British blues facts for kids

The British blues is a type of blues music that became popular in Great Britain. It started in the late 1950s and was most popular in the mid-1960s.

How British Blues Started

Blues music first arrived in Britain from the 1930s. Sailors brought blues records to British ports. Later, during the Second World War and the Cold War, American soldiers (GIs) also brought records.

In the 1950s, blues music was popular with British jazz fans. They enjoyed artists like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. They also liked the blues-influenced Boogie-woogie music of Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller. British record companies like HMV and EMI began selling jazz and blues records too.

Many people first heard blues during the "skiffle" music craze. Skiffle bands, like Lonnie Donegan, often covered songs by blues artists such as Leadbelly. When skiffle music became less popular, some musicians started playing pure blues.

Two important musicians were the guitarist and harmonica player Cyril Davies and the guitarist Alexis Korner. They used to run a skiffle club in London. They later changed it into The London Blues and Barrelhouse Club. This club was a key place for early blues concerts in Britain.

Cyril Davies invited American blues artists to play in Britain. One of them was Big Bill Broonzy. He played folk blues, which made many in Britain think of blues as a type of folk music. However, this idea changed when Muddy Waters came to Britain. He played electric Chicago blues, which was much louder and more energetic.

Key Bands and Musicians

Inspired by Muddy Waters, Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner formed an electric band called Blues Incorporated. This band was very important for developing blues and rhythm 'n' blues music in Britain. Alexis Korner is often called the "father of the British blues."

Many famous musicians of the 1960s played in Blues Incorporated. These included future members of The Rolling Stones like Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, and Brian Jones. The founders of Cream, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, also played in the band. Other members included Graham Bond and Long John Baldry.

Blues Incorporated played at the Marquee club. They recorded the first British blues album there, called R&B from the Marquee. Another important band leader was John Mayall. His band, The Bluesbreakers, also featured many talented British blues musicians, such as Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, and Mick Taylor.

The most famous band formed in the early 1960s was The Rolling Stones. Other London bands like The Yardbirds, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, and The Pretty Things also played rhythm 'n' blues music. The British blues boom happened at the same time as these bands became popular.

Later in the 1960s, bands like Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, and Free started playing "blues rock." This was a new style that mixed blues with rock music. American blues artists like John Lee Hooker, Eddie Taylor, and Freddie King were also very popular in the United Kingdom.

The acoustic blues sound was kept alive by artists like Dave Kelly and his sister Jo Ann. Dave Kelly was also a member of The Blues Band. This band included former Manfred Mann members Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness, along with Hughie Flint and Gary Fletcher.

In the 1990s, big blues festivals started in Britain. These included The Swanage Blues Festival, The Burnley National Blues Festival, The Gloucester Blues and Heritage Festival, and The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival at Colne.

One of the most important things about British blues was its impact on the USA. The success of bands like The Rolling Stones made many young white people in the USA interested in blues music again.

Important Artists

Gallery

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  The Rolling Stones in 1965

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  Alexis Korner in 1968

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  Eric Clapton

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  John Mayall

Images for kids

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  Alexis Korner, often called the father of British blues

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  Georgie Fame, a major figure of the British R&B movement, in 1968

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  Peter Green performing with Fleetwood Mac in 1970

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  Cream, one of the most influential bands to emerge from the movement, around 1966

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  Members of Jethro Tull, in 1973, when they started moving away from blues

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  The Blues Band onstage in 2012

See also

In Spanish: Blues británico para niños