Blues

It's impossible to pinpoint exactly when and where the blues were born, but it is a uniquely American musical genre. The blues are rooted deep in the American south in the years before the Civil War, and originating in the work songs of slaves. The blues evolved over the years, and when Muddy Waters electrified the blues in the 1940s, it gave birth to a multitude of new forms of music like R&B, and Rock and its sub-genres such as Heavy Metal. Blues combined with Country to create rockabilly, and morphed into Soul and Motown, even Hip-Hop.

Blues itself has many sub-categories such as Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, and Kansas City Blues.

2/18/2010 - Blues great Etta James continues to recover from MRSA, a serious bacterial infection. She was also diagnosed last year with Alzheimer's, and her son has stated that she was also suffering from drug-induced dementia as a result of painkillers prescribed for a back injury.http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=7082¤t_edition=2010-02-17

The Blues Hall of Fame has announced the 2010 inductees. The induction ceremony will be on Wednesday, May 5 at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee. Among the honorees this year are Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Musselwhite, Lonnie Brooks, and W.C. Handy.

Despite the impact that the blues have had on modern music, the Recording Academy only recognizes two categories for the genre at the Grammy Awards, although blues artists occasionally receive nominations in other categories.

Best Traditional Blues Album Nominees:

• A Stranger Here - Ramblin' Jack Elliot **winner **
• Blue Again - Mick Fleetwood Blues Band
• Rough & Tough - John Hammond
• Stomp! The Blues Tonight - Duke Robillard
• Chicago Blues: A Living History - (compilation)

Best Contemporary Blues Album Nominees:

• This Time - Robert Cray
• The Truth According to Ruthie Foster - Ruthie Foster
• Live: Hope At The Hideout - Mavis Staples
• Back to the River - Susan Tedeschi
• Already Free - Derek Trucks Band **winner**

The Grammy for Best Historic Reissue also went to a blues recording, for Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to David "Honeyboy" Edwards.

Organizations

• The Blues Foundation - Produce of the WC Handy Blues Award, The Blues Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Intl. Blues Talent Competition

• Delta Blues Museum

Festivals and Venues

• House of Blues

• The San Francisco Blues Festival - the oldest on-going blues festival in the world

Other sites

• The Blues on PBS

• Blues for Peace - site devoted to blues music and musicians

• Blues Music Now! - Articles on leading blues musicians, up-and-coming blues artists, and blues guitar articles

• History of Blues