The Blues originated in the post-Civil War Mississippi Delta through the fusion of African and European musical traditions. B.B. King was a hugely influential blues musician who was born in Mississippi and rose to fame in the 1940s-50s playing in the blues clubs of Memphis. The Rolling Stones were formed in London in the 1960s and helped popularize blues music internationally. Led Zeppelin also incorporated blues influences into hard rock in the late 1960s and 1970s.

1. The Blues
A Brief History and Evolution
Audience: GSU Students
By: Bond Turner

2. Humble Beginnings
 The Blues were born in the North Mississippi Delta following the Civil War.
 Influenced by African roots, field hollers, ballads, church music and
rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups evolved into a music for a singer who
would engage in call-and-response with his guitar.
 No single person invented the blues, but many people claimed to have
discovered the genre.
 Source: 1

3. B.B. King
 He was born September 16, 1925, on a plantation in Itta Bena, Mississippi,
near Indianola.
 In 1947, he hitchhiked to Memphis, TN, to pursue his music career.
 Soon after his number one hit, “Three O‘Clock Blues,” B.B. began touring
nationally. In 1956, B.B. and his band played an astonishing 342 one-night
stands.
 From small-town cafes, juke joints, and country dance halls to rock palaces,
symphony concert halls, universities, resort hotels and amphitheaters,
nationally and internationally, B.B. has become the most renowned blues
musician of the past 40 years.
 Source: 2

4. B.B. King

5. Rolling Stones
 The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962.
 The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian
Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith
Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts(drums).
 They were instrumental in making blues a major part of rock and roll and
changing the international focus of blues culture, to the less sophisticated
blues typified by artists such as Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", after
which the band is named.
 Musicologist Robert Palmer attributed the "remarkable endurance" of the
Rolling Stones to being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and
soul music", while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone.”
 Source: 3

6. Rolling Stones

7. Led Zeppelin
 The group formed in 1968 from the ashes of the Yardbirds, for which guitarist
Jimmy Page had served as lead guitarist after Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Page
assembled a “New Yardbirds” in order to fulfill contractual obligations that, once
served, allowed him to move on to his blues-based dream band, Led Zeppelin.
 “I can’t put a tag to our music. Every one of us has been influenced by the blues,
but it’s one’s interpretation of it and how you utilize it. I wish someone would
invent an expression, but the closest I can get is contemporary blues.”- Jimmy
Page
 Integrating Delta blues and U.K. folk influences with a modern rock approach, Led
Zeppelin’s symbiosis gave rise to hard rock, which flourished in the Seventies.
 Source: 4

8. Led Zeppelin

9. About the Author
 Bond is a country boy born and raised in the small town of Lincolnton,
Georgia.
 He is a Senior Outdoor Recreation major at Georgia Southern University,
planning to start his own organic farm after graduation
 He is a music lover and singer/songwriter. He is passionate about all types of
music and is inspired by creative and fearless musicianship.
 His favorite band is Led Zeppelin, due to their creativity and successful
combination of techniques and genres of music.

10. Thanks for watching!
 Sources:
 "A Short Blues History." A Short History of the Blues. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June
2015.-1
 "B.B. King." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2015.-2
 "B.B. King "Thrill Is Gone" on The Ed Sullivan Show." YouTube. YouTube, n.d.
Web. 17 June 2015.
 "The Rolling Stones." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 June
2015.-3
 "The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden (from "Some Girls, Live in Texas '78")."
YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 June 2015.
 "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum." Led Zeppelin Biography. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 17 June 2015.-4
 "Led Zeppelin - Rock And Roll Live 1973 [1080p]." YouTube. YouTube, n.d.
Web. 17 June 2015.
 Photos: Wikimedia.org