"... there's just one kind of music sweet and it has come to stay....
Lazy blues (sound so melancholy)
Crazy blues (bound to make you jolly)...
Take a good old tune of blues
And get on your dancing shoes..."
-- "Oh! Those Blues! Lazy Blues, Crazy Blues," lyrics by Isadore Murphy, copyright 4/3/1916

Example of blues played slow in 1917:
http://www.dws.org/saxtette/recordings/item/all-blues-medley

Example of blues played fast in 1917:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpP6j20NHxk