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.

(ThyBlackMan.com) When discussing the most influential blues musicians of all time, Howlin’ Wolf stands in a league of his ...

(ThyBlackMan.com) There’s something about Robert Johnson’s music that grabs you by the soul and doesn’t let go. Maybe it’s the rasp in his voice, the haunted slide of his guitar, or the way his lyrics ...

Proving that even British bands could get in on the yacht rock act, the Climax Blues Band knocked off a pair of songs that fit well into the canon. There was the sleekly funky “Couldn’t Get It Right” ...

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 ...

If you look at the Top 10 songs on the Billboard charts, odds are you’ll find nary a love song. Tracks about heartbreak, friendship and self-empowerment abound, but straightforward ballads about ...

The universal language of music has united generations of lovers since the beginning of time. Falling in and out of love, grasping at unrequited love, mourning love lost and succumbing to deep love ...

Somebody asked Muddy Waters what his blues meant. His reply: "Trouble." "What I meant was that the blues – from the gutbucket, alley blues, which I can offer, right straight up to the sophisticated, ...

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 ...