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The early genres of rock: part 2

Claire Abe — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 07:55:58 +0000

Howdy, there,

Last time, we saw that from the creation of rock’n’roll there were 4 different genres.

We already discussed the characteristics of mainstream rock n’roll and rockabilly in the article right here. Today it’s the turn of the last two genres: soft rock and doo-wop!

So let’s dive in!

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

WARNING : the use of the words “Black” and “White” in my post are not racist, or prejudicial. I don’t want to disrespect anyone.

Soft rock music

If rockabilly has caused controversy over its authenticity, soft rock represents the UNACCEPTABLE at the time.

That rock music – which is rebellion music – could be soft is simply unthinkable and impossible. Many consider it either as not composable, or as a sham, or both at the same time.

Soft rock music characteristics

Characteristics are :

Use of slow tempos, even boring,
The absence of marked backbeats,
An almost exclusive focus on the search for «beautiful» melodies,
Frequent recourse to ternary rhythms (pulsation probed in 3 notes of equal duration)
E.g : I Want You, I Need You, I Love You – Elvis Presley
Love Letter In The Sand – Pat Boone

Use of 4 successive chords in a loop.

However, some can have the features of rock music like:

Some have a faster tempo.
In example, Wonderful Time Up There of Pat Boone. This song has a tempo of 185 beats per minute with a very slight accent on the backbeats.
Many «beautiful» melodies have blue notes in them,
They also contain ways of singing directly from rhythm and blues (falsettos, onomatopoeias, etc.). As well as a timbre that anchors even more firmly soft rock in rock n’roll music.

Elvis Presley’

Other characteristics, this time concerning the production of soft rock music, are present as:

An Italian-American influence in certain aspects of music (even if we can say that all Euro-American influences are at equal levels). Besides, many figures in soft rock are Italian-American.
Example : Frankie Avalon (Francis Avalon), Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassotto) or Connie Francis (Concetta Franconero). All have Americanized their names by retaining some of their cultural references.
Its geographical anchorage: a large part of the artists of this kind come from the northeast of the USA. And especially in Philadelphia where there are 3 independent firms named Chancellor Records, Cameo and Swan.

Soft rock complementary to mainstream rock n’roll?

Yes! Soft rock music is a natural and necessary complement to the existence of rock n’roll mainstream music.

First, you have to know that the different genres of rock are also styles of dance! For some teenagers of the time, it was one of its main attractions. And whether it was at any party, it seemed essential to balance the “hard and fast” music with the slower and softer ones. And this is for two reasons:

For a physical reason: dancing on a tempo of 180 (and more) for hours requires good physical ability. (Personally, I love to dance, but in these conditions, I pass my turn, thanks!)
For more sentimental reasons: teenagers love slows. It allows them to approach the “target” they squint at – more or less discreetly – for a few minutes (or hours) and to try to kiss her (or him).

Soft rock was such a necessity that many rockers got into it. We can give, as example, Love Me Tender from Elvis.

However, while some occasionally recorded soft rock titles, others specialized in the field, including Paul Anka and Pat Boone.

Pat Boone has, moreover, had successes by covering rock n’roll mainstream hits and making them discovered to his audience. He served as a bridge between mainstream rock music (a musical genre that was forbidden to listen to by parents) and the teenagers and young adults of the time.

Doo-Wop music

The latter is a derivative of rhythm and blues and rock n’roll.

It’s the soft rock of African-Americans if I can call it that way, except it’s been around for a longer period of time.

This genre has existed since the late 1940s, but it will only be named many years later (like 40 years later, which is rare!). And again, it’s a term that was used earlier to define white rock’n’roll bands from the late 1960s.
When the term Doo-Wop is fixed in the 80s, it designates a vocal repertoire produced in the 40s-50s by predominantly black groups and almost always composed of men. (I will avoid making a comment on this last point)

Moreover, doo-wop refers to onomatopoeias sung by the choirs. The « shabada bada », « sha-na-na-na-na » or else « doo-be-doo-be-doo” or « doo-wop ». We could say that they really sprang to find the name of the genre…

Its roots come from the so-called barbershop harmonies (a practice dating back to the second half of the 19th century). Barber shops were the overall rallying point for a capella using harmonies in quinte, quarte and third.

