutic and healthy activity. I was about 10 years old when I first got turned onto the power of music. I was a loner as a child because my classmates harassed me, which caused me to go through bouts of depression. Sometimes back then I had thoughts of suicide but it was the healing power of music that saved my life. If it weren’t for the lyrics of some songs I heard growing up, I don’t think I would be alive today. For example, “Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton. This is a very sad song he written about his son which fell out of an apartment window in 1991. This song helped me feel better about my life because Eric lost a son, but I had not lost any family members at that point yet. I felt my life wasn’t as bad as it is for some others after hearing that song. Another example of what saved my life is any song by The Beatles. At 15 I was questioning constantly, “Why am I here,” and “What should I do with my life?” I saw the Beatles Anthology in 1995 on TV and thought it was very interesting and very informative. That is where my interest in music history started and I felt I needed to become a music historian, however it was never in my cards to go that route. I still like reading about music history and discussing it for fun, though. Music can ease pain, relieve stress and also improve overall well-being. According to Linda Wasmer Andrews, who is a health and mental health writer who has a degree in psychology, “There was a study done at Tzu Chi University in Taiwan. New nurses with high stress levels were randomly assigned to either listen to slow soothing music or just rest quietly. The ones listening to the slow soothing music reported feeling less stressed than the ones who chose to rest quietly.” She adds that they had lower blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormone levels. She even states in her article that music may even boost up one’s immune system. She said that a study on mice showed that the mice music was played for had an increase in cells compared to those that didn’t have music played for them. She also argues that listening to music can help encourage exercise, stating that it can motivate you to work out longer and harder. Music can also benefit spiritually and to do better at math, particularly fractions. In the words of local guitar broker and lead guitarist of the Harrison First Baptist Church Praise Team, Tut Campbell, “For the musician himself, the emotion of the song can allow him or her to develop feelings of happiness or sadness and can be an outlet for one’s spirit and soul as well.” He also adds that a 4/4 time signature song can have the basic quarter notes, half notes and whole notes as well as eighth notes and sixteenth notes that make up a measure of music in 4/4 time. Therefore, music has many health benefits. If one listens or plays music, they can be more relaxed and less stressed and will feel very healthy. It can also be great for you spiritually and mathematically.

Another way music can be a very beneficial activity is as a musician, one can learn how to be a team player. As a band member, one has to work with their band mates to make sure everyone is on the same page, and make sure the song sounds well. They can be in the studio all day with their band mates to make sure the recordings are perfect, so each band member should put their egos aside and be team players and work together. This is sometimes very difficult however, because everyone has their own creative ideas. If everyone in a band can get along well, they can work together better and there music would probably sound even better and would help them in the future if they ever needed to find a job where they had to be a team player. Team players usually get more respect compared to those that aren’t. If we are not team players, how are we able to get along with everyone who wants things done a certain way? For a peaceful environment, one needs to be able to agree to disagree. We don’t have to agree with what is to be done, but in order to get along with everyone, we should do it anyway. This will keep everything flowing more smoothly.

Learning about different cultures is another way music is a very beneficial activity. Listening to blues music from the Mississippi Delta can teach about what it was like living in the rural south in the early 1900s. Robert Johnson lived in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which is known as ground zero of blues history. When he started playing guitar at the juke-joints he wasn’t any good, and it is rumored that he met the devil at the crossroads of highway 61 and highway 49 there one night. He supposedly sold his soul to play well, which is the topic of his song “Cross Road Blues.” Cream, with Eric Clapton singing lead, later covered this song as “Crossroads” in 1968. Robert Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27. Since he was a womanizer, a girl’s jealous boyfriend poisoned him. Jimmy Reed is another great example of how blues music can teach how it was in early 1900s rural south. Jimmy Reed was so drunk, that his mother had to be at the recording sessions, and sing the songs in his ear for him to know the next line, even though he wrote the songs. Some of his greatest works are “Big Boss Man,” “Bright Lights, Big City,” and “Baby, What You Want Me To Do.” Songs from the 1960s can teach about the counterculture of the hippies and the antiwar movement. Buffalo Springfield put out a great song that remains to this day as one of the leading anti-war songs. It was called “For What It’s Worth (Stop Hey, What’s That Sound),” which was about people protesting in the streets and being against the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan also put out a song called “The Times, They Are A Changin’,” that was a great song expressing how he felt about how quickly history was changing in 1963. Another great example of his songs is “Like A Rolling Stone,” where he expressed about how a lot of people of the baby-boom generation were on their own with their views, and ending up living on their own because of it, and didn’t get much support from their parents also. Even though some people do not agree with rap music, it can teach what it’s like living in the ghettos of America. “Straight Outta Compton” by NWA, Dr. Dre’s “Nothin’ But A G Thang,” or Ice Cube’s “Today Was A Good Day” are great examples of this. These songs express the artists’ feelings about police brutality, how hard life can be in the ghetto, and what the party scene is like there.

