The Blues by any Other Name is Still Blue; Rock is Blue Too!
The Blues by any Other Name is Still Blue; Rock is Blue Too!
Week 20 | October 12, 2017
By the Forgotten Woman, JoOnna Silberman
I recently heard a comment which combined two words that I thought I would never see or hear put together in the same sentence. It is unimportant, what the context of the conversation was, because no matter what the topic or intent, the combination of these words was extremely shocking to me. So much so, that it took me days to wrap my brain around them and write this blog. Granted, I had intended on writing this article before I saw the marriage of these two words, so this is my secondary reason for writing it, but albeit, equally important. “Blue’s Rubbish” and they are still ringing in my brain like a fire alarm in a school building ringing endlessly! Frankly there is no such thing as Blue’s Rubbish…and I challenge the rock musician who thinks so.
What shocked me even further was that the person who made the comment, is a musician, and a good one at that. But not only are they a musician, they are primarily a rock musician, which seemed to me to be almost insane. How can one honestly love rock music, any genre, and not at the very least respect the Blues, much less not love them? But I will allow for taste being dependent and relative…Even so, either it is ignorance, incompetence or just flat out denial on anybody’s part to make a statement like that, if they love rock music at all. The Blues may be many things, but in no way, is the Blues or has it ever been ‘rubbish’. Now, you do not have to love the Blues the way I do, or the way most musicians I know love them, but at the very least as a musician who writes, plays and professes to be part of the rock culture and industry one must respect them, and the impact that they have had on music. As well as recognize that they are the roots and the soul, the creator of rock as we know it today. This is not to say that other genres have not contributed to and/or influenced rock music, because they certainly have. Classical music is to Prog, as Celtic music is to folk. Country, Jazz and Gospel; They have all played a part in shaping and molding a very large and broad spectrum of rock music. Consider this — without the Blues I do not believe that Rock music would exist! Think about that! If we were to take away all the music from 1920 through 1950 do we really believe that what would have ensued would have become Rock and Roll?
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame definition describes Rock and Roll on their website and part of that definition is thus:
“Rock and roll is a form of popular music that emerged in the United States in the late Forties and early Fifties. But rock and roll’s roots can be tracked back centuries to drum beats in Africa and Celtic folk music in Europe. As people from these regions immigrated to America, they brought their music with them, and as they were exposed to each other’s music, they began to incorporate different styles.
The more immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the so-called “race” music, or rhythm & Blues, and “hillbilly” music, or county & western of the Forties and Fifties. Other significant influences include Blues, jazz, gospel, boogie-woogie, folk and bluegrass.
The actual phrase “rock and roll” emerged as code words for ‘Sexual Intercourse’ in Blues songs. In 1922, the words rock and roll appeared on a record for the first time. That record, Trixie Smith’s “My Daddy Rock Me (With One Steady Roll),” went on to inspire other Blues songs.”
While the Rock Industry is not in the forefront of popular music today (presently) and there is much debate as to whether the industry is viable (which I believe it is and has a lot more to do) one thing is clear. All the music that is popular today is a direct result of the inroads made by the rock musicians of the 50’s, 60’s , 70’s and 80’s and those musicians pay homage to those who came before them and led the way in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, who got their inspiration from their roots which came from Africa, Europe and beyond. There are many articles which one can find on the subject, as well as research and it all points back to Blues and Jazz being the Parents of Rock. On the site “Just another Longwood Blogs site” in 2012, “How did Blues Influence Rock and Roll?” they give a fairly- good overview on the subject.
Others, like All about Jazz will go back further to Jazz of the 20’s and 30’s being the true beginning of the Blues which slowly made its way from the Mississippi Delta spreading north, east and west emerging, and infecting musicians with the Blues bug in the 30’s and 40’s; systematically tossing and turning the sounds around until they made their way to the musicians that we credit as the true forefathers (and mothers) of rock and roll. This timeline on Rock Music Timeline.com starts the Rock movement at 1948 with Wynonie Harris and John Lee Hooker and the obvious culprits are there, Chuck, Elvis etc.. While the actual start might be in question, the thesis is agreed and accepted by any and most scholars. That the Blues is the root of Rock and Roll. So Rubbish to you Mr. “He who shall remain nameless!”
