Ragtime Blues
tagStarted 1890sPeak 1915–1935Last big hit late 1930s
Ragtime Blues blends blues lyric feeling with rag syncopation, precise fingerpicking, buoyant bass motion, and a dance-ready pulse. Compared with darker Delta strain, it is sprier, more harmonically playful, and often slightly smiling even when the words are not.
History
The style developed where blues guitar absorbed ragtime’s syncopation and formal neatness, especially in guitar-centered traditions associated with highly developed right-hand technique. Recordings by Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Willie McTell, Memphis Minnie, and Rev. Gary Davis became touchstones for later acoustic guitarists because they proved blues could groove with an almost pianistic lightness.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Britannica on blues, country music, and core country-blues figures
- Library of Congress on country blues and field recordings
- Smithsonian on songsters, medicine shows, and hillbilly/cross-racial roots