The term blues ballad is used to refer to a specific form of popular music which fused Anglo-American and Afro-American styles from the late 19th century onward.
[2] The first blues ballads tended to deal with active protagonists, often anti-heroes, resisting adversity and authority, often in the context of industrialisation.
[4] The most famous blues ballads that deal with heroes in the context of industrialisation include those about John Henry and Casey Jones.
[3] From the late 19th century the term ballad began to be used for sentimental songs with their origins in the early ‘Tin Pan Alley’ music industry.
[3] Today the term is used to describe a song that uses a blues format with a slow tempo, often dealing with themes of love and affection.