Blues music originated in the cotton fields of the southern United States where the majority of the slave hands were put to work. "The earliest folk-blues were sung by nameless African-Americans living and working in the South's cotton belt in the early 1880's and 1890's- in particular, the region from the Mississippi Delta to East Texas"(Barlow 3). It was believed that this began as a call and response style, which matured into the work song. From that standpoint, after the release of the slaves, the work song then matured into their Spirituals, and later was introduced to the whites through black-faced Minstrel of Medicine shows (How the Blues Overview). As the music matured and became more renowned, its influence became prominent in the music styles of the time, and in the intertwining relationships between the races. "The music was a unique and cultural offering that whites could not deny. It was something new and intriguing to whites that shed a new light on blacks and......
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