This post is not intended to be graded; I just thought I’d inform you guys of some great local talent playing a show in his hometown this fall.

Jordan Cook (Reignwolf), will be playing at O’brians in Saskatoon on November 12th with tickets going on sale August 3rd. Jordan is a seriously talented musician and never fails to put on a good show.

Andre Benjamin and Antwon Patton aka “Andre 3000 and Big Boi” formed the hip-hop duo all the way back in 1991. So how did this little known group from Georgia work their way to changing the hip-hop industry? It all started with the radio success of the song “Players Ball”, a hard hitting rap that fit the mold set by rappers of the early 1990’s such as Ice Cube, The Notorious BIG, and Tupac Shakur. While the success was not ground breaking, it did open the door for hip-hop/rap in the southern United States. Before them, Hip-hop artists came from two major sources, New York and Los Angeles as that was where the international recognized music labels were. They had proved that they could make a the music industry change by accepting southern rappers and blazed the trail for others like TI, Lil Wayne and Ludacris. Yet while they changed the demographics of millennial hip-hop they also began to slowly change the music itself.

In the early 2000s, hip-hop was set to a strict standard that used heavy beats and followed the pattern of a verse, chorus, verse. This standard is broken around the 1:40 mark where Andre 3000 interrupts the flow of the rap and forms a slow pop type lyric. Even stranger is the use of dog’s barking as a counter-beat that plays on top of the heavy drum beat that carries throughout the song. These simple things were the beginning of the pop influence that Outkast had begun to adopt. And people took notice. “Ms. Jackson” would go platinum in the United States with over 600,000 copies sold and would be in the top 10 in 15 other countries. However there most famous track was yet to come.

“Hey Ya!” would put Outkast front and center to the hip-hop world that was unknowingly going through a change. The easiest change that can be picked up is the use of gospel like choir background singers. As seen in the textbook, choir groups have been around since the beginning of the 20th century but had disappeared from popular music for quite a time. Andre created the choir sound by looping his voice over and over, as he was the only singer in the entire song. The second change is the use of a full range of instruments, not just a drum beat. Surprisingly, Andre 3000 learned how to play guitar just for this song and would play every instrument except for the bass which is properly represented in the video above. This would show the industry how classic musical instruments could be implemented to give the a song more pop appeal. And while these changes alter the course of hip-hop, it would help change how music was heard around the world.

In today’s music world, apps such as Spotify and Apple Music provide listeners with an endless supply of songs from around the world. But back in 2001, the radio and CD’s was the main platform. That as until Apple released iTunes, their online music purchasing and downloading platform. This now allowed computer users to download their music to the newly released iPod. So how did “Hey Ya” get involved? Since iTunes allowed users to purchase individual songs instead of the whole album, popularity did not depend on the overall album sales. Outkast’s “Hey Ya” would ride this wave of popularity and become the first song to reach a million downloads and be certified platinum as a download. This technology combined with the success they had turned the table on how music would be sold today.

So how would Outkast use this popularity to complete their change of hip-hop in the early 2000s. As they have already modified the music around them, it only makes sense that they would change the way that hip-hop appeared. When they first appeared on the mainstage they would be seen as another generic rap group from their style alone. 

Seen here is the classic west-coast style with the branded clothing which were seen across the industry. The idea came hand-in-hand with the idea of lots of jewelry, it showed the wealth that the artist had. And Outkast was no different when they appeared, yet by the middle of their career they decided to change the script.

This is from the song “Roses” on the speakerboxx album of 2004. I found that this best describes the noticed change for the group. Instead of staying in the constraints of the hip-hop environment, they pulled influence from the pop genre. For example, in the video for “Roses” they have multiple outfits that represent the 1950’s which was not representative of the “gangster” style seen in most music videos. And they would take these styles to the stage.

By changing their appearance and their musical styles, they would change how a hip-hop artist could represent themselves. So while people around the world witnessed them rise to the top, they also got to witness monumental change.

Hello class,

This is my blog response to module 6 question 3 regarding the Payola Scandal.  As always, I’d like to break down my thoughts by giving some historical context before giving my thoughts at the end.

1950s music industry on the rise

Following the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II in 1945, the beneficiaries of the economic boom following war-time industrialization were the coming-of-age teenagers across America.  This demographic had more money than previous generations as a result of better economy, more employment, and even from allowances from parents, but more importantly they were unencumbered by the financial and worldly crises since the Great Depression.  These youths were freer and had more disposable income to buy music.  Popular music was in high demand, especially of rock ‘n’ roll during the 50s for its combination of African-inspired rhythm and blues styles, sexual undertones, and strong fast beats that made this era in music so appealing to younger people (1).  The gateway to new emerging music in this era was through radio, and the people that served as guides for the listening public were the disc jockeys (DJs).

With the emergence of television in households, which saw a rise from 6000 sets in use in 1946 to more than 12 million in 1951 (2), once lucrative dramas and news programs shifted away from radio.  With seemingly nothing to lose, radio stations adopted a laissez faire attitude in giving DJs more creative control over their programming.  Many DJs during the 1950s found success showcasing artists beyond the mainstream, such as from race records, which resulted in expanded listenership from a more diverse demographic.  DJs were incredibly influential towards the expansion of music sales during this decade as record sales from 1954 to 1960 increased almost three-fold from $182 million to $521 million (3).  These sales reflected more diverse catalogs of music especially from smaller record labels.  From 1946-1952, these small labels accounted for 3% of the top selling singles, but 1955-1960 they accounted for 70% of all top-ten charting songs (4).  Small labels increasingly showcased undiscovered talent for DJs who could catapult their careers, such as Elvis Presley who demoed his cover of “That’s all right [mama]” (written and recorded by Arthur Cudrup in 1947) at a Memphis station in 1954 (5).  This intermediary relationship that DJs had between music producers and consumers was predicated on honest consumerism meaning the DJ conveys the consumers’ demand (i.e. number of play requests) that in turn directs the producers to what kinds of music were selling. It is this relationship that became the subject of the ensuing ‘payola’ scandal.

