THANKS | 14- Thank God for the Blues

This may be a simple, not so profound one- and certainly one that is a matter of personal taste, but here goes-

Thank God for the Blues. Without the Blues we wouldn't have Jazz or Soul or R&B. But we also wouldn't have Rock or Pop or Hip-Hop, and in fact it is very unlikely that we would have Country (it would either be more like Bluegrass than it already is or maybe even Celtic).

I certainly don't thank God for the conditions that precipitated the development of Blues, slavery, racism, segregation etc. But legend has it that there were studies of slaves and slave owners in the 19th century and supposedly the suicide rates of slave owners were much higher than that of slaves. Go figure. I credit the Blues.

Much of the book of Psalms could be turned into Blues songs. If you can vent your anguish, whether in song or poem or painting, then it has less power over you.

But mostly I just like the Blues. Robert Johnson, Big Joe Turner, Rev. Gary Davis, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and of course ZZ Top and the Blues Brothers.

Thank you Lord, for the Blues.