PS: the fifth, the quartet, and the third in music is when, from a note, one goes up or down – at choice – of 5 notes for the fifth, 4 notes for the quarter, and 3 notes for the third.
Example: from C and up, its fifth is G, its fourth is F and its third is E.

Two bands were successful in the 1930s and 1940s with this kind of music: The Mills Brothers and The Ink Spots. They will influence doo-wop groups and surf groups that will then appear, especially with their use of close harmony.

Other links are to be added to complete the doo-wop:

Gospel: for the dramatic aspect of interpretations
Rhythm and blues: for rhythm and instruments.
Soft rock: for soft tones, moderate or slow times and the same time cutting.

The idea of Doo-Wop is to strengthen the solo vocals with vocal harmonies and syncopated choruses.

Those groups are often nicknamed « bird groups », « car groups » or « V groups ». These groups often baptize them with birds names, car names, and it can also be seen that many groups have a name starting with a V.

We can mention : The Crows, The Ravens, The Penguins, The Falcons, The Wrens, The Cadillacs, The Lincolns, The Imperials, The Impalas, The Valentines, The Veltones, The Velons or The Velvetones.

Features of the doo-wop

Features are :

The multitude of records without geographical anchorage,
The presence of onomatopoeia (but I think you already suspected it),
Romantic and cheesy lyrics,
Beautiful harmonies,

Another characteristic of the genre is the choreography. The singers in suits/ties line up and dance in coordination with small leg movements, arm movements, head movements, and even a little hip swing.

Even if we don’t usually remember their names, two bands are emblematic of the doo-wop genre and have most of the above-mentioned characteristics: The Coasters and The Platters (and there’s a girl in this last band!).

The group The Drifters can also be named as an example of which Clyde McPhatter (founder) and Ben E King were singers.

You now know the first 4 genres of rock n’roll present since the 50s. These genres will evolve and continue to make other genres to create the sounds we hear today.

Now you have all the cards in your hands. Tell me if you are more of a rock n’roll mainstream, rockabilly, soft rock or doo-wop?

We are coming to the end of this post. You can find the playlist dedicated to this one right here! Also, feel free to share if you liked it or if you think it could interest someone you know.

Also, you can see all the drawings / caricatures right here !

See you soon !

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Blues rock : Back to the roots

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Claire Abe

Hey there ! Today we meet for a recognizable and inevitable genre! I’ll get you in the mood. Imagine…

Sources :

La noire, la blanche et la ronde – Les figures musicales – Apprends les rythmes – Cours de musique : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxU1g4w7Jvshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxU1g4w7Jvs

Une histoire musicale du Rock – Christophe Pirenne

Wikipedia

Bookwiki – encyclopédie libre : https://boowiki.info/art/doo-wop-2/doo-wop-4.html

Claire Abe

The post The early genres of rock: part 2 appeared first on Rock N' Roll World.

Rock music : definition and creation

Claire Abe — Sun, 15 May 2022 20:00:00 +0000

Hi there!

Each of us can claim they’ve used or heard the word “rock n’roll” or “rock music”. But do we know what that means? How and who created it?

Let’s have a look!

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

WARNING: the use of the words “Black” and “White” in my post are not racist, or prejudicial. I don’t want to disrespect anyone.

WHAT’S ROCK MUSIC ?

When I checked in the Oxford Learner’s dictionaries, rock music is: “a type of loud popular music, developed in the 1960s, with a strong beat played on electric guitars and drums“. There you go! You’re welcome.

I hope you don’t stick to this definition, because I don’t! Let me explain to you a little more about rock music.

Rock is a musical genre born far from the framework of any academic teaching. At first, it was a bit like «uncultivated peasant music». Great right?

It is the meeting between different genres of music from various cultures including blues, rhythm and blues (mix of jazz and blues), gospel, and country. I’ll talk about it more deeply in this post.
Basically, musicians took the predominant presence of the guitar and then speed the rhythm.

