The image of the blues singer is of a man with a guitar singing unhappily about his lost love, but in fact this is only partly true. The American black also uses the blues to express his feelings and attitudes to life and the society round him.
In this series, Francis Smith discovers just how revealing blues and gospel records can be. But he begins on a lighter note, 1: Instruments
The most unlikely objects were used to produce music, including shoe-cleaning rags, jugs and razors.
Producer DEREK DRESCHER