Around 100 years ago two boxers competed for the “heavyweight king of the world” in a wooden arena in Reno, Nevada. James Jackson Jeffries was referred to as the “Boilermaker”. After retiring from his undefeated career he started farming. Age 35, six foot one and a half inches, 227 pounds. John “Jack” Arthur Johnson was referred to as the “Galveston Giant”, a previous title winner. Age 32, five foot eleven inches, and lighter than Jeffries. Johnson had everything going for him, except that he was African-American. Going into the fight Jeffries stated: “I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro”. Johnson on the other hand had equal rights on the line and he would not back down (Walsh, 2010).

The only thing Scott Joplin had in common with Johnson is that he too was African-American. Joplin was born in 1867 in Texas on the “black side of town”. He studied piano and European musical culture and became famous in 1899 for his work “Maple Leaf Rag”. Joplin was in New York City around the time of the fight of the century completing his opera: Treem

onisha. Ragtime got a different spin put on it by Joplin; he added African syncopation and opera lyrics  (Walsh, 2010).

Joplin wanted more than fame. As did Johnson.

Newspapers lit up the following day to rehash what occurred once the fight had ended. Most of the twenty six people dead and hundreds injured were black  (Walsh, 2010).

Johnson went on to get married a number of times, lose more fights, and go to prison. In 1946 he crashed while racing and died at age 68  (Walsh, 2010).

Joplin couldn’t find publishers for his work, his health failed, his pia

no rags dwindled, and in 1917 he died at age 49. His work Treemonisha finally got its world depute in 1972  (Walsh, 2010).

Optimism for the African-American Community

Joplin was hopeful when President Roosevelt had Booker T. Washington at the White House for dinner in 1901. Joplin honoured this event in his work. However his optimism was not shared by othe

rs as racist newspapers spread the following day (Walsh, 2010). Joplin continued to compose music that referenced important events and ones that related to the harsh realities of African-American.

In 1910 black migrants began to learn of the opportunities that they had been kept from in the past: sports and entertainment. These outlets allowed immigrants to work towards “the American dream” (Walsh, 2010). All-black musicals on Broadway began to flourish; Clorindy, the Origin of th

e Cakewalk, and In Dahomey. The Harlem renaissance began in the 1920s encompassing poets, painters, writers, and musicians. Joplin missed it by a few years (Walsh, 2010). The dramas, shows, songs, and art culture get-togethers aimed to make the relationship between the races less violent.

Sports too, especially boxing, allowed for the mingling of races though

white America viewed the heavyweight title as a symbol of white supremacy. The fight was viewed in theatres everywhere. Jeffries couldn’t keep up to Johnson’s quick movements. In the 15^th round Jeffries finally got floored and lost for the first time.  Johnson reflected the growing sense of optimism in a less humbling way than Joplin did but they for the same reasons. Equal rights. Johnson’s successes encouraged other African-American athletes to compete against white people in American stadium

s to demand equality. Johnson taking down Jeffries was a huge shock to the nation, an African-American boxer won the heavyweight title again in 1937  (Walsh, 2010).

Stereotypes

Johnson used his fame with an attitude of “anything you can do I can do better”. Throughout the fight he taunted Jeffries nonstop (Walsh, 2010). Johnson challenged racial stereotypes by fighting a well-known boxer and winning, becoming famous, attaining wealth, working his

butt off, and getting with the ladies. He bought fast cars, dated and married white women, and opened cafes and nightclubs to prove his point  (Walsh, 2010).

Philosophy

 “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.”  – Booker T. Wa

shington

Joplin intentionally adhered to the philosophy of Booker T. Washington while Johnson unintentionally embraced the philosophy. Joplin’s Treemonisha reflected Washington’s lesson because the young female character lead her people, defeated obstacles, and advocated for education. Washington believed training and education were the keys to racial advancement and that one should demonstrate equality with patience

, industry, thrift, and usefulness. Johnson embraced the philosophy through his boxing training and overcame obstacles by winning the heavyweight championship (Walsh, 2010).

