* Blues Originated Orally: The blues emerged from the African American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was primarily an oral tradition, passed down through singing and playing, rather than written scores.
* Early Recordings: While the first blues recordings emerged in the early 1900s, these recordings don't necessarily reflect the earliest blues compositions.
* Sheet Music and Copyright: Sheet music for blues songs began to appear in the 1910s and 1920s, but these often adapted existing songs or were written by composers influenced by the blues rather than being true folk blues.
Some Notable Early Published Blues Pieces:
* "The Memphis Blues" by W.C. Handy (1912): This is often cited as one of the first published blues pieces, though it was influenced by earlier blues traditions.
* "Jelly Roll Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton (1915): Morton's piece was a significant influence on early jazz and blues music.
The Bottom Line: While there is no single "first" published blues piece, the early 1910s and 1920s saw the emergence of published works that helped shape the development of blues as a musical genre.