Payola Scandal

The payola scandal in its simplest terms refers to the rampant use of “pay for play” in the music industry in which record labels offered incentives to DJs and other content providers, such as television and movies, to increase air play of certain songs.  DJs could essentially manufacture popular hits by tricking listeners into thinking a song was being requested more often, and thus was popular.  Here’s an example from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, where Will snuck into a radio station to help his cousin’s music career take off.  Oh, and he was her manager at the time so conflict of interest?

These incentives ranged widely and included offers of cash, song writing/producer credits, promised appearances of artists during events and shows, expensive gifts or trips, stake in record companies, and even song royalties.  Meanwhile, there was an ongoing feud between the two major performance rights organizations, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.).  As radio was becoming more prominent, more radio stations, artists, and publishers were preferably dealing with BMI.  At the time, ASCAP was seen as less supportive of lesser known artists, while overlooking music they considered to be black genre, such as gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll.  Before a congressional committee in 1956, a songwriter and member of ASCAP, Billy Rose, testified that “not only are most of the BMI songs junk, but in many cases they are obscene junk, pretty much on a level of dirty comic magazines….I don’t see how [BMI] can escape the charge that it is responsible for rock-and-roll and the other musical monstrosities that are muddying up the airwaves” (6).  For an agency that makes money off of royalties, it was not surprising for ASCAP to be calling foul on BMI given the latter was outproducing singles, mostly rock-and-roll, by two-to-one by the mid 1950s (7).  Just as alarmed by the rise of rock-and-roll with its less-than-traditional sounds and lyrics, US senators and congressmen pushed for Congressional Payola hearings in 1959.

Payola Hearings and their fallout

Dick Clark (upper image), Alan Freed (bottom image–man holding coat) at their Congressional hearings (7)

Starting in 1959, more than 335 DJs were called in front of the House committee where they admitted to receiving over $263,000 in “consulting fees”, which was a gross underestimation (7).  The two most popular DJs in America at the time, Dick Clark and Alan Freed, would then become the focus of the payola hearings.  Dick Clark hosted a live television performance show called “American Bandstand”, where he showcased popular music from both white and black artists.  Alan Freed was a radio DJ who first coined and popularized the term “rock-n-roll” on his program where he also showcased such music.

Although Dick Clark was reported to have had an ownership stake in 33 different record labels where he made over $570,000 in salary and increased stock value, as well as songwriting credits and royalty deals for over 150 pop songs, he emerged out of the scandal relatively unscathed (8, 9).  Clark had divested from all his interests earlier that year as the payola hearings were just beginning.  Clark was cooperative and well-mannered during his hearings, and essentially explained his many holdings and potential conflicts of interests were not exploitative nor did he consciously give more airtime to songs/labels he was linked to (9).

Alan Freed meanwhile was abrasive and ill-tempered for his hearings and the committee did not take to him as kindly as they did Clark.  Both Clark and Freed’s parent company, ABC (American Broadcasting Company), had directed Clark and Freed to sign sworn affidavits that they did not ever receive payola payments.  Clark signed the statement, but passed on blame for accepting payola payments to a producer on his show who had since quit to join a record company that was indeed paying him.  Freed on the other hand refused to sign the statement and perjure himself for having received gifts and “consulting” fees, which he openly described in his hearings.  Freed was fired, charged for accepting over $116,000 in payola payments a month after, and was blacklisted by any major radio station thereafter.  Congress passed new laws that outlawed payola and stripped DJs from programming decisions, but instead gave them to station producers and directors.  Payola just found new targets.

Payola continues…

Following the hearings, record companies turned to independent third-party promoters, “indies”, that were paid by labels as they in turn paid stations to play their songs of choice.  Taking advantage of this legal loophole.  Another round of payola hearings were held in 1986, which cracked down on indies, and then from 2005-2006 three major record labels were fined multi-million dollar fines due to unfair payola practices.  Today payola still exists, but more so in the digital streaming industry.  According to the latest Nielsen reporting, year-over-year digital music streaming has increased considerably (+58.7% in 2017 from the previous year) while record sales have decreased (-17.7%).  Digital streaming has become the modern media of choice.  Streaming services such as Spotify have three methods of making playlists, from themselves, users, and by record companies.  These companies also pay to have “sponsored” songs appear on user generated playlists.

My opinion of payola is that it is not a bad practice, nor is it exclusive to just the music industry.  Companies pay for television advertisements, pay celebrities to endorse products, or fill in movies with blatant product placement (perhaps not as exaggerated as in Wayne’s World).

So payola in radio was simply the record labels paying for their own advertisement.  The biggest issue though was a lack of transparency from DJs that made it seem as if listeners were requesting the music so much.  Though to be clear, it wasn’t as if the labels were investing payola payments in songs they didn’t think could be hits.  But if we were to think back in history of all the hit songs during the 1950s, it becomes a question of the chicken or the egg.  Outside of labels and artists admitting to payola, nobody can be certain whether people liked a particular song enough to make it popular.  I believe in today’s digital streaming world consumers have more control over curating their own musical likes.  In the mass of television ads we see during the Super Bowl, I choose not to buy every product that is cleverly marketed.  Likewise when I happen upon a song I dislike, I am free to click “next”.

