THIS IS AMERICA - Blues Music, Part 1

THIS IS AMERICA - Blues¹ Music, Part 1
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Monday, November 22, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson. Today we have the first of two programs about the kind of music called blues.

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B.B. King
No American form of music would be what it is today without blues. The influence is heard not just in rhythm² and blues, but also jazz, country and rock and roll. What you just heard was from a song called "Sweet Little Angel," by one of the best-known blues musicians of all, B.B. King.

So where did blues come from? You could say it arrived hundreds of years ago with the ships that brought slaves³ from Africa. These men and women lost almost everything, but not their music.

They brought it with them. This music was played on simple instruments. And it was sung by both men and women. Much of it also had a beat that people danced to.

If you want to dance, music has to have a tempo⁴ that lets you move with the music. Listen for a few moments to the great African recording⁵ star Miriam Makeba. This song is called "Kwazulu."

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Could you hear the rhythm? It is hard to listen to that song and not move your feet. You don't have to understand the language. You just want to be part of the music.

Perhaps you want to tap your fingers in time with the music. American blues almost always has this same kind of beat.

Musicians call this beat four-four time. This means⁶ the music has four beats per measure, like this: one-two-three-four. A quarter-note equals one beat. You can play it faster or slower, but it is still a four-four beat.

Listen for a moment to this blues song and see if you can keep time with the four-four beat. Just listen and tap your foot with the music. The name of the song is "Dark Road Blues." The lead singer is the great blues harmonica player Sonny Terry.

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Now that we understand the beat of blues music, let's discuss the instruments. The first and perhaps the most important instrument in blues is the human voice.

Blues began with the human voice. You can play blues without any singing. But blues music is connected with the voice and always will be.

Slaves often sang to help make the work in the fields easier. Blues music grew out of these work songs. It also grew out of the religious⁷ singing in black churches.

The next most important instrument in blues may be the guitar. It became popular with black musicians in the South in the nineteen twenties. The harmonica closely⁸ followed. If you add drums, a piano and perhaps a bass⁹ violin, you have the instruments for a blues band.

You can add other instruments -- really, as many as you want. But blues music is usually played by small bands. Blues music first became popular with the American public in the nineteen twenties. The reason is simple.

Slavery¹⁰ ended in the late eighteen-hundreds, after the Civil War. Thousands of black families left farm work in the South. Many moved to cities to look for work and a better life. They brought blues music with them. Many people in major cities heard this unusual music for the first time.

Blues became popular in places outside the South like Chicago and Kansas City. In fact, two kinds of blues are named after these cities.

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Now, let's talk about one of the early great blues musicians and play some of his music.

As we said, the guitar became popular in the nineteen twenties. One of the early great guitar players was a young black man named Robert Johnson. He also wrote the words to his songs and, like all good blues musicians, he sang them.

Robert Johnson also recorded his songs, mostly in the early nineteen thirties. These were not recorded on the best equipment. Listen closely to a true master of blues. What you will hear is just Robert Johnson with his guitar. The song is called "Come On In My Kitchen."

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The work of Robert Johnson is still an influence in the world of blues. Eric Clapton, the singer and guitarist, is one of the most successful of all rock musicians. He says he learned¹¹ blues by listening to many Robert Johnson recordings¹².

Eric Clapton put together his own blues album¹³ called "Me and Mister¹⁴ Johnson."

Now, listen to the same song you just heard. Only this time, the recording equipment is the best that modern technology can produce. And Eric Clapton plays an electric guitar. He has help from a piano, drums and harmonica. But the music and the words are pure Robert Johnson.

The song is as fresh and alive today as when Robert Johnson wrote it.

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So today we looked at the very beginnings of a music form that first became popular with the American public in the nineteen twenties. We talked about the instruments. And we listened to some proof¹⁵ of the lasting¹⁶ influence of Robert Johnson.

Next week, learn more about the history of the blues. We will play some great sounds of the past. And we will play songs by some of the top blues performers¹⁷ of today.

We leave you with a song by another one of the truly great blues artists. His name was McKinley Morganfield. Most people have never heard that name.

Come back next week and we'll tell you the name he used on stage. For now, just listen. The song is called "Soon Forgotten."

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Our program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. I'm Doug Johnson. Join us for part two of our blues program next week on THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English.

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 rhythm   

n.韵律；节奏

参考例句：

• He has an ear for the rhythm of Irish speech.他对爱尔兰语的节奏很敏感。
• His poem has a pleasing rhythm.他的诗有和谐的韵律。

3 slaves   

n.奴隶( slave的名词复数 )；苦工；完全受（某事物）控制的人；完全依赖（某事物）的人v.奴隶般地工作，做苦工( slave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Slaves were not emancipated until 1863 in the United States. 美国奴隶直到1863年才获得自由。
• fashionistas who are slaves to the latest trends 被潮流牵着鼻子走的赶时髦者

4 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

8 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

9 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

10 slavery   

n.奴隶的身分，奴隶状态，奴隶制度

参考例句：

• The Americans abolished slavery in 1863.美国于1863年废除奴隶制度。
• He is in a state of virtual slavery.他实际上处于一种被奴役的状态。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

13 album   

n.集子，粘贴集，影集，邮集，歌曲集

参考例句：

• The photos belong in an album.这些照片应该放在相册里。
• Will you look over his album?你要不要去看看他的歌集唱片？

14 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

15 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

16 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

17 performers   

n.演出者( performer的名词复数 )；演奏者；表演者；履行者

参考例句：

• The boss kissed the other performers off as mere amateurs. 老板认为其他的演员只有业余水平而把他们打发掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They manage to sign up all the best performers. 他们设法跟所有最佳演员签订合同。 来自《简明英汉词典》