Who invented the Blues?
When did the first Blue come out of someone’s mouth?
I don’t know.
Lets start in 1936 and 1937
Robert Johnson did these blues.
Delta Blues apparently.
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson was born in 1911. He lived 27 years and died in 38.
In the two years leading up to his death he recorded stuff in 36 in San Antonio, and then a year later, in Dallas in 37. The recordings were made by a producer called Don Law. But the music was not released during Johnson’s life and he died with very few people knowing much of who he was and his music.
However in 1961 Don Law released a compilation of Johnson’s recordings, called King of the Delta Blues Singers. Some twenty-five years after they were recorded and after the death of Johnson, the music in the compilation had a profound impact, especially in the UK, on artists like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Robert Plant, and on Bob Dylan, in the States.
Junior Kimbrough.
Junior Kimbrough did The Blues. He was born in 1930 and died in 1998.
Its difficult to know where to place his music time wise, he recorded in the 50s, but then didn’t do anything else until the 90s, when he recorded a lot, and then died.
From Hudsonville, Mississippi.
God Knows I Tried is almost twenty-first century, it was released in 1998, posthumously. Its a fantastic slow burning album.
Judging from the images on these two videos, Junior appeared to like a ciggy.
Sketchy recording careers
Both Robert Johnson and Junior Kimbrough recorded in fits and starts, but they didn’t really establish recording careers so to speak.
Both artists recorded a load of stuff immediate to their death. Johnson was in his 20s, Kimbrough in his 60s.