Then, rock music has evolved again and again to lead to a lot of different categories of rock and then metal music.

PS: I’m going to talk about those various kinds of rock and metal in upcoming posts

WHO CREATED ROCK MUSIC?

Well, the official story is this one.

On July 5, 1954, three young men named Elvis Presley (singer), Scotty Moore (guitarist), and Bill Black (bassist) walked into the studio to initially record some pop cover. They keep making recordings without success. Then, during a break between two recordings, Elvis started a cover of a song written by bluesman Arthur Crudup named That’s Allright. This was a huge success! Two weeks later, they returned to the studio to record a second cover, this time of a bluegrass song, Blue Moon Of Kentucky. That’s how the legend of Elvis, the King, was born.

Elvis Presley’

This is all very well, but did Elvis invent something?…
The answer is NO. He just picked up some hits that we suggested to him, or that he liked, and then he adapted them with a more contemporary sound and a faster rhythm. These aspects may give the impression that he is the creator, but he’s actually not.

However, he has contributed greatly to the spread of rock music.

I’d like to compare this to putting a filter on a picture to make it look better and pretend it’s your own when it’s not your pic in the first place…

PS : to be clear with the King’s fans, I have no problem with Elvis Presley. I’m just exposing facts.

WHO DID REALLY CREATE ROCK MUSIC?

We can say that several artists helped create rock n’roll music. We can mention :

Sister Rosetta Tharpe :

Before all the artists I’ll quote below who helped create rock n’roll music, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Considered the godmother of rock n’roll music even as the creator, she’s a gospel and blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. This is in one of her songs, where we’ll be able to hear a guitar solo for the first time. She’ll influence great rock n’roll figures like Chuck Berry or Little Richard.

Unfortunately forgotten for decades (like a lot of women would I say), She’ll be back in the spotlight in 2018 when all of her records came out and with her introduction to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

Louis Jordan :

Very popular in the 40s, he’s called The King of Jukebox ’cause he’s one of the rare black artists to have his name in both rhythm and blues and American pop charts.

Ex-saxophonist of the Chic Webb orchestra, his high-energy style of playing gives a “jive” sound to it. This allowed him to be considered one of the rhythm and blues and rock n’roll pioneers.

It develops some basics of the genre as :

Wild and powerful stage performances,
Lyrics full of innuendo,
And mostly, great quality of interpretations.

Antoine “Fats” Domino :

Singer, pianist, and songwriter, he’s the most famous New Orleans rock ‘n’ roll rep.

His first album, The Fatman, recorded in December 1949, soon inherited the title of «first rock’n’roll album». The song is part of the New Orleans tradition, as well as boogie-woogie and blues.

His features as well as his round and warm voice will influence many rhythm and blues bands.

Ike Turner

March 5, 1951, he recorded with singer and saxophonist Jackie Brenston Rocket88. Almost everything is there to make a rock’n’roll success :

Lyrics about a powerful old mobile,
A rhythm based on the eight to the bass*,
A furious saxophone,
A relentless riff,
The use of an artificially saturated guitar.

However, the song was released under the name of Jackie Benston and His Delta Cats. He wasn’t credited as a co-writer, and nothing changed in his career.

By the way, for those who don’t know Ike Turner, but know Tina Turner and think “Oh! That’s funny, they share the same name”, well, that’s because he was her ex-husband. Here you go!

Little Richard Penniman :

Pianist, singer-songwriter, he records his first album in 1951. In it, we can hear some typical characteristics of rock n’roll music, like :

The piano and bass are punctuated by a walking bass* that will become THE melodic phrase of rock n’roll,
The stop time (stop of the musical accompaniment) that precedes the chorus,
Minimalist lyrics,
An accompaniment including a trumpet and a saxophone section

* Eight to the bass and walking bass are explained in this post.

However, the closest one who can be credited as the “creator of rock n’roll music” is :

Bill Haley :

After being one of the first white country musicians to sing a rhythm and blues song, his transition to rock n’roll music will be done in a radical way by integrating a drummer in his band. Rock around the clock (April 1954) shows EVERY musical trait of rock n’roll :

A real band with bass/drums/guitar/piano/saxophone,
Festive lyrics,
All musical characteristics of the genre (e.g., rhythmic, riff, syncope, etc.)

