Country Blues Hall of Fame

The Country Blues Hall of Fame pays homage to the rural blues practitioners who arguably laid the foundations for some of the first genuinely American forms of musical expression. These are the folk artists who put flesh and blood to steel and wood, who gave a voice to character and experience, and created such a wide sphere of influence that it still reverberates today throughout the seemingly diverse worlds of jazz, country, rock, hip-hop, and pop music.

We will never know the names or hear the voices of many, perhaps most, of these artists. The originators of the form faded away before the era of widespread audio recording. Many of those who did perform throughout the early to mid-20th century were known only by local dancers and partygoers, and lived out their days as sharecroppers or woodcutters in relative obscurity. Music historians have, however, traced some lines of more primitive styles through the modern era to certain recorded artists whose music, they claim, may give us a snapshot of the birth of the blues.

Beauty of style

and harmony and grace

and good rhythm

depend on simplicity.

~Plato~

One thing is known for certain. These performers had no need for, or access to electrical amplification. Their booming voices and rhythmic guitar or piano work was heard over the din of the dancing, fighting, gambling, and revelry that was a juke-joint Saturday night. They became the primary source of entertainment for southern communities of impoverished, hard-working African-Americans, and in doing so, fully developed the true voice of a people long repressed.

The true meaning of 'the blues' is still up for debate. Most of the actual performers never identified themselves as 'bluesmen' and prided themselves upon the diversity of their repertoires. Blues was once thought to be an expression of an intensely personal nature, and to some, it is, but this explanation along with numerous others that have come along over the years fails to do any justice to the vast breadth of this powerful art form.

The country bluesman played 8 bar, 9 bar, and 15 bar blues, among others, in addition to the later standardized 12 bar blues. He played rags, waltzes, ballads, pop songs, and spirituals. He played a party for white folks on Friday night and a fish-fry for black folks on Saturday.

The Country Blues Hall of Fame recognizes the contribution of these artists to the musical and social culture of the United States, and the influence their recordings wield upon the collective subconscious of virtually all American musicianship today. No distinction is made herein between those who played strictly classic 'blues', and those with a broader repertoire of popular or gospel music played in a blues style.

Inductees presented by the Country Blues Hall of Fame have strongly influenced nearly every genre of American music, in addition to many forms of music the world round. They were catalysts of social change as much as they were an entertaining diversion from the rigors of hard labor. They are honored here, not by record companies or radio stations, but by the musicians and musicologists who have recognized the great impact made by the songs and recordings of the honored artists.