Endnotes

1. Campbell, Michael, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On Fourth Edition, Boston MA, USA, Clark Baxter, 2013. p. 192

2. “History of Television – Mitchell Stephens.” NYU. Accessed July 28, 2018. https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History of Television page.htm

3. Monaco, Paul. The Sixties: 1960-1969. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2008.p 109

4. Voice. “History of the Record Industry, 1920- 1950s  – A Voice. – Medium.” Medium. June 08, 2014. Accessed July 28, 2018. https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1920-1950s-6d491d7cb606.

5. “Elvis Presley Records “That’s All Right (Mama)”.” History.com. Accessed July 28, 2018. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-records-thats-all-right-mama.

6. Wierzbicki, James Eugene. Music in the Age of Anxiety: American Music in the Fifties. Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2016. p.41

7. “Alan Freed, Dick Clark and the Radio Payola Scandal.” Performing Songwriter Ent., LLC. August 24, 2015. Accessed July 28, 2018. http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

8. “Dick Clark Survives the Payola Scandal.” History.com. Accessed July 28, 2018. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dick-clark-survives-the-payola-scandal

9. The New York Times. October 26, 1997. Accessed July 28, 2018. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/26/home/clark-payola.html.

10.Crawford, Erin. “2017 Year End Music Report US” Nielsen, 2018, http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2018-reports/2017-year-end-music-report-us.pdf (accessed July 15, 2018).

#M2Q2

Mamie Smith (née Robinson) (May 26, 1883 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist and actress, who appeared in several films late in her career. Mamie Robinson was born probably in Cincinnati, Ohio, although no records of her birth exist. When she was ten years old, she found work touring with a white act called the Four Dancing Mitchells. As a teenager, she danced in Salem Tutt Whitney’s Smart Set. In 1913, she left the Tutt Brothers to sing in clubs in Harlem and married a waiter named William “Smitty” Smith. (mildlifefanclub, 2012)

Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” the first recording of an African-American singing the blues, revolutionized pop music. Witnesses claimed that after its release in 1920, the song could be heard coming from the open windows of virtually any black neighborhood in America. “That record turned around the recording industry,” remembered New Orleans jazzman Danny Barker. “There was a great appeal amongst black people and whites who loved this blues business to buy records and buy phonographs. Every family had a phonograph in their house, specifically behind Mamie Smith’s first record.” (Mamie Smith: The First Lady of the Blues, 2013)

So, as to the importance of Mamie Smith in the history of music, “Crazy Blues” is a very important record, because it opened doors of the recording industry to African-Americans, whether they were Blues, Jazz or popular singers or musicians. (Mamie Smith (1883-1946), 2018) She hasn’t really faced any challenges in racial, socio-economic or gender aspects, but rather lived a lavish lifestyle. Smith found herself suddenly wealthy, and she spent much of her earnings on clothes, jewelry, real estate, and servants. (Garner, 2018)

Three Songs:

First and most importantly choice would be, with no doubt, “Crazy Blues”. The choice is explained by the importance of the song described above and obviously for the way the music itself is structured and how there is a controversy that is that parts of it are and parts of it aren’t really blues as a genre. The song’s ingenious structure mixes three verses of 12-bar blues with three verses of 16-bar professional songwriting that uses a harmonic idiom similar to what might appear in a Scott Joplin rag or World War I pop song. The recording is in the key of E, and verses four and five are straight 12-bar blues. Verse two is a slightly modified 12-bar blues, going to the dominant in its second bar. Verses one, three, and six are 16-bar structures with trickier chord progressions and some chromaticisms, such as the descending bass line in the ninth through eleventh bars of verse one. Verses three and six feature secondary dominants that sound relatively “sophisticated” next to simpler blues verses two, four, and five. (Mamie Smith: The First Lady of the Blues, 2013)

A fact from a journal article I’ve read really fascinated me. One would not know, from the dozens of retellings of the “Crazy Blues” story, including Perry Bradford’s own, that his composition as Smith sings it reaches an emotional crescendo in the final verse with the following couplet: I’m gonna do like a Chinaman… go and get some hop Get myself a gun … and shoot myself a cop. (Gussow, 2002) This just reflects a lot of social context which was actual at the time and I find it fascinating.

The 2^nd choice of a song would be “Do It, Mr. So and So”. I love the simplicity of the song and the ease it is being listened to. Simplicity even translates through the fact that the only instrument being played in the background is the piano.

“It’s Right Here for You” would be my 3^rd choice of a song. It wasn’t as popular; however, a fact that it was recorded with her band Jazz Hounds instead of the regular one which was usually provided by her recording studio and it was made up predominantly of black musicians, rather than regular white males.

Bibliography

Garner, C. (2018, JUL 27). African American History: Smith, Mamie (1883-1946). Retrieved from An Online Reference Guide to African American History: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/smith-mamie-1883-1946

Gussow, A. (2002). “Shoot Myself a Cop”: Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues” as Social Text. Calloloo, 25(1), 8-44.

