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3December is the season of blues. The blues has always been a focal point of popular music from it’s inauguration in the deep South of the United States around the end of the 19th century to the present day. Influential blues artists such as; BB King, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis all used their passion and talent for the blues to propel the genre from it’s grass-roots background to the glitz and glamour of New York venues such as The Cotton Club in Harlem.
It’s fair to say that the blues gave black-American musicians the platform to showcase their talents on a global stage in a musical landscape largely dominated by the popularity of big-band music, catered towards a more affluent, predominantly white audience. This global love of blues music has continued right up to the present day with artists such as; Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer and The Black Keys. Interestingly a large portion of present day blues artists are white, clearly showing that the influence of the heavily persecuted black blues artists are yesteryear has lived on and sculpted a new generation of blues artists and fans.
To celebrate this love of the blues, BBC 4 have commissioned an evening of programmes dedicated to the history and progression of the much loved genre. Catch up on BBC iPlayer and discover your love for truly time-less genre.