Rock and Roll was born in the South, the bastard child of Blues and Country. Country borrowed from the blues. The blues spawned swing music, which developed further into jazz. What made the blues so great was that it was based on emotion and feel. Expressions of hard living,wrong choices made, mans failure to resist temptation. Mix in some old world superstition plus some new world fire and brimstone religion...gawd vs. da debil, good vs. evil,a life of sin etc., "man's ruin": the needle, the bottle, Fornicating with wayward women, adultry, gambling, deceit and murder.When you here people talk about the origins of the Blues, Robert Johnson is often credited as "the Father of Delta Blues". Johnson as well as Muddy Waters, were both proteges of Son House. And there were likely many others before him. But if you've never heard Son House sing accapella accompanied by nothing more than a hand clap on songs like "John the Revelator" or "Grinnin' in Your Face" , you are missing out.Taj Mahal did a great version of "John the Revelator" in the Blues Brothers movie and there are references to "John the Revelator" and lines from other Son House songs on several of the band, Clutch's CDs. Depeche Mode also covers "John the Revelator".I first heard reference to Son House in a Lynyrd Skynyrd song called "Swamp Music".And later after hearing recordings of Son House, I realized the influence he had on the vocal style of Skynyrd singer, Ronnie Van Zant.
I really love the talltale folklore type aspect of the blues thing and would really like to see a good movie done about it that really played up the supernatural kind of voodoo side of it. And I'm not talkin' about a movie with Ralph Macchio in it, although Steve Vai as the "Devils Guitarist" was pretty cool. Something darker with a nostalgic vibe like HBO's "Carnivale". Here is a link the speculates the "Crossroads Curse" and dealin' wif da Debbil.
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