Five Robert Johnson style blues turnarounds.
Blues turnarounds
In blues music, the term blues turnaround means a musical pattern played over the I and V chords in the last two bars or sometimes last four bars. A lot of classic blues turnarounds consist of a simple phrase that descends chromatically in a half steps from the minor seventh to the fifth of the I chord. Sometimes blues songs open with a turnaround. Traditionally this type of phrase is found in the twelve-bar blues, but it is also very common in rock and roll.
Robert Johnson
He was born in 1911, he died at the age of only 27 in 1938. American guitarist and singer, author of exactly 29 songs that did not gain much popularity during his lifetime. They brought him fame only after his death, bringing their composer the title of the king of the blues guitar.
The work of Robert Johnson influenced the development of 20th-century American popular music, echoes of his style can be found in the works of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. The unexplained circumstances of his death contributed to the creation and spread of legends about the genius, life and death of Robert Johnson.
Blues
Blues is a musical genre known as the folklore of African-American musicians. Its origins are associated with the southern states of the USA, that is the region conventionally called the “deep south”. The very name of the genre (sadness, despair) is related to its nostalgic form, also in the textual layer. Blues pieces touch male-female relationships as well as feelings and emotions (love, loneliness, faithfulness, jealousy). However, blues performers often sing about freedom, work and travel. The songs also feature social criticism relating mainly to racial inequality and political issues.
Many artists are inspired by blues music and combine it with other styles. In this way, such musical mergers as punk blues, soul blues or blues rock. The popularity of this genre in the USA has led to the emergence of regional varieties, such as Louisiana, New Orleans, Texas and Detroit blues. There are also factions characteristic of other countries – British blues and African blues.
