Music critics differ on the origin of the blues. Many say that it began to appear in the late 1800s. But the blues scale, the pentatonic minor, was heard on the slave ships. Some have even called it the slave scale. There have been angry denunciations of those who claim that John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” was based on the songs he heard on slave ships. But its reliance on the pentatonic minor—common in Black spirituals—points to an African origin.
This slave scale has generated a billion-dollar industry. Currently, it propels advertisements from Peloton, Land Rover, Popeye’s Chicken, and others; it’s the basis for the soundtracks of television series like Bosch, , and the latest season of , starring Chris Rock. The complaint one hears from Oakland musicians is that while the blues have increased the revenue streams of imitators like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Eric Clapton, the pioneers are neglected. The story of blues singer L.C. “Good Rockin” Robinson is not uncommon. His Oakland friends had to take up a collection to pay his funeral expenses. “The Thrill Is Gone” is considered the greatest of Oakland’s blues songs. Cowritten by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell, it was recorded first by Hawkins in 1951, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard charts, and then in 1969 by B.B. King, who took it to No. 3 and won a Grammy. Roy Hawkins ended his career selling furniture.