Music is definitely a very beneficial and rewarding activity to be involved in. I do not know how people would survive without it. I personally feel that it can save lives and can teach things. It can make one a much healthier person, teach how to be a team player, teach about the different cultures, and also help people feel more relaxed and less stressed. Because of its many benefits, I would invite everyone to have an open mind to it and just try and give every genre of music a chance, and I would also invite everyone to give every musical instrument a chance as well.

 

This is an original article I wrote for my English Comp I class but here are the works I cited:

Andrews, Linda Wasmer. “5 Health Benefits of Music.” Yahoo! Health. Yahoo, 27 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://health.yahoo.net/experts/allinyourmind/5-health-benefits-music>.

Campbell, Tut. E-Mail interview. 17 Feb. 2013

“Mighty To Save” lyrics

One of my favorite Christian songs is one called “Mighty To Save.”  I am not too sure who originally recorded the song and according to Google when I did a search for the lyrics tonight, the contemporary Christian group Hillsong did a version of it. 

I really love the song.  It is very inspirational and very touching.

“Mighty To Save” - Hillsong

Everyone needs compassion
A love thats neverending
Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a savior
The hope of nations

[*chorus*]
Saviour he can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything i believe in
Now i surrender

[*chorus* x2]

Shine your light and let the whole world see
Were singing for the glory of the risen king JESUS [x2]

[*chorus* x2]

Shine you light and let the whole world see

Were singing for the glory of the risen king JESUS [x6]

The Influences of the Beatles

Ahh, the fascination of The Beatles! These four lads from Liverpool have got to be the best rock group to ever come from anywhere! They were very inspirational and influential on everybody in the music scene! The Beatles were pioneers in the music industry, changing how we look at music forever.

Besides playing a few cover tunes that showed off who influenced them, The Beatles recorded their own material, this material was also recorded by many other artists from the mersey beat. Later on, other artists covered the Beatles also. "Yesterday" is probably the most covered tune ever. This same material was mainly written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a partnership, but George Harrison wrote quite a few great songs too as a Beatle.

Some of Paul's best written Beatle songs include "Yesterday", "Blackbird", "Eleanor Rigby", and "When I'm Sixty-Four". Some of John's include "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Benefit of Mr. Kite", "I Am The Walrus", and "Lucy In The Sky". George's include "For You Blue", "Something", "Here Comes The Sun" and "Taxman" and this list of their greatest songs isn't even complete, but each and every one of their songs is definitely timeless.

If not the first, they at least were pioneers in recording technology in the studio, including - but not limited to - reverse tape loops, sound effects, and feedback. They were also one of the first to use music videos as a medium of advertisement to sell a song. Back than they called them "promo films."

For those of you who don't know me, I'm to be considered a Beatle Enthusiast who wishes he could have been around during there time just so I could've seen them play just once. I love the Beatles. I can't really say which song I love the most because I love them all but if I had to choose, it would probably be "LET IT BE" or “SOMETHING” and if recent songs count, "FREE AS A BIRD" and "REAL LOVE" also.

It's hard for me to say who may favorite Beatle is these days. George Harrison and I have a lot in common. He was always for world peace, and he cared for the world and did what he could to help out those who were in need. He also was always in search for God. He just reminds me of myself. I also seem to have things in common with John. he had a very creative mind, and was always searching for world peace and doing whatever he could to promote world peace, not necessarily an anarchist but didn't like what politics and the government does. I also love Paul. They are all extremely talented and extremely creative, but if I had to choose it would be John Lennon since he was the rebel of the group. LOL. The Beatles' music is definitely as timeless as Beethoven, Mozart or Tchaikovski.

