Bobby "Blue" Bland Interview

The following interview was conducted for American Routes, a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A Year of the Blues partner, American Routes presents a broad range of American music -- blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical. Now celebrating its 5th anniversary on the air, American Routes explores the shared musical, historical and cultural threads in these American styles and genres, and how they are distinguished.

American Routes can be heard nationwide on Public Radio International stations.


Bobby "Blue" Bland is a legendary blues singer. As a member of the "Beale Streeters," an informal group of young Memphis musicians in the early 1950s, he helped forge a new, increasingly "uptown" blues style. His career has since spanned hard blues to smooth soul, all centered around his rich and evocative voice.


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