“All the music styles stand on the shoulders of blues,” stated recording artist Fruteland Jackson. Three time Blues Music Award Nominee and a recipient of the Blues Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive award, Jackson has taken his extensive knowledge of blues history on the road, to schools across the nation, educating kids since 1993, fostering a deeper appreciation and awareness of blues music. On February 8, Fruteland visited 8th grade students at Ben Franklin Middle School.
“This is my favorite thing to do by accident,” Jackson shared, “A lady came up to me and asked if I would do a program for her third graders.” Jackson continued giving presentations to kids, eventually branching out to universities as well. Traveling to other countries to share his knowledge, visiting France and Switzerland, Jackson recently crossed the 1 million kids mark.
Fruteland began his presentation at BF by giving a history of blues music, starting with the father of blues, W.C. Hardy. He defined the difference between country and city blues and went on to discuss different artists and the uses of steel guitar and acoustic guitar in the genre.
Jackson also conducted a workshop with the students on writing a blues song during the presentation. To learn more about the Blues-in-the-Schools Programs, visit Jackson's website at www.fruteland.com.