The Beatles were such an inspiration and influence on everyone! The name of my media design firm was influenced by them (Strawberry Lane Media Design). My heavy interest in music was influenced by them! I remember it well. November 1995. I was only 15. Something told me I just had to watch ABC on the 3 nights that month! I don't know why. Those 3 nights was when the Beatles Anthology was on.

I often wonder if these 4 lads from Liverpool had intentions of making it big. John Lennon once said, "I met Paul and said, 'do you want to join me group?' Paul said sure. Than George joined, and than Ringo Joined. We were just a band that made it very very big, that's all."

Unfortunately two of them left us. I'm sure they are members of heaven's Beatles playing such great and peaceful music for God. We miss you John and George! Rest in Peace!

(as published on my website on February 19, 2008)

(Photos used courtesy of Julie Taucher - A very talented artist and fellow Beatle enthusiast.  You can see some of her work at http://yamihoole.deviantart.com/.

John Mayer: Laurel Canyon

I once read a book about the famed Laurel Canyon.  very interesting short article about John Mayer’s “Born and Raised” album.  I never realized it’s supposed to have a California feel for the complete album, but in a way it does.  I really like the album as well.  Enjoy!

Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is a tranquil, woodsy neighborhood called Laurel Canyon. This small community, where the homes literally cling to steep canyon walls, occupies a special place in American music history.

John Mayer: Laurel Canyon

It’s Christmas Time Again

Well everyone, Thanksgiving day is almost over and you know what that typically means: later tonight and early tomorrow morning starts the official kickoff of the Christmas shopping season and the Christmas season itself has finally arrived again.  The only time of year where it seems that everyone is nice to everyone  for a change and very festive. As Tom Petty said “It’s Christmas All Over Again.”

“It’s Christmas All Over Again” by Tom Petty

Well it's Christmas time again, decorations are all hung by the fire
Everybody's singin', all the bells are ringing out
And it's Christmas all over again, yeah again

Long-distance relatives, haven't seen'em in a long, long time
Yeah I kind of missed 'em, I just don't wanna kiss 'em, no
It's Christmas all over again, yeah again

And all over town little kids gonna get down
And Christmas is a rockin' time, put your body next to mine
Underneath the mistletoe we go, we go

Everybodys singin', all the bells are ringin' out
It's Christmas all over again, yeah again

And right down our block little kids start to rock
And Christmas is a rockin' time, put your body next to mine
Underneath the mistletoe we go, we go

Merry Christmas time come and find you happy and there by your fire
I hope you have a good one, I hope momma gets her shoppin' done
And it's a Christmas all over again
Baby it's Christmas all over again
And it's Christmas all over again

Now let's see...I want a new Rickenbacker guitar,
two Fender bass-mans, Chuck Berry songbooks, xylophone...

News flash: Huey Lewis and band are going strong | Music | Kentucky.com

Huey Lewis and the News is one of my favorite bands ever.  I remember the first album I ever had by them, and I’ll explain in a minute.

I first heard the band like most my generation have probably first heard the band:: “The Power of Love” when it was in the 1985 film “Back To The Future.”  I first saw the film in 1988 when I was 8 years old.  At the age of 10 there 1990 album “Hard At Play” came out and that was the first album of there’s I owned.  Sometime shortly after that I had purchased 1982’s “Picture This” and 1983’s “Sports”.  I love there cover of well known Stax recordings on there recent “Soulsville” album and there classic covers that are on the “Four Chord and Several Years Ago” album.  Such an amazing band, and very talented and gifted songwriters!  Glad to see that they are still performing.  Would be neat to see them live someday.

"To be honest, we're having a better time now than we ever have," said Lewis, 62, who will lead a rock and soul revue-style version of The News into Danville's Norton Center for the Arts on Friday for its first Central Kentucky performance in more than 25 years.

News flash: Huey Lewis and band are going strong | Music | Kentucky.com

Come Together

I was at a friend’s house this morning doing some yard work and I was listening to my MP3 player.  “Come Together” by The Beatles started playing.  Ever noticed how it has a “work-man’s” beat to it? (as in a song you can work to).  I never noticed that until this morning.  very interesting, lol.  I have no clue what John Lennon was trying to say when he wrote that song.  It is and always will be one of my favorite Beatle songs but I will never figure out what the lyrics actually mean. LOL.  Come Together, Right Now - Over Me!