The success will be even bigger when the song will be taken for the film credits of the movie Blackboard Jungle, released in 1955. Thanks to the cinema, rock n’roll music has its first anthem.

WHY IS ELVIS MORE REPRESENTED AS THE ROCK AND ROLL CREATOR THAN BILL HALEY?

The recording condition

First, the answer lies in the recording condition of Bill Haley and His Comets’ title. They don’t match the image we want of rock n’roll:

The song was recorded by two famous Tin Pan Alley celebrities. (Tin Pan Alley was the name of the first popular music industry in the USA). At the time, the song lyricist was 59 and the songwriter 39. (which was considered as old for the teenagers and young adults )
It was recorded in a big firm (Decca)

Making this one a founding title of rock music is to reconsider the fact that rock is from an African-American rural genre and practiced by disadvantaged south white trash.

Bill Haley image

Then, the second part of the answer is Bill Halley himself.

The way he looked didn’t match either with what was expected of teenagers and young adults. He didn’t fit with rock music’s values. Bill Haley was 29 in 1959 (so, when you referred above, he was old), he was considered “ugly”, was married, a father, and agreed with eternal America’s values which he should be against. It was a lot, there!

You need to know that, in those days, to be black, ugly, alcoholic, vulgar, wise, or stupid was enough to compromise success. Time has changed…

Elvis makes the connection and corresponds perfectly to the image of rock. He is a kind of link between White Trash and Black people.

By being seduced by Black people’s music, he crosses borders.

What transforms Elvis as a King, it’s his capacity to personify a new social type. With his position, he redefines at the same time values of social classes, ethnicity, age, sex, and nationality.

What about Chuck Berry?

You’re gonna tell me I’m writing a post about the creation of rock and I’m not talking about Chuck Berry? Well, here I am!

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Chuck Berry is considered one of the pioneers of rock and roll and one of its greatest representatives. By mixing country, rhythm, and blues and blues, he creates his style.

His stage performances will earn him the nickname Crazy Legs. It was even copied years later by some guy called Angus Young.

Although his role is undeniable in the history of rock, he takes a lot from artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Louis Jordan.

So from my perspective, Chuck Berry, like Elvis Presley, mixes different elements already existing to do something else.

Again, I’m just stating the facts, and I really like Chuck Berry’s work.

In conclusion

What we must remember, is that several artists contributed to the creation of rock n’roll music. And ALL can be considered founders, co-founders of rock’n’roll.

I end this post with a list of artists (not as known as those above) who helped to lay the foundation of rock n’roll music.

Merle Travis : Merle’s BoogieWoogie (1947)
Frank Culey : Cole Slaw (1949)
Ralph Willis : I’m gonna rock (1949)
Amos Milburn : Bad, bad Wiskey (1950)
Billy Love : Juiced (1951)
Curley Williams : Move a little closer (1951)
Dominos : Sixty Minutes Man (1951)
Lucky Joe Almond : Gonna Rock n’Roll (1954)

Also, you can find just below the playlist where all the artists and songs I mentioned are. And don’t forget to share the post if you liked it or if you think it might interest someone you know!

Spotify Playlist

Also, you can see all the drawings / caricatures right here !

See you soon !

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Hey ! Today, we meet to discuss a topic that I find very interesting: What makes a good rock/metal s…

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Blues rock : Back to the roots

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Claire Abe

Hey there ! Today we meet for a recognizable and inevitable genre! I’ll get you in the mood. Imagine…

Sources:

Oxford Learners Dictionaries : https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/rock-music

Une histoire musicale du rock – Christophe Pirenne

Wikipédia

Qu’est-ce que le rock ? – Nicolas Journet – Les Grands Dossiers des Sciences Humaines : https://www.cairn.info/magazine-les-grands-dossiers-des-sciences-humaines-2012-3-page-31.html

Rosetta Tharpe, la marraine du rock’n’roll – La chronique d’Aliette de Laleu – France Musique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEmip-4TAJk

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, la femme qui inventa le Rock’n Roll – Campus Protestant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5m3yh2gTLk

Universal :https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000126256

Universal :https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000087921

Universal : https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000055301

TéléMatin -Musiques – Le père du rock n’ roll aka Chuck Berry : https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000055301

Claire Abe

The post Rock music : definition and creation appeared first on Rock N' Roll World.

