A Glimpse at Black Music History Continued

by Stephen Furlow
OMA Associate Director for Community Engagement & Partnership

On last week’s episode, we discussed the birth of contemporary Gospel music and its roots, which trace back to phenomenal Black musicians, composers, and singers who found a way to bring the church’s message to the mainstream. However, two other distinct and heavily embraced genres are developing simultaneously within the same period. This summary will undoubtedly toggle us back and forth between these two points in time, showing the commonality and duality within this conversation of unique composition. Black stories are drenched in allegory, using a winding road of similes and metaphors to describe pain, pressure, prayers, and pleasure. Whether we are describing the eeriness of “Strange fruit hanging from the poplar tree”- sang by the legendary Billie Holiday, or the upbeat tale of a talented Muddy Waters who sings “Got my mojo working, but it just don’t work on you”, as he alludes to a failed courtship in an extremely catchy way. If you guessed that we are going to glance at the emergence of Blues & Jazz, you would be as right as a blue note played on a Blues guitar.

Once again, using the Library of Congress as my sole source for brevity, the L.O.C Blog entry written by Stephanie Hall titled "The Painful Birth of Blues and Jazz" will function as my guide through the development of these art forms. Hall begins the biography with a report about the theft of the song “Livery Stable Blues,” performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, which garnered scandal around the circulation of this recording, as the song was created by Black artists, but performed and recorded by a white group without crediting its origin. In the 19th century, Black people were moving away from the traditional spirituals and working with new instruments, creating new sounds, and cultivating stylized rhythms the world had yet to hear. One of these new sounds that would set itself apart from the rest consisted of a vocal performer and guitar; and was defined by playing “bent” or “blue” notes not on the standard scale. These notes can also be played on wind and brass instruments and are believed to have had their provenance in early slave, and sharecropping songs sung by the oppressed.

The article speaks about the song “Calling Trains” written by an unknown former railroad worker, which became a melodic account of his experience that was recorded and shared in 1936 by John Lomax. The word “blues” was already popular within a number of song titles but was never properly coined. Evidence of the Blues dates to 1914, when W.C. Handy, sometimes referred to as “the father of the Blues”, worked to popularize the genre by creating a variation called Foxtrot. This style of music earned its name from a dance that worked well with the sped-up tempo of the traditional slower blues melody. Foxtrot would be played at Minstrel shows, performed by both Black and white entertainers while donned in the ever "cringey" blackface. As the foxtrot era began to fizzle out there was once again room for evolution.

As we venture on, another pillar in the creation of a new masterful musical genre has emerged. Ferdinand Joseph LeMott, a Creole musician from the city of New Orleans, who was a professional piano player by the age of 14, would claim to be the inventor of Jass. Jass (or Jazz as it was later spelled) was the result of crossing the popular ragtime genre with “blue” notes and brass instruments. Ferdinand would grow up to become “Jelly Roll Morton” who in 1915 published the “Jelly Roll Blues,” which is thought to be the earliest example of Jazz music. In a way, Morton’s claim had some validity, though a few other musicians were engaging this contemporary style in similar ways. Jazz would continue to embody the stories and soul of the blues, while celebrating new rhythmic freedoms; however Black singers, songwriters, and performers were still unable to gain recognition in the music industry. The best songs were often stolen by white owned record labels and distribution companies, repackaged to make it appear as if a white performer was responsible for the record, and then sold to majority white audiences. Segregation ensured that there would be no way for Black artists to be the first to present latest music or concepts in white spaces. During the WWI era, a different narrative for Jazz was presented to the masses when lyricist Henry Creamer decided to write a song about Black men fighting for their country. He utilized the voice of Marion Harris, a white woman who was a solid singer and who could deliver poems and songs that were intended to be performed by Black singers. However, Creamer was intentionally using Marion as a means of getting the music out into the world because Black singers were not widely accepted as true artists. After the war, Creamer would go on to assist Jewish writers and performers develop Blues and Jazz records centered around the atrocities they faced, shaping additional collaboration that would eventually lead to a musical revelation and revolution within the USA.

Thank you for tuning in and we will be sure to continue this conversation next week as we take a Glimpse at Black Music History during Black History Month. Oh, and be sure to click the link to add a little “Jelly Roll Morton” to your playlist. 

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