Delta Blues and the Clash of Cultures

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Delta Blues And The Clash Of Cultures America is one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world. Immigration from all over the world has brought diverse ethnicities, cultures, customs and music to America. This has made us the great melting pot of the world. The diversity has given America an amazing variety of music due to the influence of culture, economic status, class standing and views of those who are writing the music. Blues music is influenced by the culture and views of those creating it, reflects the poverty and despair throughout the southern US, brought the black community together and contributed to modern rock and roll. These concepts will be explored by analyzing performances and interviews from the movie Feel Like Going Home, written by Martin Scorsese. Feel Like Going Home focuses on Delta Blues which originated in the Mississippi Delta region. Delta Blues is one of the earliest forms of blues music and is influenced heavily by the living conditions of the region. One of the most striking takeaways from the movie is the extreme poverty of the Mississippi region and the influence this had on Delta Blues music. One of the most famous Delta Blues artists of the era was John Lee Hooker, who explained in the movie that life was brutal in the Delta region. One of Hooker’s most famous songs was “Boogie Chillen” which came out in 1948. This song may not be considered Delta Blues and includes an electronic guitar. “Boogie Chillen” includes repeated rifts and power chords produced by a twangy electric guitar, a raspy voice and a tapping foot to keep the beat. According to Wikipedia, this song was one of the most influential songs to modern rock and roll. The song also has deeper racial meanings. According to the same article, the song focuses on Hastings Street which is the center of the black community in Detroit. The positive nature of the

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