So You Want to Sing the Blues: A Guide for Performers

ONLINE RESOURCES:

Chapter 1 – Origins of the Blues

• Paul Robeson: “There Is a Balm in Gilead”
• Bessie Smith: “St. Louis Blues”
• Skip James: “Devil Got My Woman”
• Blind Lemon Jefferson: “Black Snake Moan”
• Clara Smith: “Shipwrecked Blues”
• Lightnin’ Hopkins: “Nothin’ But the Blues”
• Robert Johnson: “Crossroad Blues”
• Robert Johnson: “Come on in My Kitchen”
• Memphis Minnie: “If You See My Rooster”
• Tampa Red: “Blues for My Baby”
• Howlin’ Wolf: “Smokestack Lighting”
• Slim Harpo: “Shake Your Hips”
• Robert Johnson: “Preachin’ Blues”
• Taj Mahal: “Built for Comfort”
• Tampa Red & Georgia Tom: “It’s Tight Like That”
• Thomas Dorsey & Marion Williams: “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”
• Sweet Honey in the Rock: “Wade in the Water”
• James Carter and the Prisoners: “Po’ Lazarus”
• Blind Lemon Jefferson: Prison Cell Blues

Chapter 2 – Singing and Voice Science (Scott McCoy)

• Your Voice: An Inside View
• National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
• National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS)
• The Voice Foundation (TVF)

Chapter 3 – Vocal Health and the CCM Singer (Wendy LeBorgne)

• National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS)
• Power Performance for Singers: Transcending the Barriers
• Visualizations for Singers
• Supplemental Bibliography

Chapter 4 –  The Magic and Mechanics of Blues Singing

• Bessie Smith: “St. Louis Blues”
• Joe Williams with Count Basie Band: “Everyday I Have the Blues”
• Etta James: "Roll with Me Henry (aka ‘Wallflower’)”

Chapter 5 – DASC: Early Blues Women

• Mamie Smith: “Crazy Blues”
• Ma Rainey: “See See Rider Blues”
• Bessie Smith: “Jailhouse Blues”
• Bessie Smith: “Saint Louis Blues”
• Bessie Smith: “Backwater Blues”

Chapter 6 – DASC: Early Blues Men (and Another Woman)

• Robert Johnson: “Come on in My Kitchen”
• Robert Johnson: “Walkin’ Blues”
• Son House: “Walkin’ Blues”
• Victoria Spivey: “Black Snake Blues”
• Blind Lemon Jefferson: “Black Snake Moan”
• Leroy Carr: “How Long Blues”
• Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie: “How Long Blues”
• Leroy Carr: “When the Sun Goes Down”
• Memphis Minnie: “If You See My Rooster, Please Run Him on Back Home”
• Big Bill Broonzy: “Backwater Blues”
• Bessie Smith: “Backwater Blues”

Chapter 7 – DASC: Chicago Blues and the Modern Blues Sound

• Chicago Blues Documentary (1972)
• Muddy Waters: “I Just Wanna Make Love to You”
• Muddy Waters: “Hoochie Coochie Man”
• Dinah Washington:“Blow Top Blues”
• Etta James: “Roll with Me Henry (aka ‘Wallflower’)
• Etta James: “Tough Lover”
• Etta James: “I Just Wanna Make Love to You”
• Howlin’ Wolf: “Moanin’ at Midnight”
• Howlin’ Wolf: “Smokestack Lightning”
• Etta James: “Smokestack Lighting”
• BB King: “Three O’Clock Blues”
• Lowell Fulson: “Three O’Clock Blues”
• BB King: “The Thrill Is Gone”

Chapter 8 – Making a Soulful Sound and Writing Your Own Blues

• ZZ Hill: “Down Home Blues”
• Mose Allison: “Ever Since the World Ended”
• Shemekia Copeland: “Ghetto Child”
• Shemekia Copeland: “Ain’t Gonna Be Your Tatoo”
• Shemekia Copeland: “Crossbone Beach”
• Shemekia Copeland: “Drivin’ out of Nashville”
• Taj Mahal: “Fishin’ Blues”

Chapter 9 – Using Audio Enhancement Technology (Matthew Edwards)

Equipment Manufacturers:

• Shure
• Sennheiser
• M-Audio
• Fostex
• Behringer
• Bose
• TC-Helicon

Recommended Equipment:

• SM58 Microphone (with on/off switch)
• Behringer Eurolive B212XL
• TC-Helicon Voice Live Play Vocal Effects Processor
• 10-Foot XLR Cable

Comparisons of Singers (on and off mic):

• Broadway Singers
• Rock Singers

Tutorials:

• Microphone Tips
• Equalization Tutorial
• Setting Input Levels on a Soundboard

Trade Publications:

• Sound on Sound
• Mix