M2 Q3

Mamie Smith (born Robinson) was born on May 26^th in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mamie was born in 1883 during a time of horrible racism.[1] Slavery had only been abolished 18 years before Mamie was born, and the abolishment of segregation wouldn’t happen until years after that. As an African-American woman, Mamie had many struggles to face.

Mamie Smith was a persistence woman from a young age. She left her house at age ten to join a dancing group called, the Four Dancing Mitchells. After joining the Four Dancing Mitchells Mamie made her way to New York where she married her first husband William “Smitty” Smith.[2] After getting married Mamie started making a reputation for herself as a singer in Harlem clubs. She recorded her song “Crazy Blues” becoming the first documented black female vocalist to record a song.[3]

Mamie Smith’s song “Crazy Blues” was groundbreaking for many people. African-American people believed they had a chance to show their capabilities to the world following Mamie’s lead. This was also a big step for women as they fought for their right to be equal and they could see Mamie fighting through the racism and sexism to rise to the top. “Crazy Blues” is about a break up between a man and woman, which could have been why it became so popular so quickly. Everyone can relate to this situation, and along with her powerful voice and a big range of vocals she had everything people could want in a song which brought her to the top.

Many artists struggle enough to become the stars they want without added extra struggles. Mamie had so much more she had to struggle with daily, and it’s amazing to see that she persevered. The racism that was happening during this time period was among the worst in history. Many organizations were even violent about their racism. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the worst known racist group, the fear of other people did not stop Mamie from achieving her dream though. Mamie played in Richmond, Indiana, where there was a Ku Klux Klan stronghold at the time.[4] Even though Mamie was singing I this racist era she continued to sell out concerts time and time again because of her ability that was far too good for many people to ignore. Because of the colour of Mamie’s skin, other people were put into harm’s way. These people fought the racism against Mamie because they knew she had talent and deserved to be on the big stage. Mamie’s record producer, Mr. Hager, received threat saying that if he was to record Mamie or any other African-American singer. When Mr. Hager started to question it, he was told that he needed to push through. According to Mr. Hager’s friend this is the moment Mamie got to become a star, “Mr. Hager got a far-off look in his eyes and seemed somewhat worried, because of the many threatening letters he had received from some Northern and Southern pressure groups warning him not to have any truck with colored girls in the recording field. If he did, OKeh Products – phonograph machines and records – would be boycotted. May God bless Mr. Hager, for despite the many threats, it took a man with plenty of nerves and guts to buck those powerful groups and make the historical decision which would echo aroun’ the world. He pried open that old ‘prejudiced door’ for the first colored girl, Mamie Smith, so she could squeeze into the large horn – and shout with her strong contralto voice.”[5]

After “Crazy Blues” Mamie had two other songs that stood out in their popularity. Mamie Smith recorded “That Thing Called Love” and “It’s Right Here For You” for OKeh records. Mamie’s composer, Perry Bradford, fought for her to sing for OKeh records after Mr. Hager questioned taking in an African-American artist. To convince Mr. Hager, Bradford said, “African American music lovers were an untapped market and that ‘they will buy records if recorded by one of their own, because we are the only folks that can sing and interpret hot jazz songs just off the griddle correctly.’”[6] Bradford’s observation proved to be true as Mamie Smith’s songs rose to the top. These songs both showcased Mamie’s wide range of vocals and had the same slow rich blues sound. Both of these songs showed a deep contrast between a throaty raw sound with deep horns to a light feather high note with the horns softly harmonizing with her vocals. There are many reasons, such as these examples, as to why Mamie’s music became such a hit. She had a voice that was raw and low, and her music captured true blues. This caught the interest of many blues fans, and the fact that she was an African-American lady caught everyone else’s. When asked about Mamie Smith’s shows people would often not only talk about the raw talent that Mamie had, but also her showmanship.[7] People say that the show was a spectacle to behold. Every part of Mamie was born to be a star from the beginning.

Mamie Smith fought through the heavy racism and sexism of the late 1800s and early 1900s to show pure talent in blues and change the history of blues music.