A Brief History of The Blues

I was cruising my old website haunts (my backed up files of my old website when I used to have one) and came across an old article I found online that I posted on my music enthusiast website.  the article was originally posted on a website called The Blue Highway.  apparently over the last few years someone else bought the domain for that website because I went to the site tonight for the first time in probably 4 years and the site had a virus that luckily Norton blocked so I’m not promoting the address to the website.  Here is the article.  I hope you all will enjoy it.  Now please note: I did not write this article.  A fellow by the name of Robert M. Baker wrote it and below the article will be the bibliography for it.  I hope you all will enjoy the article.

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BLUES

Joseph Machlis says that the blues is a native American musical and verse form, with no direct European and African antecedents of which we know. (p. 578) In other words, it is a blending of both traditions. Something special and entirely different from either of its parent traditions. (Although Alan Lomax cites some examples of very similar songs having been found in Northwest Africa,particularly among the Wolof and Watusi. p. 233).

The word 'blue' has been associated with the idea of melancholia or depression since the Elizabethan era. The American writer, Washington Irving is credited with coining the term 'the blues,' as it is now defined, in 1807. (Tanner 40) The earlier (almost entirely Negro) history of the blues musical tradition is traced through oral tradition as far back as the 1860s. (Kennedy 79).

When African and European music first began to merge to create what eventually became the blues, the slaves sang songs filled with words telling of their extreme suffering and privation. (Tanner 36). One of the many responses to their oppressive
environment resulted in the field holler. The field holler gave rise to the spiritual, and the blues, "notable among all human works of art for their profound despair . . . They gave voice to the mood of alienation and anomie that prevailed in the construction camps of the South," for it was in the Mississippi Delta that blacks were often forcibly conscripted to work on the levee and land-clearing crews, where they were often abused and then tossed aside or worked to death. (Lomax 233).

Alan Lomax states that the blues tradition was considered to be a masculine discipline (although some of the first blues songs heard by whites were sung by 'lady' blues singers like Mamie Smith and Bessie Smith) and not many black women were to be found singing the blues in the juke-joints. The Southern prisons also contributed considerably to the blues tradition through work songs and the songs of death row and murder, prostitutes, the warden, the hot sun, and a hundred other privations. (Lomax) The prison road crews and work gangs where were many bluesmen found their songs, and where many other blacks simply became familiar with the same songs.

Following the Civil War (according to Rolling Stone), the blues arose as "a distillate of the African music brought over by slaves. Field hollers, ballads, church music and rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups evolved into a music for a singer who
would engage in call-and-response with his guitar. He would sing a line, and the guitar would answer it." (RSR&RE 53) (author's note: I've seen somewhere, that the guitar did not enjoy widespread popularity with blues musicians until about the turn of the century. Until then, the banjo was the primary blues instrument.) By the 1890s the blues were sung in many of the rural areas of the South. (Kamien 518) And by 1910, the word 'blues' as applied to the musical tradition was in fairly common use. (Tanner 40).

Some 'bluesologists' claim (rather dubiously), that the first blues song that was ever written down was 'Dallas Blues,' published in 1912 by Hart Wand, a white violinist from Oklahoma City. (Tanner 40) The blues form was first popularized about
1911-14 by the black composer W.C. Handy (1873-1958). However, the poetic and musical form of the blues first crystallized around 1910 and gained popularity through the publication of Handy's "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914). (Kamien 518) Instrumental blues had been recorded as early as 1913. Mamie Smith recorded the first vocal blues song, 'Crazy Blues' in 1920. (Priestly 9) Priestly claims that while the widespread popularity of the blues had a vital influence on subsequent jazz, it was the "initial popularity of jazz which had made possible the recording of blues in the first place, and thus made possible the absorption of blues into both jazz as well as the mainstream of pop music."(Priestly 10).

American troops brought the blues home with them following the First World War. They did not, of course, learn them from Europeans, but from Southern whites who had been exposed to the blues. At this time, the U.S. Army was still segregated. During the twenties, the blues became a national craze. Records by leading blues singers like Bessie Smith and later, in the thirties, Billie Holiday, sold in the millions. The twenties also saw the blues become a musical form more widely used by jazz instrumentalists as well as blues singers. (Kamien 518).

