In 1850, some 300 Black people lived in Chicago, during each of the following decades, that number tripled. By 1930, more than half of the African American population in the United States lived in northern cities and towns. Between 1910 and 1920, over 60,000 black people migrated to Chicago. Out of the 109,000 blacks living in Chicago, 90,000 were migrants, and 20,000 of them were born in Mississippi. Many companies in the North required labor, and offered reasonable compensation for it

W. C. Handy, also known as the "Father of the Blues," was crucial in bringing structure, form, and legitimacy to the blues music genre. Besides being a cornetist and bandleader, Handy was also a composer and publisher.

The Piedmont region has always had a robust Anglo-American folk tradition, particularly among poor whites living in the Appalachian Mountains. This dominant folk tradition significantly influenced the development of blues music.