Notable Blues Sites
The Blues Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. With over 100 affiliated Blues organizations, and membership spanning twenty-four countries, the Foundation serves as the umbrella organization for the worldwide resurgence in Blues Music. Organized and founded in 1980, The Blues Foundation's mission is to preserve Blues history, to celebrate Blues excellence and to support Blues education.
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. In recognition of the blues' ongoing impact on music and cultural history both in America and around the world, and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Handy's encounter, the United States Congress proclaimed 2003 Year of the Blues (YOTB). Spearheaded by Seattle-based Experience Music Project (EMP) and the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, Year of the Blues aims to raise awareness of the blues, its unique American stories, and its influence in America and around the world. Year of the Blues is being celebrated nationwide through a collection of interrelated blues events, radio and television broadcasts, festivals, and education initiatives. Listen closely and discover a rich, powerful history of people who helped build America and created one of the most influential genres in popular music.
In order to keep the Blues alive, new talent must be cultivated. The Blues Foundation started the International Blues Challenge (IBC) with this theory in mind. Blues organizations affiliated with the Foundation stage regional competitions around the world and send the top unsigned artists from their region to compete in the IBC finals in Memphis each year. The winner receives a cash prize, studio time, appearances at several major Blues events around the country and the title of "Best Unsigned Blues Band". The judges also present a guitarist with the Albert King Award for the most promising guitarist.
Blues for Peace was established in Israel to honor the roots of blues music and promote peace and the understanding that ALL peoples have had their share of the blues. As you browse this site ask yourself, "Isn't it time people stopped fighting and learned to play 12 bar shuffles instead?"
The Blue Highway is an extensive, well-organized site, particularly noted for its history content and exhaustive section of blues links.
Bluesland is a comprehensive network of blues-related resources, including the popular "This Week In Blues History", It's A Girl Thang (Women in Blues), Blues News, DJ Directory, Bibliography, Photo Archive, Researcher Directory, Audio Archives, Links, and DVDs.
BluesWax is a free weekly blues music e-zine with reviews, industry news, interviews, gossip, and MP3 samples.
All Music Guide (Blues) is the Internet version of the AMG to the Blues reference book. All Music Guide is a company of AMG (All Media Guide), begun in 1991 in Big Rapids, MI, and located in Ann Arbor, MI since 1999. Their original mission was to create books to help consumers find the "best" music. But, as their databases grew, they saw they could be powerful tools for online retailers and entertainment destinations. They started licensing the All Music Guide in 1993. As of November 26, 2003, there are 13,806 blues genre entries in their extensive database. The main tabs on the site are: Intro, Styles, Music Maps, Essays, Key Artists, Key Albums, and New Releases. EXCELLENT SITE!
Blues Revue is the world's largest publication devoted to the full spectrum of the blues. Each issue is packed with artist profiles, interviews, album reviews, and columns by the most respected writers on today's blues scene. Subscribe and receive three sampler CDs each year.
Roadhouse Blues has lots of biographies of notable blues figures.
Blues Lyrics Online. It appears that this site has not been updated in several years, but then the lyrics probably haven't changed in that time, either.
Explore the WebRings to which we belong
The Official Blues WebRing
The Blues Society WebRing
The Great Lakes Blues Appreciation WebRing
Links to Other Blues Societies
Several comprehensive lists of other blues societies exist on the web. Three of the best are listed below.
