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Overview

After the rise and disbandment of the original Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in 1878, many other copycat groups sprung up, using Fisk's business model for raising funds for Black universities. In 1904, Charles Williams from Holly Springs, Mississippi, formed the Williams Jubilee Singers, "The World's Greatest Harmonizing Octette." Previous jubilee companies had often had ten or a dozen members or an octet making a "double quartet." Still, the increasing tendency was to reduce the groups' size and feature, as did Williams, a popular quartet (or quartette) (Oliver 2012, n.p.). Publicity material for the Williams Jubilee Singers emphasized their musical training at universities and colleges as Rust, Drake, Livingston, and Oberlin. However, as more jubilee companies were formed trying to capitalize on the "Jubilee Singers" brand, it became common practice to emphasize the singers' formal training and musical credentials

Be ready to:

Describe the musical landscape in which blues-derived music developed.

Describe various aspects of the Jim Crow laws and their impact on African American society.

Describe the antecedent musical genres that impacted the development of the blues.

Define the term blues.

Explain why W.C. Handy is affectionately referred to as the "Father of the Blues."

Illustrate the textual and musical form-three-line structure-of the blues.

Name blues compositions/performers from the three broad stylistic categories-Country, Classic, and Urban blues-and their respective contributions.

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Think About It: Summary of the Elements of the African American and American European Culture That Are Part of a Blues Composition

Now that you have listened to Handy's most famous work, " St. Louis Blues♫ ," review the following summary of the African, African American, and European American influences of the blues. Then test your knowledge by writing a few sentences about each of the elements mentioned in the following summary.

What Elements Do the Blues Take from the African American and American European Culture
African Tradition	European Tradition
Griot Blues music is a form of social commentary similar to the African griot.	Form Strophic AAAA-for example, four stanzas of three lines each.
Melodic Resources of Blues Field holler, spirituals Melodic, timbral, and forceful rhythmic delivery. Blue notes Blues scale Call-and-response	Harmony I-IV-V Chords In the key of C major, the above chords translate to I-C major (Tonic); IV-F major, (Subdominant), and V-G major, (Dominant).
Adaptation of European Folk Ballads European ballad told stories. Black American blues singers used the three-line stanzaic form-AAB-to tell their stories.	Instrumentation Guitar Piano Harmonica Other homemade instruments

Sidney Bechet

The blues like spirituals were prayers. One was praying to God; the other was praying to man.

Sterling Brown

You can't play the blues until you have paid your dues