Mamie Smith (1883-1946). (2018, JUL 27). Retrieved from Red Hot Jazz: http://www.redhotjazz.com/mamie.html

Mamie Smith: The First Lady of the Blues. (2013, NA NA). Retrieved from Jas Obrecht Music Archive: http://jasobrecht.com/mamie-smith-the-first-lady-of-the-blues/

mildlifefanclub. (2012, MAR 22). Mamie Smith Biography. Retrieved from Last.fm: https://www.last.fm/music/Mamie+Smith/+wiki

Payola Scandal is an event which, in my opinion, has to be touched upon when studying Music in America and all over the world. It is in a way a reflection of how things are done in business world, whether it is music, tv shows, sports or any other area where big money is involved. I’d like to begin my post by defining a very interesting sounding word as “Payola”. Payola itself- a catchy and hyper-literal contraction of ‘pay’ and ‘Victrola’ (i.e. record player)- has been around as long as the record business. (Kelly, 2016)

Payola became a household word in the 1950s. The decade’s music scene was the convergence of a number of seismic factors—the rise of rock ’n’ roll and R&B (which coincided with the rise of small labels), the introduction of the inexpensive 45 rpm single, radio’s shift to Top 40 music (once television took over dramatic programming), post-war prosperity and the emergence of the teenager as an economic force. Records began to replace live performance as the main way to hear—and sell—music. And labels recognized that popular disc jockeys could influence sales. In 1950, there were approximately 250 disc jockeys in the U.S. By 1957, the number had grown to over 5,000. The increase was partially due to the sheer amount of new records being produced, both by major and indie labels. As the name suggests, a disc jockey was responsible for sorting through all these releases (naturally, the sorting was influenced by payola). These on-air personalities had so much clout with younger listeners, Time magazine called them the “poo-bahs of musical fashion and pillars of U.S. low- and middle-brow culture.” (Hutchinson, 2015)

MAJOR PLAYERS

The most famous and powerful figures associated with Payola and the Payola Scandal are officially Alan Freed and Dick Clark. Alan Freed and Dick Clark both played important parts in the rise of rock ’n’ roll (Freed embodied the incendiary spirit of the music more than Clark, refusing to play white cover versions of black songs, such as Pat Boone’s “Tutti Frutti”). And though they both denied ever accepting payola, it’s almost impossible to imagine two young, popular jocks not succumbing to a little temptation. Guilty or not, it was Freed who ended up taking the fall for DJs everywhere. (Hutchinson, 2015)

THE PAYOLA SCANDAL ITSELF

The late 1950s turned out to be treacherous time for some radio and television DJs and celebrities. TV quiz shows had become one of the most popular forms of entertainment – as contestants on these shows could win huge amounts of money for answering questions correctly. Unfortunately, it turned out that some of the shows were rigged.

In 1959, a star contestant on the TV quiz show Twenty-One, named Charles Van Doren – who had become a national sensation for his assumed brilliance on the show – admitted later that he was given the correct answers beforehand.

Congress had a field day with the TV “quiz show” scandals, and then turned to the radio industry where a new kind raucous “rock ’n roll” music was shaking up the established order — and some thought, fueling juvenile delinquency as well. (Doyle, 2014) Things escalated quickly and of course the 2 all-eyes-on-me figures at the time were in the center of the scandal and subsequent investigation- Alan Freed and Dick Clark.

Government Investigation

The whole affair dragged on and got increasingly complex, but in the end, not much came of it. Dick Clark, with his wholesome, all-American looks, good manners, and boyish charm charmed the committee and got off scot-free, while a disheveled, defiant Alan Freed paid the price. Of course, it can’t have hurt that Clark quietly severed a variety of business connections that might’ve tarnished his image, too (at the time, he was a part owner in seven indie labels, six publishers, three record distributors and two talent agencies)

It’s a damn shame that the man who’s credited with coining rock’n’roll’s very name will forever be associated with payola; sure, he was as guilty as anyone else, but Alan Freed ended up taking the fall for an entire rotten network of sticky-fingered DJs. It’s speculated that Freed bore the brunt of the committee’s ill will because unlike the squeaky-clean Dick Clark, Freed was a heavy smoker, a jive talker, a rock’n’roll lifer who freely associated with black musicians and refused to betray his own principles by signing an affidavit swearing he’d never accepted payola. He was charged with 26 counts of commercial bribery and handed a bundle of fines and a suspended jail sentence. He lost his television show, his radio show, and found himself blackballed, rendered virtually unemployable by the fallout from the payola scandal. Five years later, he died penniless and alone. Dick Clark went on to become one of America’s most beloved cultural icons. (Kelly, 2016)

Aftermath

“One of the results of the payola scandal was the change in radio,” explains John Jackson in his book, Big Beat Heat – Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock ’n Roll. “WINS radio in New York dropped rock ’n roll and played Frank Sinatra three days straight. Other stations dropped rock. Disc jockeys no longer could chose songs and play what they wanted. The station play list came in. And music became bland.” (Doyle, 2014)

21st century Payola

Nowadays, labels hire indie promoters to flog records to radio stations, promoters pay radio stations in cash, giveaways, and assorted swag, and those same promoters often draw a second salary from the stations themselves to “consult” on which songs to add into the rotation. Bigger labels have bigger budgets, which gives promoters bigger incentives to get results. (Kelly, 2016)

My Thoughts on Payola

This part is purely based on my personal feelings and opinion. I would say it doesn’t necessarily affect the music we are exposed to in a bad way, since, In my theory if payola takes place, the bigger record labels win the bid, since they are bigger record labels with bigger financial power and probably good quality music which they choose to promote in order to generate revenue. People at those record labels are professionals and wouldn’t heavily push trash music with zero chance of attracting millions in audience. This is why its not necessarily a bad thing. Also in our advanced age of different streaming sources, free or paid, people will know for themselves what they like and what they do not like, despite all the payola efforts which are trying to be thrown at us through radio and television. It however doesn’t give an equal chance to a  true talent to be noticed but again with our enormous variety of ways like YouTube, Applemusic, Soundcloud and many other ways of getting noticed, payola doesn’t make it very hard.

