Talk:Origins of the blues

Origin of the term?
It could also be a descriptive term. Fir Gorm is Irish for black man, but its literal translation is blues man. Fergananim 15:33, 28 November 2005 (UTC)also the blues used to express the sorrow in the song.

yes maybe. Origin of the Blues sounds as if it doesn't refer to Origins of Blues MUSIC. I think they should change the name to Origins of Blues Music.


 * Well, the Tuareg (or other Berber groups) are known for their blue robes. I find that interesting.  It's not where the name comes from (apparently they call their music 'assouf').  But it's still interesting - mainly that they don't get a mention here.
 * Re the 'Fir Gorm', a bit of googling has that as a Viking expression (also 'blamenn') for Moorish slaves. Even if it is Gaelic in origin, this article points out that Gaelic speakers called Norwegians Finn-gaill  ('white foreigners', which is fair enough) but called Danes Dubb-gaill ('black foreigners') so, well, as suggested it's a reference to something other than colour of skin, eg hair colour, or in the case of 'Moorish slaves' possibly their blue robes (who knows).  The Tuareg, or their antecedents, were slave traders by the way.  Hakluyt bean 01:13, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

blues sound really upsetting —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.105.211.76 (talk) 18:13, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

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"Origins" section
The portion that discusses African origins is totally disjointed and hard to read/understand. Really needs attention from an expert! Vcrs (talk) 04:55, 30 November 2008 (UTC)


 * would like to add that this section also completely ignores all of the documented history of scottish and irish sea shanties as being the biggest contributor to the roots of this form of music, i.e. the call and answer and rhythmic singing of sailors, a.k.a. work chants and sing-outs, to better facilitate working in unison and keep spirits up, all of which were heard by the slaves and laborers in the dockyards of the gulf of mexico area of the american south, and then in turn copied by them. all of this is clearly laid out in the wiki on sea shanties here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_shanty#History_and_development


 * maybe this information should be added before this section as a section titled "scottish roots" or possibly just included at the beginning of this one and retitle the entire section "roots" to better accurately describe it and include all of the known roots information together.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by  65.128.156.236  (talk • contribs) 05:19, 4 September 2017 (UTC)


 * An interesting point, though some of the sources in the Sea shanty article do not seem to be reliable (discussion boards, etc.). If good reliable sources can be found to point out the connections, I think that some suitable words could be added to this article.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:43, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

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Anthony Maggio
The reference to Anthony Maggio seems to be a quite sophisticated vandalism! The paperbook which is referenced might exist but I do not believe the citation is exact. The link to "I've got the blues" points at a Rolling Stones'song and Anthony Maggio is a simple joke about Antonio Maggio an Italian popstar. The wording "I've got the blues" is not characteristic of the 1900s. It is just a funny anticipation. --Vb (talk) 12:29, 22 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Only just saw this post, so I'll copy across what I added to your talk page...
 * While searching for something else I found this source:"One conspicuous marker is Antonio Maggio's 'I Got the Blues,' published in New Orleans in 1908 and 'Respectfully Dedicated to all those Who have the Blues.' In no way linked to Chris Smith and Elmer Bowman's 1901 'Colored Complaint' by the same title,' Maggio's simple little piano piece was billed as 'An Up-to-Date Rag.' What made it up-to-date was its opening strain in a twelve-bar blues form, a strain that would crop up again in W. C. Handy's 1913 effort 'The Jogo Blues' and his 1914 masterpiece 'St. Louis Blues.'..... Antonio Maggio's 'I Got the Blues' is the earliest published composition known to link the condition of having the blues to the musical form that would become popularly known as 'the blues.' White New Orleans 'Dixielander' Johnny Lala remembered Maggio as a local mainstream music instructor. A note on the cover of 'I Got the Blues' identifies Maggio's 'Headquarters' as the Cable Piano Company on Canal Street...." Abbott and Seroff are respected authorities, so far as I know.  I've reinstated a referenced statement in the Blues article, and slightly tweaked the one in this article.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:46, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Here is more information about Maggio - probably deserving of his own article. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:09, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
 * ... and here.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:11, 5 March 2018 (UTC)