In the history of American Blues music, what part did hollars and calls play in the development of the Blues?

Comments

1. Dave says:

   February 20, 2010 at 4:13 am

   Call & response was duplicated in many ways, one of which was “dueling guitar” solos. Lot’s of Blues players would try to “cut” one another by seeing who could top the other guy’s last lick (or passage) in a live performance.
   Another example is Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman” where he sings, “Hey…” and the Raylettes mimic hi (then Woah…, Hey, Woah etc.)
   Good question!
2. conchobor2 says:

   February 20, 2010 at 4:56 am

   Call and response was prevelent in African music (and still is) from the dawn of singing itself. Thus, as slaves were brought to the colonies, so too did as much of their culture and herritage as they could manage to hold onto.

   This call and response has ALWAYS been a par of African-American music.

   Interesting that someone posted the SAME QUESTION earlier today
3. martin couch says:

   February 20, 2010 at 4:57 am

   How many of you are there in this class, where is it, and who teaches it?

   I’ll cut and paste again

   You must be in the same class as the other person who asked this question., so I’ll just copy & paste my answer;

   The call and response of field songs, work songs, hollers, etc. was supplanted by an interplay between voice and instrument in blues. This is readily discernible in the music of Delta bluesmen such as Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, Son House, & Robert Johnson. A steel knife or a bottleneck in the hands of a master musician can sound much like the human voice. I believe that the incorporation of the harmonica had as much to do with it’s ability to provide another “response” as it did with the cost/portability of the instrument.

   So…..the long history of call and response in the black tradition had a large role in the development of the blues.
4. Steve S says:

   February 20, 2010 at 5:18 am

   If you need to listen to an example of this, listen to “Po’ Lazarus” from the O Brother Where Art Thou? movie soundtrack CD.
5. DFS says:

   February 20, 2010 at 5:49 am

   hollar and call developed first in the cotton fields, made its way into congregations in church to partcipate with the choir, and naturally was adopted into blues and early country music
6. americandragon says:

   February 20, 2010 at 6:42 am

   lol thomas
   you have bruni too? wat period?
   and who is steve s?