I think I’ve covered the topic well using words, but watching a video would add a little more to your understanding in regards to this topic. The first video is presented by Decades TV Network and takes us back in time talking about Payola Scandal. The second but equally interesting video is the interview with Dick Clark himself.

I’ve read other posts in regards to Payola Scandal presented by my fellow classmates and was happy to realize that the quality of the research is similar across the blog among all contributing members.

Bibliography

Doyle, J. (2014, FEB 28). Moondog Alan Freed. Retrieved from The Pop History Dig: http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/alan-freed-payola/

Hutchinson, L. (2015, AUG 20). Alan Freed and the Radio Payola Scandal. Retrieved from Performing Songwriter: http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Kelly, K. (2016, FEB 14). A Brief History of American Payola. Retrieved from Noisey. Vice.: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Canada. At the age of 9, Mitchell contracted polio, and it was during her recovery in the hospital that she began performing and singing to patients. Mitchell studied commercial art in Alberta before moving to Toronto in 1964 and performing at local folk clubs and coffeehouses. She relocated to New York City, where in 1967 she made her eponymous debut album (also known as Songs to a Seagull). Produced by David Crosby, this concept album was acclaimed for the maturity of its lyrics.

Other highly successful albums followed. Mitchell won her first Grammy Award (best folk performance) for her 1969 album, Clouds. She has won seven more Grammy Awards since then, in several different categories, including traditional pop, pop music and lifetime achievement.

This song was written by Mitchell on a trip to Hawaii, seeing the beautiful paradise-like islands, but also, out her hotel window, a huge, never-ending parking lot. An environmental anthem for some, the song also references the pesticide DDT — “Hey farmer, farmer, but away that DDT now.”

Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007

I could not find any information to if Joni benefited from the CanCon regulations, but it can be assumed that she did because she is a Canadian musician. Therefore, one she was recorded she would have been able to have lots of air time in Canada. I think that she would have had a strong career regardless of these regulations it just would have taken a long time for her to get as popular and well known.

Personally, I do enjoy her music, I had not heard it before but I recognized her song Big Yellow Taxi from covers by other artists. After researching her and listening to more of her songs I found them very enjoyable to listen to because they are more acoustic in the way it is just her and her guitar, it is peaceful.

#M8Q3

https://www.biography.com/people/joni-mitchell-9410294

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joni-Mitchell

http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2041

Hello class,

This blog response is to module 2 question 2 “On Boxing and Music” in which I aim to discuss the historical context and key individuals from the early 1900s discussed in Michael Walsh’s Smithsonian article.  Next I will discuss the contrast between prevailing issues in society as reflected in the popular music of the time as discussed in Mark Harris’ Vulture article.  Each writer describes specific periods in history, both with a corresponding boxing match and example of popular music.  From a significance standpoint in terms of societal impact, these bouts are polar opposites.  Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries in 1910 was dubbed the “fight of the century” as it took place against a backdrop of intense racial tensions between the white (Caucasian) and black (African) Americans.  Whereas Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2017 was a distracting spectacle and unabashed cash grab, perhaps a fitting analogy for the spectacle taking place on the US political landscape.  Similar to sports, the popular music of the time can also reflect issues in society.  In 1910, music composer and pianist Scott Joplin was desperately trying to legitimize his ragtime style of music against dismissive preconceptions, and evolve his music into higher art forms.  In 2017, Taylor Swift is fighting back against critics and enemies, while attributing ownership of her behavior onto others.  Both these musical examples likewise reflect different societal contexts, which will be discussed below.

In Pursuit of Racial Equality–two philosophies

On January 1st, 1864, President Lincoln declared that all black slaves in the US were free. However, historically entrenched racism persisted within society leading to racial segregation “Jim Crow” laws.  Though free from slavery, the black population were not fully free to enjoy equal rights, liberties, and prosperity as the white population.  The early 1900s would see two outspoken individuals, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, become leaders for black social uplift movements.

 Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

Image courtesy of biography.com(1)

Washington was born into slavery, and throughout his whole life he struggled to attain an education.  As an adult he earned a scholarship to a vocational skills school, thus shaping his appreciation for industry (1).  Likewise, Washington advocated for fellow black people to become educated in trades skills.  In Washington’s famous “Atlanta Compromise” speech in 1895, he stated “[o]ur greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life” (2).  In essence Washington asked that black people persevere through racial discrimination, all while proving their own usefulness by becoming more educated in their trades.

William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois (1868-1963)

Image courtesy of biography.com(3)

Du Bois was born into freedom and able to freely attend schools where he frequently found enthusiastic and helpful teachers and mentors.  Du Bois would later become the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard (3).  Unlike Washington’s social compromise urgings, Du Bois pushed for blacks to push back against discrimination to gain racial equality.  However, instead of Washington’s mass population approach, Du Bois believed a smaller group of highly educated individuals in broad liberal arts, whom he called “the Talented Tenth”, would act as leaders in black society to uplift the rest (4).

