Because blues music is so old and dates back even before vinyl records and other recording means, there remains a significant amount of mystery regarding its early years. Born in the American South ...

100 years ago, Mamie Smith recorded a seminal blues hit that gave voice to outrage at violence against Black Americans. By David Hajdu Mr. Hajdu is a cultural historian and music critic. On Aug. 10, ...

One of the biggest misconceptions about blues music is that the genre is all about doom and gloom. Naturally, many blues songs feature lyrics about being down in the dumps, love lost, and heartbreak.

Led Zeppelin transformed the 1929 blues song by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie into the powerful rock anthem When the Levee Breaks.

Many Texas musicians have become legendary figures for not only their great talents as musicians but also for their colorful lives. Huddie Ledbetter, known to his fans as “Leadbelly,” was a pioneer ...

(ThyBlackMan.com) There’s something about Buddy Guy that hits you right in the gut—the way he bends a string, the way his voice trembles with heartbreak, the way he pours a lifetime of joy and sorrow ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...

NPR's Scott Detrow talks to Smithsonian curator John Troutman and blues musician Dom Flemons about a new folk album, Playing for the Man at the Door, from late chronicler Mack McCormick's collection.