Hello class for the last time,

For my last blog post I will be sharing three songs with you by the rock band Led Zeppelin in order to prove their “metal” and give my perspective on why those songs could be used as an introduction to the heavy metal rock genre.  Besides giving a brief sound profile on each of these songs, I believe it is important to examine the genesis behind each song in order to fully appreciate why they are heavy metal.

Our text introduces Led Zeppelin as “a seminal heavy metal band, [who] ultimately defies categorization” (1).  Indeed, Zeppelin was not bound to a single style of rock as their sound encompassed a range of blues, psychedelic, hard rock, and heavy metal.  One could argue that similar bands such as Black Sabbath or Deep Purple, both emerged the same year as Zeppelin in 1968, are just as worthy flagbearers of the heavy metal genre to be introduced in our text.  However, in the context of popular music throughout history, Zeppelin was more influential in bringing heavy metal into the mainstream and thereby legitimizing the genre to music audiences that had long ostracized heavy metal.  The prevailing sentiment about heavy metal was that it was loud, noisy distortions that was associated with violence and aggression (1b).  Zeppelin combined a range of rock styles that appealed to both their young ardent followers, but also to general music listeners.  My own interpretation of Zeppelin is though they had the loud, fast-paced, electric guitar distortion abundant, virtuosic solo-laden stylings of heavy metal, they appealed to a greater audience because their music could convey light, whimsical, sexual, spiritual, mythical, and even adventurous atmospheres.

From the New Yardbirds to Zeppelin

Left to right–John Bohnam (drums), Robert Plant (singer), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass).  Image courtesy of ledzeppelin.com (2)

The English rock group of Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (singer), John Paul Jones (bassist), and John Bonham (drummer) started out as the New Yardbirds, a succession of Page’s previous rock band, when they rehearsed in a small London basement studio in 1968 (3).  Out of serendipity the first song they rehearsed together “Train Kept A-Rollin”, which was a cover from the original Yardbirds, set the heavy metal energy and tone that embodied their subsequent music (3).  The band was instantly excited as reminisced by Page and Plant:

Page: “I think everybody just freaked…It was so powerful that I don’t remember what we played after that. For me it was just like, ‘Crikey!’ I mean, I’d had moments of elation with groups before, but nothing as intense as that. It was like a thunderbolt, a lightning flash – boosh! Everyone sort of went ‘Wow’”. (4) Biographer Mick Wall interview from “When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin”

 

Plant: “I could feel that something was happening to myself and to everyone else in the room. It felt like we’d found something that we had to be very careful with because we might lose it, but it was remarkable: the power.” (3) 1990 interview

Song 1:  Train Kept A-Rollin

The New Yardbirds played their first concert on September 7, 1968 opening with “Train” in Denmark (5).  A month later the band officially renamed themselves Led Zeppelin and would continue playing “Train” as their opening number while touring through 1969 (6).  Zeppelin toured 139 times in 1969, mostly in the United States where they built up a following, while only playing 33 times in the United Kingdom (7).  One reason why Zeppelin’s rendition of “Train” is an ideal introduction for heavy metal was because it represented their first unbridled moments of genuine fun early in the band’s tenure together.  If you listen to their first two albums (Led Zeppelin I and II), you would hear very little heavy metal besides the token guitar or drum solo in every song.  The band was still experimenting with their sound, and unfortunately were stealing bits and pieces from other songs and writers (8).  In an interview with biographer Stephen Davis, he explained that early on Zeppelin was in a rush to push out their first two albums (both released in 1969) and so they appropriated various blues and folk standards, some of which they inappropriately took writing credits for (8, 9).  None of these songs fully emulated the frenetic energy, heavy guitar distortion (with a sprinkle of harmonica in this instance) of “Train”.  Perhaps because “Train” was Page’s former band’s own cover, and obviously too familiar, Zeppelin never recorded it in studio leaving only concert goers familiar with it.  “Train” remained one of the band’s opening favorites on tour even years later and was adopted by fellow rock contemporaries in Aerosmith.