Joplin and Johnson–black icons during racial segregation

By the early 1900s, pianist and composer Scott Joplin, dubbed the “King of  Ragtime”, had moved to New York in 1907 as he developed his compositional ability to both legitimize ragtime music and incorporate it into his own original opera.  Jack Johnson meanwhile had just shocked the world in 1908 when he became the first African American heavyweight boxing champion of the world and was slated to soon fight the undefeated former champion Jim Jeffries.  Joplin and Johnson had both reached unprecedented levels of success in their careers, but both had profoundly different effects on the black social uplift movement taking place.

Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

Image courtesy of biography.com(5)

By the age of 26, Joplin had moved to Missouri where he toured around with local bands to earn money to seriously study music and composition (5).  Joplin would introduce a more classical interpretation of ragtime music, which was often denigrated as immoral and low class music, and he gradually gained popularity among the circuit of local clubs he worked at (6).  In 1889 Joplin would sell his most famous composition, the Maple Leaf Rag, which went on to become the first instrumental to break one million sheet music sales by 1914 (6).

With a steady stream of royalties income off of Maple Leaf Rag, Joplin was able to devote his time to teaching his ragtime style and to writing his operas.    Despite ragtime gaining popularity, it was still associated with immoral and tawdry behavior associated with the disreputable venues ragtime was often played in (7).  The opera was a European carryover considered to be entertainment for the upper class in society.  Joplin relentlessly pushed for his opera to be realized, but it only went as far as a poorly received initial run through in 1915, where sadly Joplin could not afford costumes, sets, or an orchestra.  With his opera rejected Joplin slipped into a depression, concurrent with his already  deteriorating mental and motor ability as a result of syphilis, and he soon passed away in 1917 (6).

Only after Joplin’s death would his name gain wide acclaim as ragtime music experienced a renaissance.  Several of Joplin’s rags were significant pieces of an Oscar winning soundtrack for the film Sting, which itself won the best picture award in 1974.  A whole new generation of listeners were being exposed to Joplin’s music, but in higher art forms outside of the red light districts.  Joplin’s opera Treemonisha was also produced, thus bringing his dream to fruition when it opened on Broadway in 1975.  Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer prize for his contribution to American music in 1976 (6).

Jack Johnson (1878-1946)

Johnson vs. Jeffries 1910 in Reno, Nevada.  Image courtesy of Timeline.com (8)

In the boxing world, Johnson seemingly exploded onto the scene out of obscurity.  As a black fighter, Johnson had only fought on the colored fighter circuit where he fought more than 50 bouts and was a dominant champion.  When Johnson finally entered the ring with white boxers, he quickly rose the rank of contenders in just over a year before capturing the heavyweight title in 1908.  Johnson’s victories and subsequent title defenses was a stark shock to all the preconceptions of white superiority over black athletes.  On top of breaking trough the status quo, Johnson also earned public scorn from his extravagant lifestyle and romantic relationships.  Johnson enjoyed the fruits of his labor by flaunting expensive clothing and vehicles, but even more unsettling to his predominantly white critics was he dated white women.  Desperate for an answer to Johnson, the undefeated former champion Jim Jeffries was compelled back out of retirement.

Jeffries was older than Johnson by seven years, and he had been retired for six years as a farmer before they fought in 1910.  To the shock of the 20,000 spectators Johnson dominated, from start to finish, the elder retiree Jeffries.  What ensued were race riots across America with hundreds injured and 26 killed within the day, all predominantly black (8).  That bout would serve as the peak of Johnson’s career, which then proceeded to tailspin as he was targeted for arrest pertaining to some of his past romantic dalliances.  Whether if those charges were racially-motivated or not, Johnson’s flaws as a serial abuser and philanderer with women made it difficult to defend his character.  As such, Johnson’s impact on black social progress was not through the manner he carried himself, but through the unprecedented novelty of his achievement that everyone was conditioned to believe was impossible.

Joplin and Johnson in perspective

Joplin best adopted Washington’s philosophy of perseverance against discrimination, while working towards translating his style of music into a higher art form that would hold societal value.  Washington’s message is strongly conveyed in Joplin’s opera’s title character, Treemonisha, a young black woman who uplifts her village from oppressive lies and superstitions through education and enlightenment.  Treemonisha exudes a quiet patience as she convinces her fellow villagers against seeking revenge against their oppressor, but instead to continue “marching onward” and to “walk slowly, talk lowly” as the opera closes (9).  This final message conveys Washington’s idea of black society’s acceptance of oppression being intertwined with their progress as they strive to earn trust and equality through patience and education.

Johnson meanwhile embodied Du Bois’ philosophy of becoming one of the elites within his population.  Although not in the classical sense of being highly educated, Johnson honed an elite fighting ability that would provide him the same platform as white fighters.  Johnson’s fights were shows of defiance as he constantly challenged oppressive forces whether they be from tens of thousands of angry fans, or even the government charging him with illegal acts.  Johnson’s accomplishments were the first stepping stones for future black athletes that now saw the myth of white superiority debunked.  One of the greatest boxers in history, Muhammad Ali, who was influenced by Johnson aptly summarized him as being a “bad, bad black man”, which Johnson was ultimately portrayed as for going against the norm.

