The Blues, By Bessie Smith And Billie Holliday
Music is such a beautiful creation, the way the melody, rhythm, tempo, all mix
together to become a masterpiece. One specific genre of music, the blues, was
heavily popular in the early 20th century. The blues is a tradition oriented music style
from the rural Southern African American origin ( Jazz in America , n.d. ). It usually
had secular content, which is disparate from how it was when it first began. Blues
music originated in plantations, where slaves sung, using it as a mental escape
method from their oppression. Even though it started off in a simple way, it
eventually turned into a serious entertainment. Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday,
two well known blues female singers, became hit sensations. Blues started in the
South, long ago, when slavery was still socially accepted. Slaves were severely
oppressed because they were legally bound to their masters. One way they found
emotional freedom was to sing songs, which were called slave songs. It Makes a
Long Time Man Feel Bad , Hammer, Ring , Cornfield Holler , were just a few of
the popular slave songs ( Slavery and the Making of America , 2004). Slave songs
were in various forms such as field hollers, work songs, spirituals, and country
string ballads ( The Blues A History , 2003). As time passed, these types of songs
were starting to become known as the blues. After slavery ended in 1865, blues was
not only still present, but became more evident. In the beginning of the 20th century,
blues music was on the