# Where did this blues stereotype come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570 "2018-07-25T18:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/21 "2018-07-26T13:21:07Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > When I heard “Doot doo duh do”, the first thing I thought of was Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy”, which you can listen to [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfqNEvykv0). That formula has been copied repeatedly by other blues artists and by people parodying the blues. The start of the song with the beat is at 0:34. Variations of that predate “Mannish Boy,” too. That song itself was a response to [Bo Diddley’s “I Am A Man”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaC5ZKRjLUM), and before that, [Muddy Waters also recorded “Hoochie Coochie Man”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFxrLOVwsEE) (words and music by Willie Dixon), which also had that same stop-time blues, but with the little harmonica riff ascending rather than descending. There doesn’t appear to be a Willie Dixon recording that predates this (sounds like he may have written it for or with Muddy Waters.) I wonder if that’s 1954 Muddy Waters “Hoochie Coochie Man” recording is the first example of this type of stop-time blues. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/22 "2018-07-26T13:26:08Z")
ETA: So far as I can tell, that does seem to be the start of that type of lick and stop-time in blues. “I Am a Man” and “Mannish Boy” are a little bit different in that they don’t go through the blues progression (essentially, they just sit on one chord), but “Hoochie Coochie Man” does (though in 16-bar format.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/24 "2018-07-26T13:36:51Z")
Another early example I found (this would be the fourth one chronologically, recorded in late 1955): [Chuck Berry’s “No Money Down.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK_ZP6dN6sU) Also following the same one-chord approach. So it looks to me that Bo Diddley’s “I Am a Man” is the first one to do it as a one-chord stop-time blues, but the idea goes back to Willie Dixon, as recorded by Muddy Waters. So basically the roots are in the Chicago school, from what I’ve been able to gather. ETA: Oh, wait, [Here’s an example of the riff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM3kHi4M5eo) from another Muddy Waters song, “Mad Love” recorded and released in 1953. So that’s the earliest example so far of that riff. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/25 "2018-07-26T13:55:41Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say, what you noticed was the rebirth/repopularization of blues with the explosion of stand up comedy. > > Stevie Ray Vaughn and others made the blues very visible in the 80’s and every hack comedian had a bit about “I woke up this morning”. > Boom a cliche is born.😃 The popularization of the blues goes back much farther than Stevie. Early rock & roll in the 50s grew out of the blues. The Brits were getting turned on to American roots blues in the early 60s, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, John Mayall, and many more. Stevie was great, and influential, but a relative latecomer. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/26 "2018-07-26T14:45:00Z")
> [@Raiz](#): > > I like the blues If you are happier listening the blues, does that make it not the blues? Here is the Veggie Tales take on the blues (with a blind lemon on guitar): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/x-2m0Gj3wmM/maxresdefault.jpg "VeggieTales: The Blues with Larry - Silly Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-2m0Gj3wmM) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/27 "2018-07-26T16:14:15Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say, what you noticed was the rebirth/repopularization of blues with the explosion of stand up comedy. > Stevie Ray Vaughn and others made the blues very visible in the 80’s and every hack comedian had a bit about “I woke up this morning”. > Boom a cliche is born.😃 Did you hear the one about the dead bluesman? He didn’t wake up this morning. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/28 "2018-07-26T17:33:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > ETA: So far as I can tell, that does seem to be the start of that type of lick and stop-time in blues. “I Am a Man” and “Mannish Boy” are a little bit different in that they don’t go through the blues progression (essentially, they just sit on one chord), but “Hoochie Coochie Man” does (though in 16-bar format.) “I Am a Man”? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/29 "2018-07-26T18:17:27Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > “I Am a Man”? :smack: “I’m A Man” of course. I have no idea why I didn’t contract it. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/30 "2018-07-26T19:09:51Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The popularization of the blues goes back much farther than Stevie. Early rock & roll in the 50s grew out of the blues. The Brits were getting turned on to American roots blues in the early 60s, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, John Mayall, and many more. Stevie was great, and influential, but a relative latecomer. Yes, you are correct about that era…But my comment was about the RE-popularization of the blues in the 80’s. Stevie and others brought a more traditional blues to the pop charts and reinvigorated many bluesmens careers. Different eras, different movement. > [@Shoeless](#): > > Did you hear the one about the dead bluesman? > > He didn’t wake up this morning. 😃 Ouch:smack: lol. Love it! ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/31 "2018-07-26T22:14:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > :smack: “I’m A Man” of course. I have no idea why I didn’t contract it. Ha. It reminded me of Pauls dad saying the song should have been “She loves you, yes yes yes” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/32 "2018-07-26T22:19:36Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Ha. It reminded me of Pauls dad saying the song should have been “She loves you, yes yes yes” Or that ubiquitous Rolling Stones hit, “I Cannot Get Any Satisfaction.” ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/33 "2018-07-27T02:20:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or that ubiquitous Rolling Stones hit, “I Cannot Get Any Satisfaction.” In a just world, this shouldn’t be funny at all, and no one should feel good about it one bit. However, it’s fair to say that I can’t get _no_ satisfaction from it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/34 "2018-07-27T16:20:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or that ubiquitous Rolling Stones hit, “I Cannot Get Any Satisfaction.” Actually I think Muddy recorded it for his bar mitzvah “Today, I am a Man” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/35 "2018-07-27T19:25:57Z")
But [Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-TVrR8wZc) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570/36 "2018-07-28T02:50:37Z")
Just an aside, Muddy Waters Hard Again album is a pretty serious gateway to the blues album. It worked for me at least. Second aside, I was fortunate enough to see Muddy at the 1980 Sacramento Blues Festival. Awesome doesn’t describe it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-this-blues-stereotype-come-from/818570.md?page=1)