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Published: November 20, 2006
Having come north during the Great Migration of poor black Southern workers into Northern industrial cities during the first half of the 20th century, the blues found a new home in the city of Chicago.
Chicago blues clubs not only provided places for the music to be heard, but the change of scenery added a new twist on the classic blues that would forever change the face of Western music.
If basic Delta blues consisted of a guitar and a harmonica, Chicago turned up the volume on the old standbys.
The new form of blues developing in Chicago and other Northern industrial cities infused amplified guitars, drums, piano, bass guitar and saxophone into the music, joining the acoustic guitar and harmonica. With a big beat bumping behind the music, this new form of blues had a new meaning and reached a wider audience. Urban blues, as it was called, would evolve to the point where Muddy Waters, one of the great blues performers of all time, would say, “the blues had a baby, and they named it rock ‘n' roll.”
Chicago has further been immortalized in the blues standard, “Sweet Home Chicago.” Believed to have been written by Robert Johnson, a legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman whose short life did not compromise his influence on blues and rock ‘n' roll, the song is written as a description of an ideal place, a place much different from the racism and poverty inherent in Johnson's home in the Delta. It has been covered by countless bands and performed in all Chicago blues clubs throughout the years, cementing its legendary place in musical history.
In Chicago blues clubs today, the city is proud to maintain the blues heritage developed in the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the Chicago Blues clubs, the Chicago Blues Festival, the largest free blues festival in the world, annually provides the city with four days' worth of classic and up-and-coming blues musicians. Chicago blues clubs draw visitors from around the world, continually trying to provide acts which stay true to the roots from which it came. One such Chicago blues club is the House of Blues Chicago.
Ever since the first House of Blues opened its doors 1992, it has been committed to the ongoing preservation of the great African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. Started by a group including Dan Akroyd, one of the original Blues Brothers, the House of Blues brand stretches wide across the continental United States. According to its Web site, each venue sets out to provide a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine in an environment celebrating the African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art.
Located at 333 N. Dearborn St., in the heart of the River North entertainment district, the House of Blues Chicago pays homage to Chicago's great blues tradition. If on any Saturday night blues fans stop in unannounced to catch some 12-bar, though, they might be disappointed; all genres of music receive booking in House of Blues Chicago. But in some ways, this musical diversity pays a special tribute to the influence of blues music in the genesis and development of rock and roll, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, bluegrass, country and most other genres of Western music today.
Chicago is also known for its connections with comedians Dan Akroyd and John Belushi's famous Saturday Night Live musical group, The Blues Brothers. Having its origins in a skit for the late-night television show, the famous duo would go on to record albums and star in their own movies. The original Blues Brothers film, released in 1980, is set in Chicago and features a version of the blues standard “Sweet Home Chicago,” complete with drums, piano, saxophone and the other sounds of the urban blues revolution.
Sources:
About House of Blues. House of Blues Entertainment. 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://hob.com/aboutHOB/.>
Chicago Blues. Wikipedia online encyclopedia. 19 November 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_blues.> ;
Essential Guide to Classic Pop/Rock. BBC Online. 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/classicpoprock/guid es/classicpoprock/.>
Sweet Home Chicago. Wikipedia online encyclopedia. 12 November 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Home_Chicag o.>
Chicago blues clubs not only provided places for the music to be heard, but the change of scenery added a new twist on the classic blues that would forever change the face of Western music.
If basic Delta blues consisted of a guitar and a harmonica, Chicago turned up the volume on the old standbys.
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Chicago has further been immortalized in the blues standard, “Sweet Home Chicago.” Believed to have been written by Robert Johnson, a legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman whose short life did not compromise his influence on blues and rock ‘n' roll, the song is written as a description of an ideal place, a place much different from the racism and poverty inherent in Johnson's home in the Delta. It has been covered by countless bands and performed in all Chicago blues clubs throughout the years, cementing its legendary place in musical history.
In Chicago blues clubs today, the city is proud to maintain the blues heritage developed in the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the Chicago Blues clubs, the Chicago Blues Festival, the largest free blues festival in the world, annually provides the city with four days' worth of classic and up-and-coming blues musicians. Chicago blues clubs draw visitors from around the world, continually trying to provide acts which stay true to the roots from which it came. One such Chicago blues club is the House of Blues Chicago.
Ever since the first House of Blues opened its doors 1992, it has been committed to the ongoing preservation of the great African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. Started by a group including Dan Akroyd, one of the original Blues Brothers, the House of Blues brand stretches wide across the continental United States. According to its Web site, each venue sets out to provide a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine in an environment celebrating the African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art.
Located at 333 N. Dearborn St., in the heart of the River North entertainment district, the House of Blues Chicago pays homage to Chicago's great blues tradition. If on any Saturday night blues fans stop in unannounced to catch some 12-bar, though, they might be disappointed; all genres of music receive booking in House of Blues Chicago. But in some ways, this musical diversity pays a special tribute to the influence of blues music in the genesis and development of rock and roll, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, bluegrass, country and most other genres of Western music today.
Chicago is also known for its connections with comedians Dan Akroyd and John Belushi's famous Saturday Night Live musical group, The Blues Brothers. Having its origins in a skit for the late-night television show, the famous duo would go on to record albums and star in their own movies. The original Blues Brothers film, released in 1980, is set in Chicago and features a version of the blues standard “Sweet Home Chicago,” complete with drums, piano, saxophone and the other sounds of the urban blues revolution.
Sources:
About House of Blues. House of Blues Entertainment. 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://hob.com/aboutHOB/.>
Chicago Blues. Wikipedia online encyclopedia. 19 November 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_blues.> ;
Essential Guide to Classic Pop/Rock. BBC Online. 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/classicpoprock/guid es/classicpoprock/.>
Sweet Home Chicago. Wikipedia online encyclopedia. 12 November 2006. 19 November 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Home_Chicag o.>
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