Melisma?!? But I Use Protection!

In all seriousness, Melisma is not something you can catch, but something you have to practice.

B.B. King brought this technique to the masses – but its roots are actually in gospel.  Melisma is bending or stretching a single syllable into a convoluted melodic phrase.  Say that three times fast.

in 1951, B.B King recorded and released “3 O’Clock Blues”, which went number one on the national r&b charts, and launched the most successful career in the history of the blues.  Why?  Because his sound on this song was neither Delta sounding, or Memphis sounding – but was ladled with heavy phrasing, and bigger and rounder tone than his counter parts.  And of course, there was the Melisma.

This type of singing was being popularized by by the New Orleans-based r&b star Roy Brown, who scored a hit in 1947 with “Good Rocking Tonight”.  Early on, most critics even believe that B.B sounded very much like Brown.

However, during the next few years, as B.B. consolidated his nationwide appeal with a string of hits, his style became more polished and original – the vocals soulful and pleading, the guitar cutting through with a clean, punchy attack.  As it became cleaner and more polished, other artists, like T-Bone Walker, stareted to sound rambling by comparison. B.B. King soon became a black matinee idol.

In fact, a lot of the younger musicians, such as Bobby “Blue” Bland and Fenton Robinson attempted to win over crowds at local establishments with renditions of B.B.’s latest hits.  King himself was out on the road perfroming a string of one night stands.

He’s been on the road ever since.

~ by thedeltablues on July 2, 2008.