BBC - Blues America (2013) Part 1 Woke Up This Morning

The story of how the blues crossed borders from black to white; from weak to powerful.

Part 1: Woke Up This Morning

Blues is usually described as the sound of racial suffering and feeling sad, but this documentary argues that the blues began as a form of black pop music. First appearing in the Southern states of the USA around 1900, blues created by the poorest people in the richest nation on earth took America by storm. The film look at the early years of the blues to discover how Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charlie Patton used the latest media to bring their music to the public. With contributions from Keith Richards, Taj Mahal and Chuck D.

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