It is the sole mission and responsibility of the American Blues Scene to celebrate, expose, and enhance the enriching art form known as the Blues, and all that blues music has inspired and been responsible for. It is for these reasons that the American Blues Scene is endorsing a candidate for President of the United States of America. An endorsement from this publication helps to sends a message that the art of American music, and particularly the blues, has a voice that must be heard, and only a candidate that has genuinely displayed a positive, strong stance on enriching the arts of music, music education, and blues music will receive an endorsement.
American Blues Scene has identified two key points in the current musical and industrial climates that we have deemed important: Continued public music education, and the preservation and enrichment of blues music as a recognized and celebrated art form.
Continued public music education
The music education programs’ places in America’s contemporary school systems are in turmoil; being cut back or eliminated altogether, leading our country’s youth to a deeply concerning epidemic of poor popular musical choices that have culminated in the unfortunate and ultimately damaging rise of fame, fortune, and Grammy wins for Lady Gaga, Skrillex, Chris Brown and many more, while seeing a plateau of popular, mainstream celebrations of truly American roots music. Much like a similar musical pitfall in the 1980s, repairing the damage done to the musical environment could take decades. It is our belief that much of the casualties on the current popular music scene could have been avoided with strong music education and appreciation courses within public schools, which it has been argued is vastly important to a country’s culture, the development of well-rounded and ideal citizens, and an area where American policy has fallen behind for more than a decade.
In addition to general music education, we feel it is crucial that our government allocate federal support and funding, and encourage states to allocate budgets for a nationwide Blues in the Schools program. This diverse, fluid-curriculum program allows students of all ages to experience the joy of the blues while being exposed to it’s history and towering place in American music, both currently and in American history. This all-important educational tool will aide in the development and appreciation of our culture and what it’s music truly means.
We believe that one candidate in this race has all of the qualifications, as well as experience to fix the flaws in the education system, and will accurately guide this country to a safer musical climate.
The preservation and enrichment of blues music as a recognized and celebrated art form
Blues music has made nearly an unimaginable impact on the culture of music as a whole. Without blues, born in the slavery and indentured servitude of generations of African Americans from New Orleans, through the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, popular music as it is today would never have existed. Rock music, Pop, R&B, Country, Rap and many more genres owe incredible debts of gratitude to the foundation, roots, and backbone of American Music: The Blues. American Blues Scene calls for a president who encourages and actively works to ensure federal and state support for the preservation and enrichment of blues as an art form, including persisting support for non-for-profit organizations that are dedicated to the continued growth and preservation of the blues, including the internationally-reaching Blues Foundation in Memphis, the National Blues Museum in Saint Louis, the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi, and many more. American Blues Scene endorses a candidate who will respond favorably through policy towards states’ allocation of tourism funds to encourage blues and music tourism.
We will endorse a candidate who will publicly support federally-created social awareness and celebration programs, including the implementation of a yearly International Blues Music Day, the encouragement of federal and state grants to aide in the creation of socially relevant projects such as the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame, as well as honoring this American cultural gem that has influenced generations, genres, and art in countries worldwide.
The music of the blues and those who continue to spread it’s message of joy and endearment has been a powerful ambassador for the innovation and creation that the United States is capable of producing. We believe that one candidate stands highest among all others in this respect, and truly has the background, life experience, and overlapping goals and appreciation to advocate and continually work towards these goals.
Endorsement
One candidate has definitively stated his intentions to support the blues. Being a long-time musician and accomplished businessman, he was born to humble beginnings in the American South and worked his way to international super-stardom and acclaim. We believe that, among all highly-qualified candidates, one has stood out to have the most firm grasp and appreciation for the blues’ place in American culture, as well as a solid, dedicated stance towards shared goals and achievements within the Blues industry and culture.
For these reasons, American Blues Scene proudly endorses John Lee Hooker for the office of President of the United States.
The issues facing blues music in this country were important enough for the future president, that during his speech announcing candidacy, he proudly stated that “as President, I will always have time for the blues.” The American Blues Scene sees the proof in actions, among them, the creation of an education-focused non-for-profit bearing the celebrated musician’s name: the John Lee Hooker Foundation. American Blues Scene feels that, after the stirring release of his firm stance on corruption in Wall Street, John Lee Hooker has the power and ability to enforce the punishment and policing of illegal and unethical issues facing conglomerate record labels, while facing other tough issues in this country.
When we looked the problems facing the country today,” said Glen Casebeer, managing partner and promotional specialist at American Blues Scene, “it was obvious to us we needed to apply the ‘boom, boom’ solution.”
“We’re extremely excited to be endorsing such a well-respected, well loved candidate who shares such a passion and care for the music,” said American Blues Scene’s Editor, Matt Marshall. “We feel that John Lee Hooker is the best candidate for the tough job of leading this country, and that he will continue to support legislation and initiatives that will coincide with what is best for blues music at large.”
