Rooted in the African-American experience, blues music is emotional, stirring, visceral and outspoken. In this new series from one of our most popular Curious Minds lecturers, Dr. Mike Daley will use historic recordings, archival film clips and musical demonstrations to trace the history of the genre to the present day. We’ll examine its origins in African antecedents and slave work songs and how the music came into its own on phonograph records, on street corners and in juke joints throughout the southeast United States. We’ll hear the unforgettable stories and music of stars like B.B. King and Muddy Waters, and look at how a new generation of musicians in the 1960s adopted and repackaged the blues for an even wider audience. We’ll pay tribute to one of the most moving and important genres of American popular music.

This course is led by Dr. Mike Daley (Leonard Cohen: Words and Music; The Music of Yonge St. and Yorkville; The Beatles and their World), a music historian and professional musician who has taught at Guelph, McMaster, Waterloo and York Universities.

Thursdays, January 9—February 13, 1:00 - 3:00 PM

See all Curious Minds courses for Winter 2020: bit.ly/2OIguxp

Sponsored by Hollywood Suite