The first roots of rock music

Claire Abe — Sun, 15 May 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Hi!

Now we know roughly what rock music is. But what influenced it? What allowed rock to be created?

In the post What’s rock music and creators, we already know (in the big lines) that rock music is a meeting between different musical styles.

In today’s post, we’re gonna talk a little more in-depth about the genres that influenced it.

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

WARNING : the use of the words “Black” and “White” in my post are not racist, or prejudicial. I don’t want to disrespect anyone.

Rock has :

ROOTS IN BLACK MUSIC

Which include:

Blues

It’s a vocal musical genre, which is also instrumentally derived from African-American work songs. It appeared in Mexico and in the South of the USA during the 19th century. The singer expresses his sadness and misfortunes through it.

Blues imposes itself as a crucial element of rock n’roll with the following:

The blues scale: sequence of notes on which two degrees are lowered (if we take the C scale: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, it will give C- E_b – F – F# – G – b _b – (C) in blues)
Syncope: accentuation of a downbeat (2-4) extending over an upbeat (1-3). This produces a break effect.
A musical form of its own: 12 measures repeated in a loop (the measure is the division of a musical piece into parts of equal time periods)

Blues also bring the taste of original tones including guitars and «impure» voice types.

Here are some artists from this genre: Big Mama Thornton, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown

Boogie-woogie

The Boogie-woogie is a jazz-specific pianistic style consisting of playing blues on a fast rhythm.

It appeared in the early 20th century and is associated with the south and southwest of the USA. It was originally called “fast western-style” or “western rolling blues”. Clarence “Pine Top” Smith is arguably the precursor.

The concept of boogie-woogie is simple. With the left hand, the pianists continuously repeat small patterns that follow the harmonic line of the blues. On the right hand, the pianist plays riffs.

It uses 12 measures like blues and the basic rhythm is given by the bass. The latter uses the:

Eight to the bar: 8 eighth notes per measure. A measure is the division of a piece of music into equal parts, and an eighth note is worth half a black note in music.
Walking basses: way to accompany bass/contrabass, consisting of improvising a note per time according to a defined harmonic grid.

Boogie-woogie will make the good days of rock n’roll, especially with pianists such as Fats Domino or Little Richard. Decades later, it will ensure a huge reputation for bands like ZZ Top or AC/DC.

Among the great names of boogie-woogie, we can mention in addition to Clarence “Pine Top” Smith: Jimmy Yancey, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade « Lux » Lewis.

Rhythm n’blues

Rhythm and Blues is derived from blues, jazz, and gospel. First called «race music», it will become rhythm and blues in the late 1940s. «Rhythm» denotes an accelerated tempo, and «Blues» refers to the 12 measures of the genre.

The real specificity of rhythm and blues is that it is played by Black people for Black people. It emerges in the south of the USA and will follow the population’s migration to the major metropolises.

The link between rhythm and blues and rock n’roll is so direct that many rhythm and blues songs recorded between 1945 and 1954 could belong to the 1950s rock n’roll register!

One of its essential elements is the band’s formation. They are generally composed of:

Drums,
Bass,
Guitar,
Piano,
Singer and/or saxophonist.

Those bands have been themselves influenced by jump blues bands (a kind of big band for poor people).
From those jump blues bands, the brass and woods were abandoned, only stay the piano and guitars that can perform solos and riffs as well as accompaniment.

We can identify 3 trends in this genre:

The one from New York and Los Angeles: based on small formations and «screamed» singing in the «blues shouters» tradition.

2. The one from the South and Middle West: marks the synthesis of rural blues and electric guitar.

3. Vocal groups

Afro-American music

Rock n’roll music borrows some technics from those kinds of music, like the riff. The latter is a short musical phrase repeated several times in the piece.