Societal reflections: music of the past and today

McGregor vs. Mayweather in 2017 was in essence an on-demand novelty act.  In an era where the biggest action movies were collaborations of the most popular names and characters, it only seemed fitting that the most outspoken names in combat sports were paired together.  Besides the crossover appeal, this bout holds no significant social impact.  While on the popular music front, Taylor Swift’s “Look what you made me do” is a montage of her many brand and persona changes, as well as being an overall diss track to various celebrities and critics that have feuded with Swift.  Harris’ Vulture article opines that Swift’s song encapsulates the modern era in which society expresses apathy towards substantive character, but is instead obsessed with superficial public image and one’s celebrity.  Furthermore, Harris points out a contributing problem towards this apathy as being a cavalier attitude towards constantly changing one’s own narrative to placate others.  For music artists, reinventing oneself is not new, but it seems today there is almost an annual retooling of one’s style to fit the current mainstream sound.

As a reflection of eras, Joplin’s ragtime songs were an example of the struggle of black integration into white society as we hear ragged off time African-inspired syncopation among the regular marching beats.  Today’s music reflects how easily distracted we are with the sheer bombardment of media content, news, phone apps, etc., but it also shows the power of mass, anonymous opinions that are openly shared across the internet to the point that content producers have a direct vein to what consumers like or dislike.  Music of the early 1900s reflected struggle to stand out, while today’s is reverse consumerism of demand and supply where producers will give you what you want to hear.  Thus, the manner in which we digest music and perceive artists today is in constant flux depending on what the mainstream demand is at the time.  As a result, artists now put out wide ranging albums with songs encompassing multiple styles and genres to appease a diverse demographic.  In summary, the musical reflection of society today is everything on demand.

Endnotes

1. A&E Television Networks.  “Booker T. Washington Biography”  The Biography.com website, March 1, 2018., Accessed July 16, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663
2. “Booker T. Washington Delivers the 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech.” HISTORY MATTERS – The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/39
3. A&E Television Networks. “W.E.B. Du Bois Biography” The Biography.com website, January 19, 2018., Accessed July 16, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
4. “W.E.B. Du Bois and the Rise of Black Education.” AUC Woodruff Library Digital Exhibits. Accessed July 27, 2018. http://digitalexhibits.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/seekingtotell/education
5. A&E Television Networks. “Scott Joplin Biography” The Biography.com website, January 19, 2018., Accessed July 17, 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/scott-joplin-9357953
6. “Scott Joplin (c. 1868 – 1917).” Moses Austin – Historic Missourians – The State Historical Society of Missouri. Accessed July 27, 2018. https://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/j/joplin/
7. Michael Campbell, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On Fourth Edition, Boston MA, USA, Clark Baxter, 2013, p. 59-60
8. Reimann, Matt. “When a Black Fighter Won ‘the Fight of the Century,’ Race Riots Erupted across America.” Timeline. March 24, 2017. Accessed July 27, 2018. https://timeline.com/when-a-black-fighter-won-the-fight-of-the-century-race-riots-erupted-across-america-3730b8bf9c98
9. Rachel Lumsden. “Uplift, Gender, and Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha.” Black Music Research Journal 35, no. 1 (2015): 41-69. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed July 19, 2018).

Among the many great acts of the 2018 Saskatoon Jazz Festival was the outstanding blues show put on by Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite on the summer evening of June 29th.

Ben Harper’s band consists of the legendary bluesman Charlie Musselwhite on the harmonica, Jimmy Paxson on drums, Jason Mozersky playing lead guitar, and Jesse Ingalls on bass and piano. Ben Harper came to fame as a Californian singer-songwriter with his first album releasing in 1995. Recently, Ben has transitioned to being a true blues musician, evident in his work with Charlie. In the band’s current arrangement Ben provides lead vocals and some tasty slide work on his lap steel guitar. Jimmy Paxson is a dummer that has played with many major names in the music industry, but most notably he supported Stevie Nicks in her solo career. Jimmy is a hard hitting beat-layer and never fails to make whatever band he is with look good. Jason and Jesse are the perfect combo to round off the sound of the band. Between Jason’s blazing guitar solos and Jesse’s solid bass performance with some heartfelt piano when needed, Ben could not ask for more from his rhythm section. Charlie Musselwhite is an essential addition to the legitimacy of Ben’s blues show. Charlie is linked to many of the classic blues stars such as Muddy Waters; he is so linked to the genre that he was inspiration for the cult classic film “Blues Brothers”. (Harper, 2018) His harmonica playing is the last piece to the puzzle of Ben Harper’s sound. This whole blog post could be made up of Charlie’s musical prowess, but lets stick to the task at hand.

The show took place at the outdoor Jazz Fest MainStage on a beautiful summer’s evening. A fair-sized crowd was drawn and they were all itching to take in a great blues show. Crowd diversity was strong; including people that would have seen Charlie play in the 60’s, fans of Harper’s first songs in the 90’s, and people like me just going to take in a blues show in some summer air. Everyone can relate to some element of the blues and it was evident with the crowd that night.

Most of the songs played were off of Ben and Charlie’s most recent album, “No Mercy In This Land”, with some surprises thrown in. Ben’s band played in a modern country blues style revolving around harmonica and slide guitar. Beats were played to a medium tempo, exciting but not rushing you along. Ben kept the stage banter to a minimum and kept the momentum of the show going. Donald Trump even received a shoutout before the song “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say”, resulting in some whoops and chuckles from the crowd. The song had a defiant feel to and As the sun went down, the concert was slowed down with the ballad-like song “When Love is Not Enough”. This song was more reminiscent to Ben’s earlier work but fit the atmosphere perfectly. Jimmy Paxson also proved his worth with a scorching drum solo midway through the set that earned a well-earned cheer from the crowd.

