when wa american blues originated
A Brief History of the Blues The best blues is visceral, cathartic, and starkly emotional. From unbridled joy to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion. The blues has deep roots in American history, particularly African-American history. The blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th Century. Its inventors were slaves, ex-slaves and the descendants of slavesâAfrican-American sharecroppers who sang as they toiled in the cotton and vegetable fields.