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Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm DougJohnson. Today we have the first of two programs about the kind ofmusic called blues.

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No American form of music would bewhat it is today without blues. The influence is heard not just inrhythm and blues, but also jazz, country and rock and roll. What youjust heard was from a song called "Sweet Little Angel," by one ofthe best-known blues musicians of all, B.B. King.

So where did blues come from? You could say it arrived hundredsof years ago with the ships that brought slaves from Africa. Thesemen and women lost almost everything, but not their music.

They brought it with them. This music was played on simpleinstruments. And it was sung by both men and women. Much of it alsohad a beat that people danced to.

If you want to dance, music has to have a tempo that lets youmove with the music. Listen for a few moments to the great Africanrecording star Miriam Makeba. This song is called "Kwazulu."

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Could you hear the rhythm? It is hard to listen to that song andnot move your feet. You don't have to understand the language. Youjust want to be part of the music.

Perhaps you want to tap your fingers in time with the music.American blues almost always has this same kind of beat.

Musicians call this beat four-four time. This means the music hasfour beats per measure, like this: one-two-three-four. Aquarter-note equals one beat. You can play it faster or slower, butit is still a four-four beat.

Listen for a moment to this blues song and see if you can keeptime with the four-four beat. Just listen and tap your foot with themusic. The name of the song is "Dark Road Blues." The lead singer isthe great blues harmonica player Sonny Terry.

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Now that we understand the beat of blues music, let's discuss theinstruments. The first and perhaps the most important instrument inblues is the human voice.

Blues began with the human voice. You can play blues without anysinging. But blues music is connected with the voice and always willbe.

Slaves often sang to help make the work in the fields easier.Blues music grew out of these work songs. It also grew out of thereligious singing in black churches.

The next most important instrument in blues may be the guitar. Itbecame popular with black musicians in the South in the nineteentwenties. The harmonica closely followed. If you add drums, a pianoand perhaps a bass violin, you have the instruments for a bluesband.

You can add other instruments -- really, as many as you want. Butblues music is usually played by small bands. Blues music firstbecame popular with the American public in the nineteen twenties.The reason is simple.

Slavery ended in the late eighteen-hundreds, after the Civil War.Thousands of black families left farm work in the South. Many movedto cities to look for work and a better life. They brought bluesmusic with them. Many people in major cities heard this unusualmusic for the first time.

Blues became popular in places outside the South like Chicago andKansas City. In fact, two kinds of blues are named after thesecities.

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Now, let's talk about one of the early great blues musicians andplay some of his music.

As we said, the guitar became popular in the nineteen twenties.One of the early great guitar players was a young black man namedRobert Johnson. He also wrote the words to his songs and, like allgood blues musicians, he sang them.

Robert Johnson also recorded his songs, mostly in the earlynineteen thirties. These were not recorded on the best equipment.Listen closely to a true master of blues. What you will hear is justRobert Johnson with his guitar. The song is called "Come On In MyKitchen."

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The work of Robert Johnson is still an influence in the world ofblues. Eric Clapton, the singer and guitarist, is one of the mostsuccessful of all rock musicians. He says he learned blues bylistening to many Robert Johnson recordings.

Eric Clapton put together his own blues album called "Me andMister Johnson."

Now, listen to the same song you just heard. Only this time, therecording equipment is the best that modern technology can produce.And Eric Clapton plays an electric guitar. He has help from a piano,drums and harmonica. But the music and the words are pure RobertJohnson.

The song is as fresh and alive today as when Robert Johnson wroteit.

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So today we looked at the very beginnings of a music form thatfirst became popular with the American public in the nineteentwenties. We talked about the instruments. And we listened to someproof of the lasting influence of Robert Johnson.

Next week, learn more about the history of the blues. We willplay some great sounds of the past. And we will play songs by someof the top blues performers of today.

We leave you with a song by another one of the truly great bluesartists. His name was McKinley Morganfield. Most people have neverheard that name.

Come back next week and we'll tell you the name he used on stage.For now, just listen. The song is called "Soon Forgotten."

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Our program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. I'm DougJohnson. Join us for part two of our blues program next week on THISIS AMERICA, in VOA Special English.