The Mississippi Delta Blues is one the most influential and important musical movements in American history. It gave birth to the other forms of the blues, from the Memphis to the Chicago styles, and was one of the key drivers of the British Blues revival of the 1960s. This last revival in particular, which consisted primarily of popular white musicians, brought the music of the delta to the masses and made famous its earliest practitioners, from Charley Patton to Robert Johnson.
Since the 1960s, many musicians, from Eric Clapton to Keith Richards to Jimi Hendrix have worshipped and borrowed from the Mississippi blues. Many re-recorded some of their most important songs, like Crossroads (Eric Clapton), When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin) and Little Red Rooster (The Rolling Stones), while others, like Bob Dylan, wrote odes to their favorites (High Water for Charley Patton).
Echoes of the delta blues can be heard in soul, R&B, gospel, jazz, and even hip hop. The influences can be seen in popular music to this day, in artists like the White Stripes, who recorded Son House’s Death Letter, and PJ Harvey, who recorded a version of Long Snake Moan.