A Journey Through American Music: Blues Beginnings

Episode 1: From the early fusion of gospel, rhythm & blues and soul music, through to modern rock and rap, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman traces the ancestry and growth of American music.

The blues was born in the Mississippi Delta over a hundred years ago and is one of America's great gifts to the world of music. To tell the story of its genesis and early development, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman invites us to his club, Ground Zero, in Clarksdale Mississippi. From there he traces the early history of the blues.

It's an astonishing tale, as the simple but powerful songs played by dirt-poor African-Americans went on to inspire the likes of Dylan, Hendrix, Clapton and The Rolling Stones, and helped create modern rock music. Freeman guides us from the music's African roots, through to the old Delta masters such as Robert Johnson. The programme then illustrates the rich variety of the blues from the 1940s onwards, as it became electrified and migrated to the cities of the north and west.

Freeman introduces live footage of giants of the genre such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown and Etta James as they play at the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival. Buddy himself is interviewed, and talks about his life and times as Clapton's favourite player. Other insights and musical examples come from expert commentators such as Olu Dara, blues musician and father of rap superstar Nas; and from musician and actor Chris Thomas King, who portrayed Delta legend, Tommy Johnson, in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou?.

This is an entertaining and educational narrative documenting the early roots and shoots of a seminal American art form.

Click here for more episodes of A Journey through American Music .