“If it hadn’t been for Jazz, there wouldn’t be no rock n’ roll” – Louis Armstrong
If your life had a soundtrack, what would it play? Would it play the faith of Spirituals, melancholy of the Blues, improvisation of Jazz, harmony of Doo Wop, the edge of Punk Rock, the consciousness of Soul, the love of R&B or rebellion of Rock n’ Roll?
Whatever it may be, if you’ve ever wanted to give ‘thank yous’ to someone for creating the perfect sound for your life’s moments, this is the month to do so and your thanks should go out to none other than (drum roll please)……BLACK MUSIC! Black music is the mother, father, sister and brother to any and every genre of music that we listen to today.
For nearly four centuries—392 years to be exact, but who’s counting?—from the spirituals of the first Africans in English America in 1619, to the hip hop of MCs in urban cities in 2011, Blacks have dominated the rhythmic fronts of music and dance. So much so, that in 1979, encouraged by the songwriter/record producer Kenny Gamble (one-half of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame producers Gamble and Huff who penned such classics as The O’Jays Backstabbers, Paul Jones Me & Mrs. Jones, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes Wake Everybody…get yourself some digitally remastered copies of the hits produced by Philadelphia International Records!!) President Jimmy Carter designated the month of June as Black Music month. For 32 years, presidents have announced to Americans that we should celebrate Black Music Month for all of the contributions and innovations Blacks have given to the music world.
And rightfully so as every genre of music has fused, borrowed, lifted and in some (actually many) cases down right stole from the traditions and innovations of African/Black Americans.
Scholars have suggested that Black Music is the only true American music. Transported across the Atlantic, Africans were stripped of their cultural priderocks, including their names, languages, religious practices, and even their drums—obviously it was understood even then how powerful a beat could be! However, the folkways and customs of the African cultural were not so easily dispensable and was resurrected in the fields and churches. Many Africans were natives of West Africa, where the rhythmic act of call-and-response was commonly practiced in civic and government gatherings, religion and music. As the Africans ‘found’ Christianity and participated in church services, they quickly adapted the call-and-response exchange to their church services and ‘work’ songs (known as field hollers) not only followed the call-and-response pattern but were lyrical tales of faith and freedom codes. It was of this creative genius that the famous “Negro Spirituals” were born, with such timeless songs as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Wade in the Water”.
Post-slavery, but definitely not post hardship, gave way to The Blues and some of the first ‘secular’ music. The Blues set the call-and-response scheme to a repeating progression of chords with rhythm talking that told the tales of personal woes in a harsh reality of hatred, pain, struggle and oppression. And don’t let the date of 1912 fool you, (the first published blues song “Dallas Blues” and first time the word ‘blues’ was used to describe the music), black people had been playing and signing the blues since the 1870s. The rugged simplicity of blues lyrics lent themselves to complex instrumentality, as blacks innovated new sounds as they learned to play European instruments such as the piano and the violin.
Such innovations were evident in the late 1890s with the creation of Jazz. Jazz fused notes from the blues, with the syncopation of field songs and the improvisation of the shouts/calls to create a musical genre that is locally, regionally, nationally, and globally recognized and admired. A musical rebellion to the classic European music, Jazz has “swing” (a groove as we like to say) created by the interaction and improvisation of the musicians. Jazz yielded such musical geniuses as Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith.
Not too many people will argue against the facts that the Spirituals, the Blues and Jazz are the works of African Americans. However, remember when I said on some occasions music was downright stolen, where this is that occasion; this next genre is where things get unnecessarily contested …you guessed it, Rock n’ Roll. Ladies and Gentleman, for the last time Elvis IS NOT THE INVENTOR OF ROCK N’ ROLL!!!Do you really think a man in a red, white, and blue sparkle jump suit create Rock n’ Roll?
Let’s examine the evidence. Rock n’ Roll is a fusion of the Blues (Black people), Jazz (Black people), Gospel (you guessed it, Black people) and Country {and hold your horses before anyone tries to get all up in arms about Country music and think you have an ‘aha’ moment…let me learn you real quick—a great deal of style, and of course the banjo, a lead instrument in the country sound- came from African Americans! Blacks and whites (specifically British and Irish immigrants) worked and played together in the rural south, blending instruments like the fiddle and guitar with the banjo to create their sound and evolved the storytelling approach of the blues to create their lyrics…..so once again, Black people get a fair share of the credit!).
Though there will continue to be debate about the degree of importance each genre had in ultimately creating the sound the truth is that Rock n’ Roll was a re-branding of the African American rhythm and blues (specifically the boogie woogie blues with a backbeat). Yes Elvis may have drew on the ‘country’ roots of the music, but it was artist like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Fats Domino who did it first, AND made the the sound appealing to white America. It was their music that was ripped off and covered by artist like Elvis without their knowledge or permission. Even when Rock n’ Roll began to die out in the early 1960s in the US, British Rock n’ Roll was on the rise as artist like the Beatles looked to the music of such icons icons such as Muddy Waters (Blues legend) and Chuck Berry (Rock n’ Roll legend) for songs to cover and/or sample.
As debatable as the topic of Rock n’ Roll may be, one thing is undeniable, Black music has been the root to all American music genres. Across decades, generations and centuries, Black music has been able to sum up the tides and waves of an era with musical compositions that snap the fingers, bob the head, and tap the foot of anyone that can hear. Some music has been a evolution, while others have been a revolution; some overt in their expression, others covert in their message. Regardless of whether the music reached mainstream tv and radio, or remained underground on porches and basements, the fact remains, black musicians have been the masterminds, innovators, and originators behind the music that takes centerstage and background in our lives.
So next time you throw your hands in the air (rooted in the ‘shout’ behavior of slaves religious services which reemerged in Hip Hop) to your favorite song, whether it’s ‘black’ music or not, remember, it’s actually all black music.
Urbanites tell me, what genre(s) would you put on your life’s soundtrack???
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Urbanites' Groove Theory 