The climax of the concert arrived during a masterful performance of the legendary blues song, “When the Levee Breaks”. Ben and Charlie bring the well-known Led Zeppelin version of the song together with the original by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minne. This Youtube video features a very similar version from a different concert.

Filling John Bonham’s shoes on this song is a tall order for any drummer, but Jimmy Paxson played the part perfectly. The drums in the intro echoing off the back of the Bessborough and into the gardens was a striking moment in the performance.  The band circled around the main melodic riff that Ben plays on his slide guitar and Charlie provided his signature harmonica to capture the mood of the song.

Following that amazing cover, the band stepped off the stage to ready for the encore. The crowd cheered until Ben and company stepped back on stage. Two songs were played then we were gifted a truly special concert moment. With the sun down and the 11:00 noise bylaws kicking in, Ben stepped into the crowd with the band playing soft piano and harmonica and belted “All That Matters Now” without a microphone. The whole gardens fell silent to take in the moment, leading to an intimate and memorable end to the show.

Going into the concert I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t overly familiar with Ben’s work. I knew he was a well-known musician with a lot of dedicated fans but I hadn’t made it to his music yet in my musical journey. I always enjoy being introduced to a new artist and this concert was the best introduction I could have asked for. Ben Harper is a modern day bluesman through-and-through and puts on a show that no one will be disappointed with.

(Low quality screenshot of my Instagram story for proof-of-attendence)

References

1. “Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite”. Ben Harper. (accessed July 19) http://www.benharper.com/band
2. “Tours and Setlists”. Ben Harper. (June 29, 2018) http://www.benharper.com/tour/setlists/2018/2018-06-29-sasktel-saskatchewan-jazz-festival

Ever since the dawn of the music business it has been the dream of many to hit it big in the industry. Musicians work their whole lives to get noticed in the music world and when the hard work doesn’t pay off, sometimes they may have to resort to alternative methods. This struggle to get noticed in the music industry became blatantly obvious during the Payola Scandal of the late 50’s.

In the music industry of old, radio was an effective marketing tool used by record labels to sell more of their artist’s albums. Rock ‘n Roll crazed teenagers would hear the hit songs on the radio and swarm to buy the new album or single from their favourite musicians. At that time in the music industry American disk jockeys (DJs) had all the power in what music was played on the radio. As is the case in many positions of power, bribery ensued. Musicians and promoters cutting cheques to DJs for airplay ran rampant within the industry. Dollar values of the bribes are mostly kept under the covers but one DJ reported being offered over $20,000 to spin a record during his show (that’s equal to well over $100k in today’s money) . Upon learning the scale of situation, the government enacted an investigation (Neira, n.d.)  Listen to Dick Clark of the hit television show, “American Bandstand”, share his experience of payola.

The degree of Dick Clark’s innocence is largely unknown, but shortly before the hearings he cut ties to several record labels he had a stake in. Ultimately Dick got off scot free, DJ Alan Freed on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. Freed made it clear that he was not going play nicely during the investigation and paid dearly for it. He lost he lost his job and fell victim to 26 counts of commercial bribery along with a hefty fine (Neira, n.d.)

Following the scandal, DJs lost power in making decisions on which music was played during their shows and lost their place at the top of the music promoting machine; however, this did not stop the flow of money to the radio industry. Since the DJs no longer made schedule choices, the power shifted to the head of the station (Neira, n.d.).

Today radio stations hold much less power in the music industry than they had in the past, mainly due to the rise of popular music streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Even in the age of music accessibility, forms of payola still remain. Spotify will observe your listening habits and build playlists for you, with a portion of those songs being sponsored. It is a feature that can be disabled on the premium version of Spotify, but it is proof that payola will always exist as long as there is a market to sell to (Sanchez, 2017). Playlists are one of the top ways people discover new songs and some sources state that even songs on a playlist unlabeled as sponsored have bought their place (Peoples, 2015). Once a song is featured on a top playlist its plays will spike, earning that artist visibility in the cut-throat modern-day music industry.

The existence of payola obviously affects the music we are exposed to massively. In an ideal music industry, quality music would rise to the top and that would guide labels to support their artists in making the music they want to make. The advent of payola lead labels to search for hit makers so they could get the most out fo their bribes, and increase their bottomline. The question is then, how many great acts slipped through the cracks because they weren’t able to get noticed?

Overall, payola is a burden on the music industry. On the surface it seems be the simplest way to get noticed and kickstart a musicians career, but it also stacks the table further against the musician in an already difficult market. There is no way that a small indie artist can compete with a record label for a spot on a top playlist, making signing that record deal even more important. Luckily we live in a world where there are countless alternative routes to be discovered as a musician, look no further than the yodelling boy from the isles of Walmart. Payola will continue to be a force in the music industry but more avenues open up launch a successful career, its effectiveness will dwindle.

References

1. Neira, Bob. “Payola Scandal Rocks 50’s Radio”. Modesto Radio Museum. (accessed July 19, 2018) http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/payola.html
2. Sanchez, Daniel. “Spotify Introduces a Brand New Feature: Payola”. Digital Music News. (June 20, 2017) https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/20/spotify-sponsored-songs-payola/
3. Peoples, Glen. “‘Payola’ Infiltrates Steaming Services: Pay Per Play is ‘Definitely Happening’. Billboard. (August 19, 2015) https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6670475/playola-promotion-streaming-services