It is from the blues that all that may be called American music deriv… — James Weldon Johnson

It is from the blues that all that may be called American music derives its most distinctive character.

James Weldon JohnsonPoet · American · 1871 – 1938

More from James Weldon Johnson

If we take the route of the permanent handout, the American character will itself be impoverished. — Richard M. Nixon
Ray Charles, in his own way, it's like at the beginning, Ray Charles changed American music, not once but twice. — Taylor Hackford
Music is a performing art, as any Native American will tell you. It isn't there in the score. — Michael Tippett
I thought of Paris as a beauty spot on the face of the earth, and of London as a big freckle. — James Weldon Johnson
My mother was kept very busy with her sewing; sometimes she would have another woman helping her. — James Weldon Johnson
I had enjoyed life in Paris, and, taking all things into consideration, enjoyed it wholesomely. — James Weldon Johnson