When in big orchestral jazz bands it is performed by clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, or trombones; in rock music, it’s the guitar and choirs that take over.

PS: You need to know that the majority of the White audience doesn’t know Black people’s music. Only a few curious and those with a social condition that leads them to share the daily life of the Black population know and love these sounds (Hello racism and segregation!). It is up to them to create rock n’roll by mixing these sounds with their own cultural background.

ROOTS IN WHITE RURAL MUSIC

When immigrants land in the USA, they also come with their own cultures (including music). Some of them will last long after their disappearance on the European continent.

The Appalachian repertory

One of the most famous (and important) examples of the development of rock n’roll is this repertoire. It was imported to the USA by English and Scottish settlers. This music style was named « old-time music » or « songs from Dixie » when it started to be known.
With time, those rural kinds of music will be gathered under the name COUNTRY. This genre differs according to the region and has different styles.

Country and western

It’s the most influential country style. It’s popularized by singing cowboys in Hollywood westerns and television shows. Thanks to this, America transmits the image of a new hero: white, hard-working, and patriotic. This image is used to represent the cultural traditions of “real Americans” and expresses the Conservative ideology.

Among the artists representing this kind of music, we can find Gene Autry and Patsy Montana. However, it was decades later that Johnny Cash made it much more popular by mixing it with rock n’ roll.

Western swing

In the late 1930s, western swing was one of the most popular dance music.

From Texas, it’s the synthesis between country music and jazz, as well as other rural music. This style will leave a lot of room for improvisation. It’s played by a string orchestra (guitars, banjo, fiddle violins, steel guitars, etc.) and complemented by drums, saxophones, trumpets, or piano. It was originally called «hot dance country music» before becoming western swing.

The fathers of the genre are Bob Willis and Milton Brown

Bluegrass

In the same period, Bill Monroe develops bluegrass music. It’s a mix of Euro-American melodies on very syncopated African-American rhythms. This music is performed on makeshift and European instruments such as dulcimer, violin, banjo, acoustic guitar, and steel guitar.

dulcimer
source: Wikipedia

steel guitars
source: Wikipedia

Country music gives also to rock n’roll music :

The desire of returning to natural voices,
The use of clean and clear sounds,
A form of instrumental virtuosity.

The American variety

For softer rock songs, we can find many references to American crooners such as Nat «King» Cole, Eddie Fisher, Tony Bennett, and Franck Sinatra. Love me Tender by Elvis Presley is a good example of the influence of American variety in rock.

ROOTS IN RELIGIOUS MUSIC AND WORK SONGS

In the 1930s and 1940s, agriculture and religion were two pillars in the South Americans’ lives.

Work songs

The long work hours in the fields, where people break their backs every day, are punctuated by work songs. Thousands of children and teenagers are in contact with this kind of music. A few of them will become rock stars like Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, or Carl Perkins decades later.

Religious practices

Another side of the musical baggage of these rockers is religious practices. South churches are dominated by different forms of Protestantism. In most cases, music has an important place.

As for the black parishes, they perform gospel music whose swinging rhythms evoke jazz, boogie-woogie, or blues.

This religious background has two consequences :

An impregnation in rock n’roll, especially through extroverted vocal and scenic behaviors,
A tension between their religious education and the various rock temptations.

You have to know that to sing rock is to choose the devil’s music, as the bluesmen did before them.

All these musical genres continue today to influence and inspire artists. Whatever their musical styles and in addition to other «more current» musical styles. These artists then transpose them in their own ways.

Personally, I find it very interesting to see the various influences that have led to rock. It shows that all musical genres can mix and create something unique.

We can already see that the mixes are made on several levels. The songs of African-American workers have influenced the blues and rhythm and blues, which themselves will influence years later the rock n’roll. How amazing it is!

That’s it for now. You can listen to all the artists and songs I mentioned in this article right below. Also, feel free to share if you liked it or if you think it might interest someone you know.

Spotify Playlist

Also, you can see all the drawings / caricatures right here !

See you soon !

Uncategorized