First there was field holler, then came the slow rolling responses,- the "the breeze through the trees". Echoes of hardship, music of the soul.

Then came the guitar, and the strings, and the slides, and the bottleneck- until that guitar became a second voice.

That second voice, with its groans, its tears, its joy of overcoming, became the Blues. -JH 2025

Recently I saw that Ma Rainey's early songs had just become public domain, along with a number of other talents who really combined to give us one of America's truest music art forms- the Blues.

I wanted to know how the blues came to be-who really "brought it", and how to tell the different between different types of blues- like Chicago, or St. Louis Blues.

So I asked one ofm our investigative journalists, Gizelle Erickson, to do some digging, find some music and story we could use- and she handed me most of this story. She would have voiced it but a bad cold got her first- so I got part one. She gets part 2.

Here is the story of the birth of the blues.

Interview with Command Sgt. Maj. Bart Womack

New Book- IMBEDDEDD ENEMY

Shortly after deploying for the war in Iraq, an unprecedented attack was about to take place; the first of it's kind in U.S. military history. Embedded Enemy is the true story of the deadly attack against the men and women of Headquarters and Headquarters Company First Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. The Bastogne Brigade was staged at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait where they prepared for combat. During the early morning hours of 23 March 2003, a fellow American soldier, Sergeant Hasan Akbar, executed the unthinkable by throwing hand grenades into his Chain of Command's tents. He then followed up with small-arms fire while his Commanding Officers slept in preparation for war.Shortly after deploying for the war in Iraq, an unprecedented attack was about to take place; the first of it's kind in U.S. military history. Embedded Enemy is the true story of the deadly attack against the men and women of Headquarters and Headquarters Company First Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. The Bastogne Brigade was staged at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait where they prepared for combat. During the early morning hours of 23 March 2003, a fellow American soldier, Sergeant Hasan Akbar, executed the unthinkable by throwing hand grenades into his Chain of Command's tents. He then followed up with small-arms fire while his Commanding Officers slept in preparation for war.

Join our email list at www.bestof1001stories.com and check out browsing our 12 story-rich shows!

We are the biggest history/literature story podcast on the internet. 10 years, 25M listens, 4.7/5 rating

In part two we cover the start and rapid growth of the Bielski partisan camps in Belarus, their raids on Gernan patrols and on German sympathizers, and the hard and often times deadly choices that needed to be made to protect the forest clans. We also cover what happened to the four brothers after the war and the filming, which was done in Lithuania, which borders Belarus. We also discuss the controversy that faced the movie as well as criticisms that the movie basically whitewashed the story to cover up crimes committed by the Bielski Partisans. as well as their alliance with the Russian army. I believe all their actions are covered evenly here and the listener is left to judge their actions. For reference and study:: The Bielski Brothers, Peter Duffy. (2004), Defiance by Nechama Tec (1993),, and With Courage We Shall Fight (Francis and Mary Berger.. Also The History Channel Documentary titled The Bielski Brothers: Jerusalem in the Woods..

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

mORE STORY AT OUR WEBSITE wwws.bestof1001stories.com