During the decades of the thirties and forties, the blues spread northward with the migration of many blacks from the South and entered into the repertoire of big-band jazz. The blues also became electrified with the introduction of the amplified guitar.
In some Northern cities like Chicago and Detroit, during the later forties and early fifties, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, and Elmore James among others, played what was basically Mississippi Delta blues, backed by bass, drums, piano and occasionally harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs. At about the same time, T-Bone Walker in Houston and B.B. King in Memphis were pioneering a style of guitar playing that combined jazz technique with the blues tonality and repertoire. (RSR&RE 53).

In the early nineteen-sixties, the urban bluesmen were "discovered" by young white American and European musicians. Many of these blues-based bands like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Canned Heat, and Fleetwood Mac, brought the blues to young white audiences, something the black blues artists had been unable to do in America except through the purloined white cross-over covers of black rhythm and blues songs. Since the sixties, rock has undergone several blues revivals. Some rock guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen have used the blues as a foundation for offshoot styles. While the originators like John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and B.B. King--and their heirs Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and later Eric Clapton and the late Roy Buchanan, among many others, continued to make fantastic music in the blues tradition. (RSR&RE 53) The latest generation of blues players like Robert Cray and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others, as well as gracing the blues tradition with their incredible technicality, have drawn a new generation listeners to the blues.

The Blue Tonalities And What Defines The Blues

There are a number of different ideas as to what the blues really are: a scale structure, a note out of tune or out of key, a chord structure; a philosophy? The blues is a form of Afro-American origin in which a modal melody has been harmonized with Western tonal chords. (Salzman 18) In other words, we had to fit it into our musical system somehow. But, the problem was that the blues weren't sung according to the European ideas of even tempered pitch, but with a much freer use of bent pitches and otherwise emotionally inflected vocal sounds. (Machlis 578) These 'bent'pitches are known as 'blue notes'.

The 'blue notes' or blue tonalities are one of the defining characteristics of the blues. Tanner's opinion is that these tonalities resulted from the West Africans' search for comparative tones not included in their pentatonic scale. He claims that the West African scale has neither the third or seventh tone nor the flat third or flat seventh. "Because of this, in the attempt to imitate either of these tones the pitch was sounded approximately midway between [the minor AND major third, fifth, or seventh], causing what is called a blue tonality." (Tanner 37) When the copyists attempted to write down the music, they came up with the so-called "blues scale," in which the third, the seventh, and sometimes the fifth scale-degrees were lowered a half step, producing a scale resembling the minor scale. (Machlis 578) There are many nuances of melody and rhythm in the blues that are difficult, if not impossible to write in conventional notation. (Salzman 18) But the blue notes are not really minor notes in a major context. In practice they may come almost anywhere. (Machlis 578).

Before the field cry, with its bending of notes, it had not occurred to musicians to explore the area of the blue tonalities on their instruments. (Tanner 38) The early blues singers would sing these "bent" notes, microtonal shadings, or "blue" notes, and the early instrumentalists attempted to duplicate them. (Kamien 520) By the mid-twenties, instrumental blues were common, and "playing the blues" for the instrumentalist could mean extemporizing a melody within a blues chord sequence. Brass, reed, and string instrumentalists, in particular, were able to produce many of the vocal sounds of the blues singers. (Machlis 578-9).

BLUES LYRICS

Blues lyrics contain some of the most fantastically penetrating autobiographical and revealing statements in the Western musical tradition. For instance, the complexity of ideas implicit in Robert Johnson's 'Come In My Kitchen,' such as a barely concealed desire, loneliness, and tenderness, and much more:

"You better come in my kitchen, It's gonna be rainin' outdoors."

Blues lyrics are often intensely personal, frequently contain sexual references and often deal with the pain of betrayal, desertion, and unrequited love (Kamien 519) or with unhappy situations such as being jobless, hungry, broke, away from home, lonely, or downhearted because of an unfaithful lover. (Tanner 39).

The early blues were very irregular rhythmically and usually followed speech patterns, as can be heard in the recordings made in the twenties and thirties by the legendary bluesmen Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson and Lightnin' Hopkins among others. (RSR&RE 53) The meter of the blues is usually written in iambic pentameter. The first line is generally repeated and third line is different from the first two. (Tanner 38) The repetition of the first line serves a purpose as it gives the singer some time to come up with a third line. Often the lyrics of a blues song do not seem to fit the music, but a good blues singer will accent certain syllables and eliminate others so that everything falls nicely into place. (Tanner 38).