[1] “Last.fm,”as, August 28, 2006, https://www.last.fm/music/Mamie+Smith/+wiki

[2] Thomas Gale, “Encyclopedia,” Contemporary Black Biography, July 15, 2018, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith

[3] Thomas Gale, “Encyclopedia,” Contemporary Black Biography, July 15, 2018, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith

[4] Jill Simins, “Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program,” July 15, 2018, https://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/mamie-smith/

[5] Jill Simins, “Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program,” July 15, 2018, https://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/mamie-smith/

[6] Jill Simins, “Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program,” July 15, 2018, https://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/mamie-smith/

[7] Thomas Gale, “Encyclopedia,” Contemporary Black Biography, July 15, 2018, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith

M6 Q1

Elvis proved to the world that he deserved the title as the King of Rock n Roll from the beginning. It’s not a surprise that Elvis has influenced tons of musical performers to this day because of his style, skill, and unique vocals. If we look on the Elvisualization on Spotify we can see tons of artists that Elvis influenced in some way or another.

A long list of musical performers who have been influenced starts with Elvis, then to Bob Dylan, then to Stevie Wonder, to Usher, then finally to Bruno Mars. These are all very impressive artists whose musical performances can in some way be traced back to Elvis.

Bob Dylan is an artist that was hit hard by the death of Elvis. When Dylan heard about the passing of Presley he was working on his album “Street Legal.” While hearing about the passing he told people around him that “if it wasn’t for (Presley) he never would have gotten started. He opened the door.”[1] Similarities between Presley and Dylan can be seen in many of Dylan’s songs. Dylan states that from a very young age he would not have been the person he was without Presley. Some of this influence comes over into Dylan’s music making. Lots of Dylan’s songs such as “Changing of The Guards” has the same twangy tune as many of Presley’s songs like “Heartbreak Hotel.” Dylan became such a big star idolizing Presley that he started to become an idol for other artists to follow.

A big star who seems to have been influenced by Bob Dylan is Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder, though he couldn’t see seems to have picked up a bit of Dylan’s style as seen in figure 1.

Dylan and Wonder’s main similarities come in their music. Stevie and Dylan both have the boldness to them that captures an audience’s attention right away. Both Dylan and Wonder have a strong backbeat in their songs that can easily be heard throughout the entire song. The singers keep the pace of their songs slow and let the power of their voices do the real work of keeping the song impressive. Both Dylan and Wonder have deeper throatier voices but their voices can also be really soft. We can see Dylan’s influence on Wonder in songs such as “Is Your Love in Vain” by Bob Dylan and “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. Though Wonder’s song is a bit more up pace if you listen to some of the background instrumentals they sound very similar.

Though Wonder really respected Dylan, it was a two-way street with mutual respect to both people. Dylan talks about Wonder saying, “If anybody can be called a genius, he can be. I think it has something to do with his ear, not being able to see or whatever…  In fact, he might have invented that. he is a great mimic, can imitate everybody, doesn’t take himself seriously and is a true roadhouse musician all the way, with classical overtones, and he does it all with drama and style. I’d like to hear him play with an orchestra. He should probably have his own orchestra”[3] This mutual respect could be a part of Dylan seeing pieces of himself in Wonder’s work.

A great singer who came from the influences of Stevie Wonder is Usher. Usher has a high pitched voice with a lot of soul which can be viewed as a direct influence from Stevie Wonder. A song such as “The Motown Sound” by Stevie Wonder sounds like something that would come directly from an Usher album. Usher has shown that he has a very similar sound by singing a few of Wonder’s songs as covers. When Usher sang “That Girl” by Stevie Wonder he seemed to fit right in with the song as if it was his own. To further see the influences of Wonder in Usher’s music we can look at Usher’s song “Lil Freak.” While listening to Usher’s “Raymond vs. Raymond” album listeners can hear that Usher’s song “Lil Freak” has actually sampled Stevie Wonders song “Living in The City.”[4] This example of sampling truly shows the similarities between Usher and one of the men who influenced him, Stevie Wonder.

Usher has always had a certain style and look about him while on stage or in public places. Many people have tried to follow this influence, such as the very famous Justin Bieber, but one man who truly does a good job of sharing this similar swagger as Usher is Bruno Mars. Bruno and Usher share the same look with their big gold chains and heavy clothes shown by Bruno in his “24k” album cover and Usher’s “Pop Ya Collar” album cover. Mars has a similar vocal style as Usher utilizing his ability to sing high and then switch quickly to lower notes in songs such as “Gorilla” in his “Unorthodox Jukebox” album. While Usher shows off his high pitched notes in songs such as “Climax” from his album “Looking 4 Myself.”

Similarities in Bruno Mars can be traced all the way back to Elvis Presley by following this line, and Bruno himself has said that he was heavily influenced by Elvis Presley directly as he talked in awe about how he had moves unlike any other.[5] This goes to show the lasting effects of one of the greatest musicians in our history.

