1. A type of folk song that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholy sound from repeated used of blue notes.
2. An informal term for a state of depression; SYN. megrims.
African-American music that originated in the work songs and Negro spirituals of the rural American South in the late 19th century. It is characterized by a 12-bar, or occasionally 16-bar, construction and melancholy lyrics which relate tales of woe or unhappy love. The guitar has been the dominant instrument; harmonica and piano are also common. Blues guitar and vocal styles have played a vital part in the development of jazz, rock, and pop music in general.
1920s–1930s.
The rural or delta blues was usually performed solo with guitar or harmonica, by such artists as Robert Johnson and Bukka White (1906–1977), but the earliest recorded style, classic blues, by such musicians as W C Handy (1873–1958) and Bessie Smith, was sung with a small band.
1940s–1950s.
The urban blues, using electric amplification, emerged in the northern cities, chiefly Chicago. As exemplified by Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker, urban blues became rhythm and blues.
1960s.
The jazz-influenced guitar style of B B King inspired many musicians of the British blues boom, including Eric Clapton.
1980s.
The “blues noir” of Robert Cray (1953– ) contrasted with the rock-driven blues playing of Stevie Ray Vaughan (1955–1990).
In classical music, composers such as Ravel, Copland, and Michael Tippett have used the term loosely to refer to mood rather than a strict musical form.