Written Assignment #1
The blues had a profound impact on early rock and roll. From the list below, choose one of the three pairs of songs that include one blues and one early rock and roll song each. Your task is to identify, list, and describe in as much detail as possible two musical elements (e.g., instrumentation, form, subject of the lyrics, or vocal delivery style) that the two songs in each pair have in common, and two elements where they differ.
1. Son House, “Walkin’ Blues” and Elvis Presley, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
2. Charley Patton, “34 Blues” and Joe Hill Louis, “Boogie in the Park”
3. Skip James, “Devil Got My Woman” and Goree Carter, “Rock Awhile”