[1] Ugur, “NSF Music Station”, November 18 2016. https://www.needsomefun.net/when-elvis-presley-died-it-deeply-affected-bob-dylan/

[2] Egil Mosbron, “Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan- The Connection”, May 13 2017. https://alldylan.com/stevie-wonder-and-bob-dylan-the-connection/

[3] Egil Mosbron, “Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan- The Connection”, May 13 2017. https://alldylan.com/stevie-wonder-and-bob-dylan-the-connection/

[4] Taste Creators, “What do you get when you mix Usher and Stevie Wonder”, June 12 2016. http://www.tastecreators.com/sample-series-usher-stevie-wonder/

[5] George Varga, “The San Diego Union-Tribune”, July 24, 2013. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sdut-bruno-mars-talks-musical-inspiration-2013jul24-story.html#

Mamie Smith

Elvis Presley

Hi, this is Jasleen Dhunna. For my second blog post, I have decided to write about Josephine Baker.

Biography

Josephine Baker was born on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a popular dancer and a singer in France during the 1920s. she spent her early years in poverty before she learned to dance and found her success on Broadway. She moved to France in 1920s and became the most popular and highest-paid dancers. She also worked for French Resistance during WWII. Later in 1950-60s, she committed herself to fight for racism in USA. Josephine Baker died on April 12, 1975 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Breakthroughs for Black Performers

Josephine moved out when she was 14 and got married. However, she got divorced at 15 and then married another man. At age of 19, she joined all black performance in Paris. She was the best exotic dancer of her time. In Paris, the racism was minimal and they welcomed her with open arms as a dance. This is why Josephine loved Paris more than United States. After WWII, she started television and she also married Jo Bouillon and she decided to bring back a castle and village named Les Milandes in which she spent a lot of her money to make it a tourist place.

The New Woman/early feminism/sexual empowerment of women

Baker retuned to United Stated in August 1963 to be present at civil rights march in Washington, DC. This march pushed for equal rights for all races. A popular Stork Clun in New York rejected her and from there, she started a full-on media battle with pro-segregation columnist Walter Winchell. She also adopted children to form her family which was called “The rainbow Tribe” and this was to show that anyone can be brothers and sisters regardless of face. after this act, May 20 is known as Josephine Baker’s day.

 The merger of song and dance/The Charleston

 WWII

Baker was married to Jean Lion who was a French industrialist. They got divorced by 1940. She became a Red Cross nurse where she watched over refugees and helped them smuggle when Germany occupied Belgium.

Source cited 

1. Josephine Baker. (2018, January 19). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/josephine-baker-9195959
2. Josephine Baker Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ba-Be/Baker-Josephine.html
3. Josephine Baker. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.redhotjazz.com/josephinebaker.html
4. Jerkins, M. (2017, May 26). 90 Years Later, the Radical Power of Josephine Baker’s Banana Skirt. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/article/josephine-baker-90th-anniversary-banana-skirt

What Is The Payola Scandal?

The Payola Scandal, also called “pay-to-play”, involved the illegal practice of record companies bribing broadcast companies for guaranteed airplay on the radio in American. A radio station could exchange airtime for money, but the extra time was supposed to be disclosed as sponsored time. During the payola scandal, the bought time was not disclosed and the increased number of times a song played had the ability to influence the perceived popularity of the song.⁴

The payola scandal was possible because of the disc jockeys (DJs) wielded enormous power and could control airtime of songs on the radio. Some disc jockeys such as Alan Freed used it to promote the music they enjoyed, but many used it to make money through bribery. Payola was used to make a song seem more popular and slowly evolved into an unfair competition and fraud in the music industry.³

To better understand the meaning of the Payola Scandal, it can be broken up into its base words, pay, Victrola, and scandal. Pay, is defined as giving someone money in exchange for something, Victrola, is a classic record player or phonograph, and scandal is defined as a disgraceful or discreditable action and or circumstance that can cause damage to reputation.  The definition can be interpreted as artists using money instead of talent to attain extra airtime and fame.

How Did The Payola Scandal Begin?

Before 1940, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) were the sole monopoly in the music recording industry. When Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) entered the market in 1940, ASCAP’s was dethroned. BMI was known for recording songs that differed from the popular songs radios played. Due to BMI being outside the norm, they had to pay DJs bribes to play their songs, which unintentionally started the payola scandal. Before payola, there was a flat rate of $50 to play someone’s song on the radio for a week. Disc jockeys began taking advantage of the bribes and offering more time for higher fees.² Soon ASCAP had to pay DJs bribes to play their music as well. ASCAP was upset over their loss of monopoly and hinted at the federal investigators to review a potential problem involving bribery in the music industry.⁶

The scandal began in 1958, during the time that federal investigators revealed that popular NBC – TV shows were rigged. This discovery and inside tips from ASCAP led investigators to review the radio for malpractices and many causes of bribery were uncovered.