MTV video host J.J. Jackson put it best about “Train”:

Jackson: “I don’t really like throwing Led Zeppelin’s music into any one bag; in particular, calling them heavy metal…But if this were the only recording somebody ever heard of them, it doesn’t get much more ‘heavy metal’ sounding than this, does it?” (10) Interview with biographer Dave Lewis from “Led Zeppelin: A Celebration”

Spontaneous combustion in Iceland

Exhausted from a year of constant touring and intermittent recording sessions, Page and Plant retreated to a remote cottage in Wales during the winter in 1969 (7).  The lack of electricity or running water there influenced them towards a more acoustic arrangement of songs including “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp”, named after the cottage they stayed at (7).  During a 1970 tour through Iceland, the band was inspired to write an ode to the ancestors of their gracious Icelandic hosts.

Song 2: “Immigrant Song”

“Immigrant Song” starts off fast repeated guitar chords and drum back beat leading into a wailing warrior cry from Plant.  The lyrics are from the Viking conquerors’ perspective as they sail to new lands.

Lines such as:

The hammer of the gods

We’ll drive our ships to new lands

To fight the horde, and sing and cry

Valhalla, I am coming!”

and

How soft your fields so green

Can whisper tales of gore

Of how we calmed the tides of war

We are your overlords”

all evoke feelings of Viking battle and adventure into new land.  In this case, yes “Immigrant Song” alludes to some of the violent rhetoric associated with heavy metal, but it does so in a fun way.  “Immigrant song” was released on Zeppelin’s third album as the opening track, and then re-released as a single a month later.  The elements of heavy metal are undeniable in this song: aggressive repeated guitar riffing; fast, loud drum beats and rhythm; improvised solo play from Page; and energetic vocals from Plant.  “Immigrant Song” is a breath of fresh rock spontaneity and energy that livened up an otherwise folksy and bluesy third album for Zeppelin.

From crisis comes Achilles

One reason why so many English bands toured so extensively outside the UK from the 1960s on was income tax.  Following WWII, the UK was especially harsh with rates as high as 98% for the wealthy on income and investments throughout the 1970s, which was why Zeppelin took a self-imposed exile from their country in 1975 (11, 12).  Page, Plant, and their families traveled around through Morocco, Spain, and Greece that summer until Plant’s family suffered a very serious car crash (12).  Plant broke his lower leg and was wheelchair ridden for over a year with no guarantees of ever walking again.  Plant and Page would stay in Los Angeles for several months, much like their long-ago retreat to Bron-Y-Aur, looking to use that time for therapeutic song writing for their upcoming album “Presence” while Plant recovered (12).  Many of their upcoming songs incorporated their recent experiences of sights and sounds of Moroccan traditions, Spanish flamenco, and even Greek mythology.  “Presence” would turn out to be a cathartic exercise for the band as all the members were wrestling with home sickness and the uncertain future of the band that was tied to Plant’s injury.  For the album Page wanted to write a song that reflected “the façade of a gothic building with layers of tracery and statues”, while Plant wanted to sing about his experiences during that turbulent period in his life (13).  The resulting song was first dubbed the “Wheelchair Song” as a nod to Plant, but here’s a humorous little anecdote from the day they recorded that song leading to its name change.

Song 3: “Achilles Last Stand”

The songs lyrics are pay homage to Greek mythology of the Trojan War, used as double entendres for Plant’s own memories from his summer travelling.   It was thus fitting that the song be re-named “Achilles Last Stand” given the Greek references as well as a humorous jab towards Plant being felled by his foot like the hero Achilles.

In the lines:

It was an April morning when they told us we should go
As I turn to you, you smiled at me
How could we say no

….

Into the sun, the south, the north
At last the birds have flown
The shackles of commitment fell
In pieces on the ground

…

Wandering and wandering
What place to rest the search?
The mighty arms of Atlas
Hold the heavens from the earth

The first verse both describes the time the Greek armies sailed for Troy, but is also meant to reflect when the band traveled during their tax-exile.  The second verse describes birds used by the the Gods as omens of victory over the battlefield of Troy (just as a fun reference, an eagle clutching a snake is killed by its captive and falls on top of the battlefield that signaled the Trojans would lose), but it also describes the band members scattering in all directions as they traveled (15).  And the final verse describes wayward Odysseus searching for home and describes Atlas (a Titan tasked with holding the sky above the Earth), but was also the Atlas mountains which Plant saw.

