The genesis of
blues music in Detroit occurred as a result of the first wave of the
Great Migration of
African Americans from the
Deep South. In the 1920s, Detroit was home to a number of pianists who performed in the clubs of
Black Bottom and played in the
boogie-woogie style, such as
Speckled Red,
Charlie Spand,
William Ezell, and most prominently,
Big Maceo Merriweather. As Detroit had no established recording scene at the time, all of these players eventually migrated to Chicago to record for various labels. Spand reminisced about his time in Detroit while playing on the 1929
Blind Blake single, "Hastings Street". During the 1920s, Detroit was also host to most of the notable singers of the
classic female blues, including "The Queen of the Blues"
Mamie Smith, "The Mother of the Blues"
Ma Rainey, "The Empress of the Blues"
Bessie Smith, "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues"
Ida Cox, "The Queen of the Moaners"
Clara Smith, "The Famous Moanin' Mama"
Sara Martin, and
Ethel Waters. Most of these performers visited Detroit on tour as part of the
Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA) circuit, playing primarily at the
Koppin Theatre on the southern edge of
Paradise Valley. Teaming up with Hooker in the late 1940s was the guitarist and harmonica player
Eddie "Guitar" Burns, who played on several Hooker tracks and performed regularly on the Detroit blues scene. Another sideman of Hooker was
Eddie Kirkland, who played second guitar for him in Detroit and on tour from 1949 to 1962, and later went on to a long solo career. Other notable musicians on the 1950s blues scene were the singers
Alberta Adams and singer/guitarists
Doctor Ross,
Baby Boy Warren,
Johnnie Bassett,
Sylvester Cotton,
Andrew Dunham,
Calvin Frazier,
Mr. Bo,
John Brim and
Louisiana Red; percussionist
Washboard Willie; harmonica players
Big John Wrencher,
Sonny Boy Williamson II,
Little Sonny, and
Grace Brim (who also sang and played drums); and pianists
Joe Weaver and
Boogie Woogie Red. Also of note were singer
Johnnie Mae Matthews and singer/guitarist
Bobo Jenkins, both of whom started their own labels, Northern Records and Big Star Records, respectively. The most prominent of the Detroit-based labels from this era was
Fortune Records, and its subsidiary labels Hi-Q, Strate 8 and Blue Star, which ran from 1948 to 1970. Fortune released hundreds of recordings in many genres, including tracks by Hooker, Kirkland, Jenkins, Dr. Ross and Maceo Merriweather. Another important Detroit label from the period was
Sensation Records, started by John Kaplan and Bernard Besman. In 1948, Besman recorded Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" and ran the artistic side of the label until its demise in 1952. The entertainment districts of Hastings Street and
Paradise Valley were razed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the victims of urban renewal programs. This loss of music venues, along with the rise of
Motown in Detroit and the popularity of
rock and roll, led to the eventual demise of the Detroit blues scene in the late 1960s. Many Detroit-based musicians pursued their careers on tour elsewhere in the world, leaving only a few noteworthy artists to carry on the tradition. Among them were
The Butler Twins, Clarence (guitar and vocals) and Curtis (harmonica), who emigrated to Detroit from Alabama in 1961, joining a long list of blues forebears who came to work in the automotive industry. Another transplant was the former classic female blues singer,
Sippie Wallace, who had moved to Detroit in 1929, but did not resume her blues singing career until 1966. In the wake of the
1967 Detroit riot the local blues scene nearly died out, In 1973, the
Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival put on a "Music of Detroit" showcase, featuring a number of the older generation of blues artists, such as John Lee Hooker, Dr. Ross, Baby Boy Warren, Mr. Bo, Johnnie Mae Matthews, Eddie Burns, Bobo Jenkins, and Boogie Woogie Red. Shortly thereafter, the Chicago bluesman
Willie D. Warren moved to Detroit, and spent the rest of his life performing on the blues scene in and around the city. Another transplant from Chicago in the 1970s was
Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones, who played in Detroit for the next four decades. In March 2016, blues singer and guitarist
Laith Al-Saadi was chosen to be a contestant on the musical competition series
The Voice, and after impressing the judges with a version of
The Box Tops' song "
The Letter",
Blake Shelton and
Adam Levine both turned their chairs for his performance. Al-Saadi gained nationwide recognition after he won a spot in the finale. ==Country==