AFRAM 337 Blog Post #1

njuw2020

AFRAM 337

Blog Post #1

Racial and gender inequality and discrimination resulted in warping of the history of the development of musical genres. In “Big Mama Thornton’s Voice,” Mahon commented on a quote by Thornton, stating, “... African Americans had been singing the blues for years without enjoying any white mainstream popularity, and even after young white artists began copying specific songs, appropriating a black sound, and enjoying acclaim, the majority of African American R&B artists still had only limited access to the charts and audiences.” Artists like Thornton played significant roles in the development of musical genres, but are rarely given credit for it, even in their own time. In addition, some artists of color had difficulty maintaining or establishing a career in music after the emergence of popular white musicians. Though we often designate Elvis Presley as the “King of Rock,” this does not mean that he created rock and roll all by himself or was even the first rock artist, as the name implies.

In “Notes on Women who Rock,” Alexis Lothian and Amanda Phillips were quoted as asking, “What would digital scholarship and the humanities disciplines be like if they centered around processes and possibilities of social and cultural transformation as well as institutional preservation? If they centered around questions of labor, race, gender, and justice at personal, local, and global scales?” This issue is interesting because while African American musicians who helped to build genres did not receive proper credit for their influence, the white musicians that “outcompeted” musicians of color nevertheless played a role in growing genres and providing entertainment. We cannot devalue the success of musicians; however, we also need to give proper credit to pioneering musicians who paved the road for success for other musicians but did not reap the rewards and acclaim themselves. Thus, it is important to educate ourselves in the history of music and the influence artists had on the development of genres.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is one example of a pioneering musician in R&B who inspired rock musicians such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In her song “Didn’t it Rain,” I can hear stylistic features such as guitar improvisations interspersed throughout the music, call and response lyrical patterns, and bending of the notes which I hear in the music of BB King and often attributed to him since he is “The King.” However, Tharpe released her first record eleven years before BB King. I can even hear the influences of Tharpe in the music of contemporary blues artists like Joe Bonamassa. Another example of a pioneering musician is Mamie Smith, who is dubbed “the queen of the blues,” recorded the first blues record, and influenced the style of many jazz and blues musicians. However, she never completely saw the effects that her music had and died a pauper. The song I included for her is reportedly the first blues song to be recorded, “Crazy Blues,” in 1920.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Didn’t it Rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnAQATKRBN0

Mamie Smith, Crazy Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaz4Ziw_CfQ