Groundwater: The Blues Beneath American Music

In 1927, the record industry divided American music in two and sold it to separate audiences. We've believed the split ever since. Groundwater is a music history podcast that follows the current underneath — the blues running from Congo Square to the South Bronx, from Robert Johnson to Aretha Franklin to hip-hop.Each episode traces the moments that connected what the industry kept separate: Muscle Shoals and the soul sessions that crossed every line, Louis Armstrong navigating race and commerce in New Orleans and Chicago, the Great Migration that carried the Delta sound up the Illinois Central to Memphis, Chicago, and Detroit, and what happened when artists like Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, and Nina Simone made the music political and the state went after them.If you love music — and want to understand why American music sounds the way it does — start here and follow the water.Hosted by Thomas Stubbs.