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Chicago as the blues capital across the world
At Grant Park, Chicago will be hosting it 24th Blues fiesta with six stages and get free entrance. It’s been ninety years Chicago is recognized as the ‘blues capital’ across the world. During early 1900s the majority of the Southern blacks started moving to Northern cities. Chicago was the land of opportunities and had strong roots of blues songs and one can hope a better life.
Mr. Sunnyland Slim expired in 1995, he was a renowned pianist and would have celebrated its 100th birthday and this year’s fiesta he was paid tribute. Mr. Slim was gifted with a heavenly voice and his personality was very much recognized across the Chicago’s blues scene. In the start of year 1916 cities like Chicago and Detroit witnessed major migration from Mississippi Delta and Afro-Americans. These cities generated more employment opportunities due to World War one. In the year 1940 Mr. Slim spent a decade in Memphis and then reallocated himself to Chicago.
At the arrival of Mr. Slim there were other artists preparing for their single blues composition. He joined the scene with his unique dancing style and noisy vocal singing. According to Mr. David he had an advantage of a unique voice that had an impact, and bears a local voice. Mr. David wrote the book called Chicago Blues: Portraits and Stories. He said that he had something in his voice which felt very strong and leaves a great impact. He gave performances at venues like South Side and West Side and it was the beginning of the Chicago blues period.
The main motive behind the live blues performance was to have contact or communication between the audience and person performing. The rise of the locations those were hosting these social crowds was just not the reason for the increase in Chicago’s blues trend as the small recording companies like Vee jay, Chess Records (Started by two Polish immigrants Leonard and Phil Chess) also made equal contributions. Mr. Slim also recorded his songs with Chess Records which as a result brought Muddy Waters to the Chess Studio. It was a time when there was a blues trend that reflected more of a flashy, blues approach. According to Mr. David, Muddy Waters introduced new a variation to the blues as it was a rare Delta sound which was also urban simultaneously. The music scene was affected and it was rather hostile and electric. Muddy Waters showed his electric Chicago sound of 1940 and 1950s. And in the late 1940s Chicago became the inspiration for the gutbucket electric blues.
According to Ms. Sandra, a blues writer the blues trend attracts its typical crowd and it also welcomed Southerners in Chicago. It was more than obvious for them to make a stay here as they were aware of the fact that over here they have their jobs as well as leisure facilities. Coming to this city the Southerners didn’t felt like they were strangers as they were familiar to the majority of the artists and performers. Those who were newcomers they used to spend majority of their dollars at the South Sides’ Maxwell Street in purchasing liquor, where there were more blues clubs to be seen. The blues trend followers wanted to wear clothes those were worn by the artists and they frequently visit the hairdressers, clothing shops, and tailoring shops. These all elements constituted for Chicago to be called as blues capital and this remained till the early 1960s. Every performer and artist it didn’t mattered who he was and from where he was, landed up to Chicago or either was from Chicago. According to Mr. Jones there was a time when Chicago was known to be catering to be having the best blues performers across the country.
It was the period of 1970 when the popularity of blues trend started weakening amongst the black community. The music critics said that the blues trend was only for the poor people and it was overshadowed by the disco and R&B. Majority of the rock groups and white audience were now getting attracted to this blues trend and seeing this more clubs were started on the North Side.
Lately the black community of the South Side that at one time was religiously following blues trend now the community has been forced out by the upper society. University of Illinois really affected Maxwell Street which was famous for the blues trend lovers. According to Mr. Jones the white people were regularly visiting the clubs that were situated in the black neighborhoods but the black community were no where to be seen and Afro-Americans were also not going to the clubs situated to the North Side.