What Did The Government Due To Stop Payola?

The payola scandal provoked investigations by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and in January of 1960, the NAB proposed that disc jockeys accepting bribes for airtime would be charged $500 and spend a year in prison. The law developed in 1960 is currently still in existence today.²

ASCAP, the stronger licensing organization, reportedly urged the investigation to undermine its major competitor, BMI, which was licensing the music of many black and country performers.  Most major disk jockeys were taking payments to play songs since it was only illegal in two states. After an investigation, there were 335 DJs who admitted to accepting bribes to play a record on the radio, but two powerful and popular DJs, Alan Freed and Dick Clarke, both denied the allegations.²

Alan Freed refused to sign an affidavit in 1959, denying that he had accepted payola, which was not illegal at the time. He claimed that he would accept gifts for helping others, but never worked for bribes. In May 1960 Freed and seven other people were arrested on suspicion of commercial bribery. Freed was charged with 26 counts of bribery and was fired from WABC in 1962. This was the end of Freed’s radio career and his influence on Rock and Roll.²

Dick Clarke sought out legal advice and removed himself from anyone who he may have been involved in bribery. His smart legal decisions paid off as he was set free with no charges and continued his career as an influential DJ.¹

Does Payola Exist In Current Music?

Current day payola was highlighted when in 2005, Sony BMG, a large record label, was fined $10 million after the state of New York found the company guilty of engaging in payola. Sony was paying DJs with cash and goods for playing Sony artists, such as Jessica Simpson. Sony hid their payola through running fake promotional contests and giving DJ’s the prizes.⁷

Current day payola can also be seen in the rise of streaming, now being labeled as corporate sponsorships or advertising fees. Music providers such as Spotify and Apple Music can charge thousands of dollars to get a song on a trending playlist depending on the number of followers that playlist has. Once an artist is on these playlists their popularity almost always increases along with song sales.⁸

How Does Payola Effect Popular Music?

The public does not hear artists whose labels can’t afford to pay high streaming and advertising fees, or whose label refuses to engage in the practice of bribery. Due to the current state of payola, record labels waste millions of dollars and large radio and music promotion corporations can charge any amount of fees they wish for an artist to be more recognized publicly. This current practice is legal, but it has the consequence of forcing artists who cannot afford to pay the fees to fail regardless of talent. Payola destroys fair competition while limiting the progression of new music and results in music being featured online based on money or famous connections rather than talent and popularity. .⁶

My Opinion on Payola.

Payola both old and new is a negative circumstance, which only benefits people who are wealthy. It causes the public to only hear artists who are picked based off of biases or who can afford to pay for excessive advertising. Payola results in top hits and music charts to not properly represent the popularity of the public and cause an overall lower satisfaction of music from viewers. Payola puts more of an emphasis on money and wealth instead of talent and hypothetically has drastically changed the course of popular music. It also has the potential to increase the cost of music, since labels involved in payola need to spend more money in order to have their songs played.⁵

Payola is also not beneficial for the radio, because it makes radio homogenous. People turn off the radio when the same song is played on every station or if it is overplayed. It also hurts the radio stations, who refuse to accept bribes for plays, as the other stations get cash injections from the labels. Now the general population will never know about the existence of talented artists who could not afford to bribe radio stations and our perception of popular music is built on lies.

Bibliography

1. “Dick Clark Survives the Payola Scandal.” History.com. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dick-clark-survives-the-payola-scandal
2. Hutchinson, L. “Alan Freed and the Radio Payola Scanda.” Performing Songwrriter. Last modified August 20, 2015. http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/
3. McDonald, H. “Payola: Influencing the Charts.” The Balance Careers. Last modified June 3, 2018. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/payola-influencing-the-charts-2460759
4. Neira, B. “Payola Scandal Rocks 50’s Radio.” Modesto Radio Museum, Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/payola.html
5. Sherwin, A. “Payola: One of music’s oldest arrangements back with a bang on streaming playlists.” Independent.co.uk. Last modified August 20, 2015. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/payola-one-of-musics-oldest-arrangements-back-with-a-bang-on-streaming-playlists-10464513.html
6. Shinn, E. “The Evolution and Effects of Payola on Popular Culture.” Texas Tech University. (2004). https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/23324/31295019381150.pdf?sequence=1
7. “Sony to pay $10M in payola scandal.” CBC News. (2005). https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/sony-to-pay-10m-in-payola-scandal-1.523524
8. Peoples, Glenn. “How ‘Playola’ Is Infiltrating Streaming Services: Pay for Play Is ‘Definitely Happening’.” Billboard. Last modified August 19, 2015. https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6670475/playola-promotion-streaming-services.

