Meade “Lux” Lewis didn’t just record a blues—he conjured a rolling landscape of rhythm and motion. Cut in 1928, “Honky Tonk Train Blues” demanded a great deal of the pianist: relentless drive, ...

One of the biggest misconceptions about blues music is that the genre is all about doom and gloom. Naturally, many blues songs feature lyrics about being down in the dumps, love lost, and heartbreak.

The blues-rock staple found new life nearly four decades later when Los Lonely Boys put their own spin on the classic.

Just before Halloween 10 years ago, Bruders and Smeltzer forged Freight Train Rabbit Killer around a love of hardscrabble American music. The stuff they play is crashing, heavy blues, swirled with ...

The history of blues music is drenched in melancholy. Merriam-Webster tells us the first known use was in 1741, originating from “blue devils.” So it’s no surprise when some of the most gut-wrenching ...

As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive ...