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Blues music traces its origins back to the time of slavery, when black slaves drew upon their African cultural roots to modify the European musical conventions of their white masters. Characterized by melancholy notes that express suffering and deprivation, the blues evolved from slave work songs into a distinct musical heritage that spread from the plantation fields of Georgia and the South to the urban streets of Chicago and beyond. During the first half of the twentieth century, blues pioneers emerged throughout Georgia and converged in Atlanta. In the Decatur Street taverns, pianist "Georgia Tom" Dorsey from Villa Rica played a robust blues that came to be known as the "barrelhouse" style. He later devoted himself to composing gospel blues. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, one of the great vaudeville singers of the period and probably the first female blues performer, grew up in Columbus and claimed to have sung her first blues concert at age sixteen. Her gravelly voice and simple style attracted Dorsey, and they played together for many years. Rainey and Dorsey eventually collaborated with Smithville native "Tampa Red" Whittaker, who was a master of the slide guitar. Another pioneer of the female blues genre, Ida Cox, made her first blues recording in 1923. "Blind Willie" McTell from Thomson remained a staple of the Atlanta blues scene despite his frequent departures on one-man performance tours. A singer and twelve-string guitarist, he was known as an eager collaborator among his Atlanta peers, including barrelhouse blues player Willie Lee Perryman, also known as "Piano Red." Blind Willie and Piano Red were two of the few blues musicians of the time who kept Atlanta as their permanent home. The blues eventually moved north with African Americans who were hoping to find better treatment and working conditions. Although it became less popular in the South after the Great Depression, the music continued to evolve in northern cities, most notably Chicago. Dorsey, Rainey, and a host of others thrived in that city's rich creative atmosphere. Perhaps the most popular of the Georgia-born Chicago performers was "Bumble Bee Slim" Easton, whose lighthearted music provided hope even during the darkest years of the depression. As the blues moved around the country, it also influenced musicians working in other genres, including Ray Charles, the soul pioneer from Albany; Little Richard, the rhythm-and-blues/rock-and-roll crossover artist from Macon; and Joe Williams, the acclaimed Cordele-born jazz singer.
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