Mamie Smith

Mamie Smith, was ahead of her time when it came to three things, one, the blues, two, black people in the industry, three, women as the popular performers. Her early life isn’t totally known but she is believed to be born in 1883 Cincinnati, Ohio. Mamie was working as a vaudeville entertainer and touring by the time she was just 10 years old, and continuing to tour with various acts well into her teens. At age 20 she called Harlem home with her new husband William Smith. She later remarried twice throughout her career but kept the same name. She is known majority for her blues signing, but also film performances. She was a glamourous multi-talented woman. This is where Mamie Smith made her mark on Okeh Records and the world. Later in her career, she often performed with the Jazz Hounds.

Her success is said to have been a surprise as “Crazy Blues”, her first recorded song, published in 1920, pushed the boundaries of social acceptance and ethical issues. The original song talks of her feelings of crazy blues after the man of her dreams leaves her, leading into all the other bad news she gets. This song is considered to be the ‘First ever recorded blues song’, a song which sold over 75,000 copies in just a few months, with the surprise coming from the record label as they began to take notice of the popularity of the genre. This massive income flex and success of the song is also what made certain people take observation into how large scale the exploitation of colored musicians was in the industry. The immediate popularity prompted other recording companies to sign female black blues singers to capture the new “race records” market. This market is where large companies sell blues music to black record buyers, most often white men.

Mamie opened the doors to the world of blues, and some argue that even though the work was often demeaning it set the stage for future fames, it allowed women to be thought of as talented people. It allowed the blues to become established and accepted.

As many scholars call “crazy Blues” the ‘first ever recorded blues song’, many other people questioned the authenticity of Mamie’s blues. The blues stemmed from southern rural roots and Mamie came from Cincinnati, so how was she to know. As well with black talent freshly known within the world she was often criticized for not being any better than other white singers. Her being able to continue producing top hit ‘blues’ songs is what led to her overcoming the doubt.

The following is her most well-known song “Crazy Blues”.

This song stars of with a strong band background, heard are trumpets, clarinets, saxophones and a trombone, with Mamie coming into sing only 16 seconds in. Her lyrics often decrescendo down near the end of the word, with straining during the last world of a stanza. The chorus is hoppy and enjoyable. The lyrics stand out as it tells a story of a woman who has issues too, a woman who is allowed to chase a man, and a woman who feels. I chose this song as it is what made her name as a blues singer.

“That thing called love”

This song was said to be recorded before “Crazy Blues”, but was not considered to be bluesy. It has a piano playing tempo and a flute adding in the harmony. Again her lyrics speak of a woman in pain or anguish, rather than a woman of happiness and joy. The choice of this one is more of a study thing, I was studying what the difference between her blues and her before.

“My Sportin’ Man”

This was actually my favourite of her songs as it is quite scandalous in its lyrics. Some of the lyrics include:

‘He ain’t gun shy, he always hits the same bull’s eye, what man is my sportin’ man’

‘That gun of his pumps all day long’

It is a very playful song, that makes you beat your foot and giggle at the same time.

As I continued to listen to her many songs I started to notice the more hidden lines and references to the previous years of slavery, black racism, and white-washing. They are never straight worded or bold as you might say but instead quiet and snider remarks to a previous time.

I found Mamie Smith to be a very vocally talented and creative artist with a lot to offer in her music.

#M2Q3

Bibliography

1.Oliver, Paul. “Smith, Mamie.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press,

2. “At the Howard Theater.” Washington Bee. December 18, 1920.

