Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Women and the Blues
This primary source set uses recordings, documents, and photographs to tell the story of the origins of blues music in which women were an influential part.
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Two: Desegregating the Airwaves: Blues on the Radio
This lesson deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Learners will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social change, discuss how...
Scott Alexander
Red Hot Jazz: Esther Bigeou
Information on the life and discography of Esther Bigeou.
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues
An extraordinary curriculum unit to teach blues and all its cultural implications.
Other
Koko Taylor Talks About Her Subjects
Article and interview first published in Clockwork Review about Koko Taylor's, "Queen of the Blues", career.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Leadbelly
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Leadbelly, an American folk-blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs, in conjunction with his notoriously violent life, made him a legend.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: Bessie Smith
Known as the "Empress of the Blues", Bessie Smith was one of the greatest blues singers. Read a brief biography of her career as well as view a video performance of her singing with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra with this resource.