“Now that I got that off my chest, to my primary inspiration for writing about the Blues this week. I will admit that the former came in handy, because otherwise this blog might have been one paragraph.”
Recently while writing my blog on the state of the industry, “Music or Lie: The Torture of Rock by Pop & the Media” and the controversy stirred by the interview of Eric Clapton by Billboard Magazine I encountered a ton of discourse. While many contributed with intellectual, positive responses, others just spewed hatred for Eric Clapton reaching way back to his comments regarding African immigration to the UK in 1976 (which I addressed in the last blog. GET OVER IT, B.B. Buddy, John Lee Hooker and Muddy certainly did). I got over it as well a long time ago as well (although I do not take his words lightly), because I chalked it up to Clapton saying something stupid, but probably misstating what he meant. All of them said stupid things. Celebrities are infamous for it “The Beatles are bigger than Jesus!” uttered John Lennon and I assure you he and Clapton paid the price back in the day. But that was not what instigated this piece. The major culprit in all of this is this statement, made by at least 15 plus (out of over 400 now) respondents during my investigation 3 weeks ago; “Clapton is a Thief!” “Clapton Stole form the great Blues artists!”, “Clapton is Garbage!”, “Clapton doesn’t have an original bone in his body!” …oh yes, just a few of the beautiful things uttered in comments during my research for that blog. The rest were too nasty to even put on paper.
I had to laugh. Isn’t youth grand? The arrogance and ignorance of those who don’t have a clue. Most of whom, were not even born yet, or anywhere close to the time of when Rock music emerged with fire and brimstone.
Well, I have news for you. There isn’t one rock musician alive (or dead) today who hasn’t taken something from the Blues at one time or another. That’s right! Not one! Have they also created new innovative riffs and progressions, absolutely! And to those of you who think you are better than Eric Clapton (who is by far one of the best guitarists alive today) or any of the others who used and infused Blues into their music or showed respect to the artists before them –you are a bunch of Posers. That’s right, you heard me…Posers (with a capital P), because I bet if you do your homework, much of what you listen to, play and/or have written emanates from some musician in the past that did it before you or wrote it or played it. And most likely it is from the Blues or Jazz (or Folk or classical music) In this article in “Thinking In Music” the writer does a great job of listing the most major chords used.
The fact is, that Rock was born out of the Blues and like DNA it can all be traced back to the origin at its beginning. All the great musicians alive today have been inspired by others, and their music influenced by others. Great variations have been composed, and new combinations conceived. But don’t deceive yourself into thinking that Mr. Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Yes or any other musicians or bands stole anything. The roots are the roots and it is how we cultivate and grow them that make for innovation. By being able to play the music of the masters is how we learn from them and how we perfect our art. To deny this is just vanity. Zeppelin started their careers playing covers of the great Blues and Folk artists and you can hear that in their composition, structure; playing together and as individuals. Rick Wakeman was highly inspired by Gershwin a master of Jazz and has infused his music with that love throughout his career. The Beatles, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers, The Who, Canned Heat, Mountain and countless others all loved the Blues and you can hear chord progressions throughout their tracks that is obviously Blues relevant. Kurt Cobain was highly influenced by the Beatles, Zeppelin and others who all were inspired by the Blues, therefore indirectly so was he. The chain continues and doesn’t break. Rap, Hip Hop all inspired by great R & B artists of the past. Gaga, Winehouse also inspired and it is obvious in their music. Point — although it has evolved and changed with time, it all comes from the same place, it has influenced many and many artists use it, play it and share it every day for a reason.
In the end, if the Blues and Jazz were the roots of Rock Music, then everything else in Rock that came after its birth, are the descendants of Rock and were conceived by the Blues. All share the same genetic code, just a different combination and variation thereof, like most offspring. Nobody stole anything, and the likelihood is that you Mr. and Ms. Rock Musician, Rap Artist, Hip Hop Musician, Country Musician, Pop Artist, Band and so on have and will continue to benefit from work done before you, because it is in your DNA. When one denies this fact, it tells me they don’t know what they are talking about, and furthermore, know nothing about rock music.
Cheers and thank you for reading,
JoOnna Silberman, The Forgotten Woman at Forgotten Man
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