015-The Emergence of the Blues in the Mainstream

This episode covers elements of blues harmony, melody, and form to demonstrate that our typical picture of the blues is far too simplistic and the blues itself is far more interesting than we assume. I then go on to discuss the early appearance of blues in sheet music and in recordings (including the beginning of the Blues Craze in 1920 with Mamie Smith's version of the Perry Bradford composition, "Crazy Blues").