(ThyBlackMan.com) When I think about the roots of blues music—the raw honesty, the pain wrapped in poetry, the joy carved out of hardship—I think of Ma Rainey. Her voice was more than a sound; it was ...

(ThyBlackMan.com) Few figures in American music loom as large as Muddy Waters. A transformative force in the evolution of modern blues, Waters bridged the acoustic traditions of the Mississippi Delta ...

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page hates “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman).” The Led Zeppelin II track seamlessly flows from the excellent “Heartbreaker,” which led radio DJs to keep the needle ...

Proving that even British bands could get in on the yacht rock act, the Climax Blues Band knocked off a pair of songs that fit well into the canon. There was the sleekly funky “Couldn’t Get It Right” ...

The history of blues music is drenched in melancholy. Merriam-Webster tells us the first known use was in 1741, originating from “blue devils.” So it’s no surprise when some of the most gut-wrenching ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...