Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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unregulated entertainment, such as gambling and prostitution. Most roadhouses also
provide liquor, music, and dancing.
guitarists Albert Collins, Freddie King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the rough-edged
blues of Austin singer Lou Ann Barton.
Song:
- Albert King
R O C K
The roots of rock are in a West African etymon for dance- rak. An etymon is an original
ro
African language Bidyogo, rak yirak (I dance) or a irak
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Descriptions of African American church services in the late 1800s and early 1900s
shout
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a steady rhythm going to make manual labor easier. An
African American convict told Bruce Jackson for his collection of work songs, Wake Up
Dead Man,
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Elderly roustabouts who had worked loading and unloading ships on the Mississippi
River in the 1920s and 1930s showed Alan Lomax how they would rock a load on their
explained that they would place a load in the sling and rock it back and forth to keep it
light on their shoulders while they carried it down the plank toward th
from side to side, the pressure was shifted from leg to leg and, at the same time, the body
rocked forward with a surge of energy, which propelled the mover ahead. Rocking, then
Lomax reported. 317
A sexy body-to-body dance called the slow drag mimicked the movements of rocking a
heavy load, and was popular in the juke joints Delta laborers frequented on Saturday
nights. The dancers dragged their feet flat across the floor, letting their hips rock slowly
side to side with their pelvises pressed together. By shuffling, rather than lifting and
crossing their feet, the dancers circumvented the prohibition African American preachers
had set down against dancing outside the church.
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