Country Blues

English · Music, History

No one knows for sure when the blues became a music form of its own, but most authorities agree it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition to taking listeners to the same Tutwiler, MS, railroad platform where W.C. Handy first heard the blues in 1903, "Country Blues" documents the birth of recorded blues with the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Willie McTell, and Skip James.

This episode's concluding performance is from contemporary blueswoman Rory Block.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.