The structure of blues lyrics usually consists of several three-line verses. The first line is sung and then repeated to roughly the same melodic phrase (perhaps the same phrase played diatonically a perfect fourth away), the third line has a different melodic phrase:

"I'm going to leave baby, ain't going to say goodbye. I'm going to leave baby, ain't going to say goodbye. But I'll write you and tell you the reason why." (Kamien 519).

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BLUES

Most blues researchers claim that the very early blues were patterned after English ballads and often had eight, ten, or sixteen bars. (Tanner 36) The blues now consists of a definite progression of harmonies usually consisting of eight, twelve or sixteen measures, though the twelve bar blues are, by far, the most common.

The 12 bar blues harmonic progression (the one-four-five) is most often agreed to be the following: four bars of tonic, two of subdominant, two of tonic, two of dominant, and two of tonic. Or, alternatively, I,I,I,I,IV,IV,I,I,V,V,I,I. Each roman numeral indicates a chord built on a specific tone in the major scale. Due to the influence of rock and roll, the tenth chord has been changed to IV. This alteration is now considered standard. (Tanner 37) In practice, various intermediate chords, and even some substitute chord patterns, have been used in blues progressions, at least since the nineteen-twenties. (Machlis 578) Some purists feel that any variations or embellishments of the basic blues pattern changes its quality or validity as a blues song. For instance, if the basic blues chord progression is not used, then the music being played is not the blues. Therefore, these purists maintain that many melodies with the word "blues" in the title, and which are often spoken of as being the blues, are not the blues because their melodies lack this particular basic blues harmonic construction. (Tanner 37) I believe this viewpoint to be a bit wide of the mark, because it places a greater emphasis on blues harmony than melody.

The principal blues melodies are, in fact, holler cadences, set to a steady beat and thus turned into dance music and confined to a three-verse rhymed stanza of twelve to sixteen bars. (Lomax 275) The singer can either repeat the same basic melody for each stanza or improvise a new melody to reflect the changing mood of the lyrics. (Kamien 519) Blues rhythm is also very flexible. Performers often sing "around" the beat, accenting notes either a little before or behind the beat. (Kamien).

Jazz instrumentalists frequently use the chord progression of the twelve-bar blues as a basis for extended improvisations. The twelve or sixteen bar pattern is repeated while new melodies are improvised over it by the soloists. As with the Baroque bassocontinuo, the repeated chord progression provides a foundation for the free flow of such improvised melodic lines. (Kamien 520).

CONCLUSION

One of the problems regarding defining what the blues are is the variety of authoritative opinions. The blues is neither an era in the chronological development of jazz, nor is it actually a particular style of playing or singing jazz. (Tanner 35) Some maintain (mostly musicologists) that the blues are defined by the use of blue notes (and on this point they also differ - some say that they are simply flatted thirds, fifths, and sevenths applied to a major scale [forming a pentatonic scale]; some maintain that they are microtones; and some believe that they are the third, or fifth, or seventh tones sounded simultaneously with the flatted third, or fifth, or seventh tones respectively [minor second intervals]). Others feel that the song form (twelve bars, one-four-five) is the defining feature of the blues. Some feel that the blues is a way to approach music, a philosophy, in a manner of speaking. And still others hold a much wider sociological view that the blues are an entire musical tradition rooted in the black experience of the post-war South. Whatever one may think of the social implications of the blues, whether expressing the American or black experience in microcosm, it was their "strong autobiographical nature, their intense personal passion, chaos and loneliness, executed so vibrantly that it captured the imagination of modern musicians" and the general public as well. (Shapiro 13).

Cited work in this article are as follows: Kamien, Michael. _Music: An Appreciation_. 3d Ed. N.Y.: McGraw Hill, 1984.; Kennedy, Michael. _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music_. N.Y.: 1980.; Lomax, Alan. _The Land Where the Blues Began_. N.Y.: Pantheon Books, 1993.; Pareles, Jon and Patricia Romanowski, eds. _The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll_.N.Y.: Rolling Stone Press, 1983.; Priestly, Brian. _Jazz On Record: A History_. N.Y.: Billboard Books, 1991.; Salzman, Eric and Michael Sahl. _Making Changes_. N.Y.: G. Schirmer, 1977.; Shapiro, Harry. _Eric Clapton: Lost in the Blues_. N.Y.: Da Capo Press, 1992.; Tanner, Paul and Maurice Gerow. _A Study of Jazz_. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown Publishers, 1984.

