Visit the Year of the Blues Website

2003 ~ The Year of the Blues

In 1903, on a lonely train platform in Tutwiler, Mississippi, African American composer W.C. Handy encountered a man playing “the weirdest music I had ever heard," an unexpected sound that would soon expand to become the most influential form of American roots music. And although it reverberates to this day across the globe, both on its own and through the many genres of which it is the foundation ( including jazz, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, soul, and hip-hop ) it is still known, quite simply, as the blues.

W.C. Handy

Photo by: Michael Ochs Archive

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of this encounter, and in recognition of the blues’ ongoing impact on music and cultural history, both in America and around the world, on September 5, 2002, the United States Congress proclaimed the year 2003 as the "Year of the Blues" (YOTB). The year will be celebrated by bringing together blues events, multimedia projects (radio and film series), concerts, festivals, and education initiatives. Spearheaded by Robert Santelli, CEO and Director of Seattle-based Experience Music Project (EMP), and the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, the Year of the Blues aims to raise awareness of the blues, its unique American stories, and its influence in America and around the world. The Year of the Blues is sponsored by Volkswagen.

Amanda Hanson, Promotion Assistant, The Blues National Promotion, WGBH*,  writes:

Dear fellow blues fan,
My name is Amanda Hanson, and I am part of the team promoting "The Blues," a seven-part film series airing Fall 2003 on PBS. As you may already know, these films are directed by seven world-renowned feature film directors, including Martin Scorsese, and they explore a central theme: how the blues evolved from parochial folk tunes to a universal language. More information about the films and their directors is available at http://www.pbs.org/theblues/thefilmseries.html

But that's just the tip of iceberg -- the television series is the cornerstone of an integrated multi-media project that includes a comprehensive Web site launching in August; an education program designed by Experience Music Project; a companion book published by HarperCollins; value-added DVDs, a CD box set, individual soundtracks for each show, a single "Best of" album and individual artist recordings released collaboratively by Sony Music's Columbia/Legacy division and Universal Music Enterprises; a 13-part series on public radio; and, participation in a variety of film, music, culture and heritage festivals across the country; all to celebrate what the United States Senate has declared 2003-YEAR OF THE BLUES.
To kick off YEAR OF THE BLUES, a benefit concert for the Blues Music Foundation was held at Radio City Music Hall on February 7. The landmark five-hour "Salute to the Blues" concert was filmed for theatrical release (TBD) directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and executive-produced by Martin Scorsese.
Blues fans can sign up for "The Blues" project updates via e-mail on our preview Web site at http://www.pbs.org/theblues/signup.html

*WGBH enriches people's lives through programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives.

Calendar No. 567
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 316
Designating the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the ‘Year of the Blues’.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

August 1, 2002
Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. FRIST, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

September 5, 2002
Reported by Mr. LEAHY, without amendment

RESOLUTION

Designating the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the ‘Year of the Blues’.

Whereas blues music is the most influential form of American roots music, with its impact heard around the world in rock and roll, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, and even classical music;

Whereas the blues is a national historic treasure, which needs to be preserved, studied, and documented for future generations;

Whereas the blues is an important documentation of African-American culture in the twentieth century;

Whereas the various forms of the blues document twentieth-century American history during the Great Depression and in the areas of race relations, pop culture, and the migration of the United States from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrialized Nation;

Whereas the blues is the most celebrated form of American roots music, with hundreds of festivals held and millions of new or reissued blues albums released each year in the United States;

Whereas the blues and blues musicians from the United States, whether old or new, male or female, are recognized and revered worldwide as unique and important ambassadors of the United States and its music;

Whereas it is important to educate the young people of the United States to understand that the music that they listen to today has its roots and traditions in the blues;

Whereas there are many living legends of the blues in the United States who need to be recognized and to have their story captured and preserved for future generations; and

Whereas the year 2003 is the centennial anniversary of when W.C. Handy, a classically-trained musician, heard the blues for the first time, in a train station in Mississippi, thus enabling him to compose the first blues music to distribute throughout the United States, which led to him being named ‘Father of the Blues’: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate designates the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the ‘Year of the Blues’; and requests that the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe the ‘Year of the Blues’ with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and educational programs.

The blues is one of America’s greatest musical treasures. A roots music form that evolved out of African American work songs, field hollers, spirituals, minstrelsy, and folk songs more than a century ago, the blues is the foundation of virtually every major pop-music form born in the 20th century, including, jazz, rhythm & blues, rock ’n’ roll, and hip-hop.

As profound as the blues has been to the national music experience, it has only occasionally entered the American classroom, mostly by individual teachers who were committed blues fans and who created ways on their own to integrate the music into their teaching strategies. Thus, the blues and, for that matter, all forms of American pop music, save jazz, have had only limited success finding a home in high school curricula. If the blues is to be found anywhere in the classroom, it most likely would be in social studies, American literature, English, or music classes.

American popular music, particularly the blues, has failed to penetrate the American classroom for the following reasons:

A lack of understanding as to the importance of American popular music, including the blues, to the national character

A lack of respect for the artistic and cultural value of American popular music

A general lack of knowledge exhibited by many classroom teachers about the music, its culture, its history, and its seminal artists

A lack of available teaching strategies pertaining to popular music that conform with national standards

A lack of resource materials, meaning the music itself, for use in the classroom

In order to bring the blues to America’s high school students, Experience Music Project and the Blues Foundation, in association with PBS and WGBH, will launch a comprehensive educational initiative to complement The Blues, a seven-part television series produced by Martin Scorsese that will air this fall on PBS stations across America. Underwritten by Volkswagen, this educational initiative will provide teaching strategies and resources to teachers everywhere so that the inclusion of blues music, history, and culture into high school curricula can occur like never before. This will be accomplished through the educational expertise of Experience Music Project and the Blues Foundation working with a select group of teachers already skilled in the strategies of teaching the blues to high school students in the social studies, English, and music disciplines.

The overriding goals that drive Experience Music Project and the Blues Foundation are the creation of a broad range of lesson plans, teaching strategies, and resource materials that can be found online beginning next fall at pbs.org. Teachers will also be able to request teaching guides and ancillary material offline by writing to:

Teaching the Blues
Experience Music Project
2901 Third Avenue
Seattle, Wa. 98121.

Quantities, however, are limited.

The components that make up The Blues education initiative include:

Online blues lesson plans for grades 9-12 in the social studies, English, and music disciplines

Online blues discography, bibliography, and videography

Teachers guide for the social studies, English and music disciplines

Blues compact disc, comprising seminal blues songs directly related to the lesson plans and teachers guide

Experience Music Project is committed to education and the celebration and preservation of American popular music. In 2003 "Year of the Blues" we dedicate ourselves to blues education and encourage teachers everywhere to explore the exciting possibilities of bringing the music into their classrooms. For more information on EMP’s other educational initiatives, visit our Web site at www.emplive.com

Robert Santelli
Director and CEO, Experience Music Project