“Achilles” was Page and Plant’s self-indulgent opus for the album; with a runtime over 10 minutes long, there’s little chance that radio stations would air it.  If you listen closely, you’ll hear the presence of two guitars harmonizing at parts.  As mentioned before, Page wanted layers, so he recorded many separate guitar tracks to be overdubbed, which gives the song a particularly thick guitar sound (14).  The song is full of call-and-response riffs and solo play from Page’s guitar tracks and Bonham’s drumming, as if all these elements are in a constant back-and-forth battle.  Plant’s emotional attachment to the lyrics is also evident in his vigorous delivery.  “Achilles” is an understated song from Zeppelin, again most likely due to limited airplay on radio, but it is an undeniable heavy metal epic that bombards the listener from start to finish.  Listen from 6:45 onwards for a sample of their energy that makes me want to do battle in Troy.

Summary

When I started listening to Zeppelin songs for this blog I found myself asking “are they even metal”?  The answer I have reached is “yes…sometimes”.  From their beginning, Zeppelin’s music has had other genre elements embedded in their sound such as blues and folk.  It was this fusion of genres, combined with Page’s unmatched electric guitar playing especially, that allowed Zeppelin’s metal sound to reach a mainstream audience.  This was a major reason why I agreed on Zeppelin being recognized as the seminal heavy metal band as stated in our text; without them reaching popularity and breaking away from negative preconceptions of heavy metal, future metal bands may have sounded very different or not have reached nearly the same commercial success.  The songs that I picked all share a fast-paced beat made with dense drum and bass, emphatic rhythms, improvised solo play, ample electric guitar distortions, and vigorous vocals that when delivered all together were what allowed Zeppelin to break enter popular music.

(1) Campbell, Michael, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On Fourth Edition, Boston MA, USA, Clark Baxter, 2013. p. 259

(1b) Campbell, Michael, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On Fourth Edition, Boston MA, USA, Clark Baxter, 2013. p. 382

(2) “Led Zeppelin 1968-1969.” Led Zeppelin – Official Website. Accessed August 10, 2018. http://www.ledzeppelin.com/photos/led-zeppelin/1968-1969

(3) “First Rehearsal | [title].” Led Zeppelin – Official Website. August 12, 1968. Accessed August 10, 2018. http://www.ledzeppelin.com/event/august-12-1968

(4) Wall, Mick. When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 2010. p. 46

(5) “Led Zeppelin Teen-Clubs, Box 45, Egegaard Skole – September 7, 1968.” Led Zeppelin – Official Website. September 07, 1968. Accessed August 10, 2018. http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/september-7-1968

(6) Lewis, Dave, and Simon Pallett. Led Zeppelin: The Concert File. London: Omnibus, 2005. p. 21

(7) Gilmore, Mikal. “The Long Shadow of Led Zeppelin.” Rolling Stone. June 25, 2018. Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-long-shadow-of-led-zeppelin-184055/

(8) Edwards, Gavin. “Led Zeppelin’s 10 Boldest Rip-Offs.” Rolling Stone. June 25, 2018. Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/led-zeppelins-10-boldest-rip-offs-223419/

(9) “Led Zeppelin’s Blues Roots.” NPR. February 29, 2008. Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87803133

(10) Lewis, Dave. Led Zeppelin: A Celebration. London: Omnibus Press, 1991. p. 16

(12) Wall, Mick. “How Presence Pulled Led Zeppelin Back from the Brink of Crisis.” Loudersound. July 14, 2017. Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-presence-pulled-led-zeppelin-back-from-the-brink-of-crisis

(13) “Plant Car Accident, Tour Postponed (Press Release) | [title].” Led Zeppelin – Official Website. August 08, 1975. Accessed August 11, 2018. http://www.ledzeppelin.com/event/august-8-1975

(14) Power, Martin. No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page. London: Omnibus Press, 2016.

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).

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).

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