Andy Williams, TV star and ‘Moon River’ singer, dies at 84 - The Washington Post

*I used to work right near his theater at the Radisson Hotel in Branson and walk by it on the way to Jubilee Foods to work my other job.  Would have loved to have seen his show while living there and never have.  I heard he was a pretty good entertainer.  Heard a few of his songs that I really liked.  what a great voice he had!  R.I.P, Andy.*

Andy Williams, whose languid crooning style and disarming presence propelled him to recording and television stardom in the 1960s, with hits including “Moon River” and the inescapable holiday jingle “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” died Sept. 25 at his home in Branson, Mo. He was 84.

Andy Williams, TV star and ‘Moon River’ singer, dies at 84 - The Washington Post

This Is Freedom by Justin Unger

On the end credits of “The Last Ounce of Courage” is a song by a fellow by the name of Justin Unger.  It’s a great inspirational song called “This Is Freedom”.  The following are the lyrics for it and a youtube video I found that you all might enjoy.

“This Is Freedom” by Justin Unger

The red is for the blood that flows, in places we've forgotten
The white resembles innocence, in some ways we've been lost in
The blue it stands for vigilance and holding fast to righteousness or have we lost our way?
The stars are for the memory, the glory and the victory where proudly we can say
Oh, this is freedom
This is freedom

Where strength and confidence collide, along the straight and narrow
When peace is found in sacrifice, by patriots and heroes
Where grace abounds and evil dies, truth resounds above the lies,
It's only found one way and here we are today
This is freedom
Freedom
Oh

This rock we stand upon,
One nation under God,
This truth we can't ignore
This is freedom

A home that speaks of liberty, beyond our institutions
If this is a reality, then where are the solutions?
A place that we can stand and sing, the worship of our risen king without regret or shame
The hope of life eternally, we hold a light for all to see without a guilt or blame
It's what we claim, oh
This is freedom
This is freedom
This is freedom, this is freedom

Even though the fight is long, the enemy may wound us
The stripes are for the rays of hope, that never cease to lead us
Guide us home, this is freedom

Favorite 20th Century Composers

Back before the 1960s it was unthinkable for a musician to write their own material.  Very few songs were written by the artists who recorded them.  Most were written by hired songwriters. Elvis had always collaborated with professional songwriters, Buddy Holly wrote songs by himself and also collaborated, but artists writing there own songs didn’t become popular until The Beatles exploded onto the scene with nothing but original recordings that they wrote. After they came along, and were successful at it, other bands and artists took the hint and started writing there own material and to this day not very many people who play rock music look to the industry for songs anymore because they write their own work. However, a lot of pop singers still look to producers for the songs they record.  Probably one of the many reasons I don’t give pop singers much credibility.  All pop singers have going for them is they are great performers, lol. It's too bad a lot of today's "pop" industry hasn't taken the hint yet.

I think there are a lot of extremely talented and gifted musicians out there who can write very memorable songs that become instant classics and remain timeless to this day, and probably forever! Just like Tchaikovski, or Beethoven, these individuals have a God given talent to compose songs.

Below is a list of some extremely gifted composers and their best song to date. All the composers mentioned fit the #1 spot of greatest composer of the 20th century.

To create a real great classic song doesn't just take a melody. It could be real rocky song with no melody at all, or it can even be a rap song. To make a classic song can also depend on the lyrics of the song, and what the artist says in it and what he talks about in his music. These artists either created good songs with their lyrics or their melodies or both.

NOTE: This article is entirely the author’s opinions and if you get offended, I’m very sorry.  He states none of this to be truths or facts.  Thank you for understanding.

 

COMPOSER	BEST SONG
BOB DYLAN	LIKE A ROLLING STONE
BRIAN WILSON	GOD ONLY KNOWS
EMINEM	LOSE YOURSELF
GEORGE HARRISON	SOMETHING
JAKOB DYLAN	ONE HEADLIGHT
JIM MORRISON	TOUCH ME
JIMI HENDRIX	PURPLE HAZE
JOHN LENNON	IMAGINE
PAUL McCARTNEY	LET IT BE
ROB THOMAS	SMOOTH