Authors of “Chasing the Blues” Offer a Brief History of an Important Genre

Josephine Matyas and Craig Jones, co-authors of “Chasing the Blues: A Guide to America’s Music,” returned to NOVA yesterday to explore the history of the music of the Mississippi Delta by African Americans who fashioned a new form of musical expression grounded in shared experiences of brutal oppression. Both historians are Canadian and spoke about how they were initially writing press materials on the topic when a publisher reached out for more information. It was then they realized there is no comprehensive guide on the “blues,” so they embarked on a U.S. journey to learn more and write a book.

The presentation showcased how musicians used the power of music to survive, creating a simple-in-structure, emotionally complex artform that actually transformed and upended culture and became the bedrock of popular music. It grew to involve all races and ethnicities, becoming one of society’s first and most successful examples of diversity.

Matyas and Jones traced the musical genealogy back to its geographical and cultural origins in the Delta, which is key to understanding how the blues were shaped. Over time, the Delta blues have touched virtually every form of popular music, creating a soundscape we still carry through our lives.

Originally, this music was known as “race music” and marketed only to African Americans,” said Jones. The term “blues” was actually a way to describe feelings of melancholy. Recognized today as depression or anxiety, these very human emotions have gone by many names. The one closest to the history of life in the Delta is the “blue devils” or simply the “blues.” The blues spoke to the real-world circumstances of those at the bottom of the social strata about the state of their ordinary lives in dealing with love, relationships, betrayal and pain.

Jones explained that the name change helped promote the music to other places like Chicago, New Orleans and other port cities. Then it spread overseas where American soldiers were based, and around the world to people who didn’t have the same experience. Even Elvis Presley was raised on gospel and blues and “sanitized” it for white audiences, causing it to take off via radio.

Matyas recalled the travels the two embarked upon for this important historical research. She spoke of all the small towns visited, and how vibrant the communities where in keeping the lineage of the genre.

“All across Mississippi, we found these little street corners and, while there may not be major players, these towns are still celebrating the history,” said Matyas. “Like the little town of Leland at the intersection of Route 61 and Highway 10 would be a spot where people from the plantations would come and flood the streets corners. There is a little museum, and you still have folks playing there.”

They discussed how the music flowed, chronicling the living and working conditions in the heart of the Deep South and appreciating how life-changing events like the Flood of 1927 sparked a mass migration away from plantation life, spreading the blues to the cities in the north and becoming the soundtrack of the civil rights movement. They spoke about how blues musicians interacted, “cross-fertilizing” their music by learning, influencing and imitating each other.

Concluding the event, NOVA’s own Connie Robinson, sang a song with Jones. This event was sponsored by a DEI InNOVAtion grant.

Submitted by:
Hoang Nguyen, Assoc. Director of External Relations, HDNguyen@nvcc.edu