Undercover Agents for the Blues. Woher wir wissen, was die blauen Töne wert sind

Ever since blues – as an essential part of popular music – was surrounded by a veil of mystery and clichés. It is often interpreted as an authentic expression of feelings, as genuine and pure. There are the views of history and moral concepts of »blues evangelists« and »cultural middlemen«, who inscribed irreversibly to the perception of Blues and therefore shaped our relationship to this music. This article digs for the roots of the blues-ideology and shows how the »cult of authenticity«, established by American folk music researchers at the beginning of the 20th century, was spreaded to Europe. Three case studies illustrate the leading role the »blues-evangelists« also had in Germany: in relation to the Hot-Club-Movement, behind the scenes of American Folk Blues Festivals and under the flag of the German Blues Circle.