3.blackpast.org/aah/smith-mamie-1883-1946

4. pages.stolaf.edu/...anmusic/tag/mamie-smith

The Power Dynamic around Blackface in Early American Theatre
The reason blacks donned blackface in early American theatre arose from not being allowed to perform onstage as themselves for most of the 19th century.1 White men with black painted on their faces were tolerated on stage by white audiences, thus giving blacks a way onto the stage as well – by painting their faces into a way acceptable by white audiences, blacks could perform onstage. The power dynamic of having to look up at a black man or woman made many whites uncomfortable.1 Blacks painting their faces in a cruel mockery of their natural selves satisfied the whites enough to appease the power dynamic; the whites felt unthreatened enough to allow themselves to look up at a black man or woman on stage.1

Shuffle Along – Progressive or Reinforcing of Negative Stereotypes?
The all-black cast of Shuffle Along could be seen as a challenge against racism. However, it also seems like the show reinforced the negative stereotypes against blacks that were common in that time. This is evidenced by lines like “You ain’t got no business being no mayor and you knows you ain’t, what you talking about being mayors”, and also by Sullivan stating the show “wasn’t exactly forward-­thinking on race. It broke boundaries, no doubt, but mainly through its success, and by having great pop tunes”.1 It is important to note that the time-period the show debuted in did not allow its creators to be very forward-thinking. They were already toeing the line in other aspects, and any more pushes against the status quo could have been dangerous for all involved.

To expand on the aforementioned “other aspects”, Shuffle Along definitely challenged the taboo of black sexuality by having two black characters fall in love. As stated by Walton, and noted by Sullivan in his article:

White audiences, for some reason… do not want colored people to indulge in too much lovemaking. They will applaud if a colored man serenades his girl at the window, but if, while telling of his great love in song he becomes somewhat demonstrative and emulates a Romeo — then exceptions are taken.1

Thus, to call Shuffle Along non-progressive due to reinforcing some black stereotypes common in that time would be wrong.

Regarding typical rhythms in musical theatre, it can also be said that Shuffle Along was responsible for “introduc[ing] syncopation into the American musical”, and blackness as well.1

As well, it appears that the stereotype of chorus girls dancing jazz also originated from Shuffle Along.

It appears that Shuffle Along tried to be as progressive as possible in that period of time. I’m sure many more forward-thinking inclusions would have been added, if not for the very real, dangerous repercussions facing the musical’s makers.

“I’m Just Wild About Harry”

As stated by Sullivan, the most famous song from Shuffle Along is “I’m Just Wild About Harry”.1 Unfortunately, I had not heard the song before. However, it was interesting to learn that it was the only song written by African-Americans used as a presidential campaign theme until Obama.

Patting Juba
The phrase “patting Juba” refers to African plantation dancing, which was complex, full of expression, and physically taxing.1 The “patting” comes from drumming on one’s body, and slapping one’s chest, knees, and soles of feet.1 The second Juba was an even better dancer than John Diamond. The only problem was that he was black. This story was included to continue drawing attention to how blacks were mistreated by racism and having to paint their own faces in order to perform. This ties to the main story because P.T. Barnum’s painting of Juba may be the first noted occurence of blackface being used. This exploitative act by Barnum can be followed down in history to the minstrel shows, and later to the very actors who participated in Shuffle Along.

False Claims by Shuffle Along
Shuffle Along’s claims to being the first black broadway show, or the first successful one, are not fully true.1 These claims truthfully belong to Williams and Walker, and their 1907-1909 show “Bandanna Land”, which played at the Majestic Theater on Broadway.1

Shuffle Along in 2016
The concept of the 2016 show (titled Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed) was to not be a revival of the original, but a transformation.1 This was done partially due to the failures of past revivals, and the “terrible book” of the original.1 The 2016 show celebrated the original by telling the story of how Shuffle Along came to be, i.e. its making; this was done by “tell[ing] the story of the original creators and cast and how they pulled it off”.1

New Insights from the Article
The most surprising thing from the article was learning how openly hostile whites would be to blacks. While aware of racism, I had no idea newspapers would publish lines like “These young men are likely to wake up with a start some morning”.1 As well, considering Walker’s following statement in today’s time is quite disheartening – “There is no reason why we should be forced to do these old-time nigger acts. It’s all rot, this slap-­stick-­bandanna handkerchief-­bladder in the face act, with which Negro acting is associated. It ought to die out, and we are trying hard to kill it.”1 Combining the facts that Walker said this 110 years ago,  and that the world is still just as bigoted (if not worse) in many places is a little sad to think about.

Minstrelsy and American Popular Music
In my opinion, this section of the textbook doesn’t give what could be called an unfair perspective on blackface in America. However, it does completely glance over years of strife and racism, shortening a critical period of history down to less than a page. It would seem that a textbook detailing the history of popular music in America would spend a little more time on the subject.

References
1-Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America.” The New York Times. March 24, 2016. Accessed July 20, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html?mcubz=1.