Vulture Tone

The tone of the article by Mark Harris suggests that everybody feels sorry for themselves and no one takes responsibility. Comparing it

to the article by Michael Walsh it is a lot more negative. Walsh’s article was hopeful regarding the future of sport and music for African-Americans, it encompassed the attitude of “it can only get better (Walsh, 2010).  In contrast, Harris’s article expresses that hope for humanity

is lost because we are a materialistic society and instead of caring about natural disasters and poverty we are tuning in to watch two men make millions of dollars by beating each other half to death  (Harris, 2017).

Eras of History

Harris’s article suggests that celebrities, and as a result, people in general, are constantly re-branding themselves in the era of Trump. Pop culture embodies a man who is self-selling, ignorant and cynical (Harris, 2017). We live by the retraction of personal responsibility, we clear ourselves from blame. Pop culture wouldn’t be popular if it weren’t for us. We share the fault. This statement highlights what the forefront issues are in our society “seeking fame, not love, because, after all, when you’re a star, they let you do anything” (Harris, 2017).  Wealth and power are the be-all, end-all.

Walsh’s article suggests that people were held responsible for their actions. The era, for African-Americans, embodied Washington’s philosophy where each finger had to be contribute to the hand. One should be patient and useful whereas Harris’s article suggests the opposite (Walsh, 2010).

Influence on Popular Music

Reading the article makes me think twice about listening to popular music these days. I wasn’t thinking about Taylor Swift in that light at all. I own many of her cds but I have realized that she promotes being a victim and she has branded herself promiscuously so that I can no longer take her seriously. When you turn on the radio you should try to understand what the artist is getting at and what story they are trying to tell. I’m positive my interest in songs played on C95 will dwindle now that I have the Trump era mindset in my head.

#M2Q2

Harris, M. (2017). Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ Is the First Pure Piece of Trump-Era Pop Art. Vulture. Retrieved from http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-pure-trump-era-pop-art.html

Walsh, M. (2010). A Year of Hope for Joplin and Johnson. Smithsonian. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-year-of-hope-for-joplin-and-johnson-123024/

Hello everyone.

My name is Virgil Sun. For my first blog post, I would like to talk about Jelly Roll Morton, so-called the inventor of Jazz.

However, the first time that I know this man was from the movie: The Legend of 1900.  During the piano duel, Jelly Roll Morton played Big Foot Ham, The Crave and Finger breaker which shocked me in my young age.

Background

Jelly Roll Morton was born on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana, “a mix of African, French, and Spanish—he eventually adopted the last name of his stepfather, Morton.”  He was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, an early innovator in the jazz genre, he rose to fame as the leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, also known for influencing the formation of modern-day jazz during the 1920s.

He was recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, he is perhaps most notable as jazz’s first arranger, and he is believed to have been the first jazz musician to put his arrangements to paper.  Morton’s claim to have invented jazz in 1902 aroused resentment, the lies left a terrible impression on the fans, which is also a significant reason why he has long been despised.

Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red-light district bordello, where he earned the nickname “Jelly Roll.” He played in Los Angeles from 1917 to 1922 and later moved to Chicago, where he reached the peak of his career for the next six years.

Original Jelly Roll Blues

“Original Jelly Roll Blues” usually shortened to and known as “Jelly Roll Blues,” composed by Jelly Roll Morton.  “The Red Hot Peppers version is a typical New Orleans jazz presentation where the trumpet, clarinet, and trombone play lead melody and counterpoint, with the piano, guitar, string bass and drums providing the rhythmic accompaniment. However, Morton varies and enriches this basic structure by providing many instrumental breaks in suspended rhythm, as well as giving the horns and the piano solo passages”.

Mixed with tango-like rhythm and flavor, Jelly Roll Blues is a prime example of the mixture of the international cultural influences that produced New Orleans jazz.  “In this record and several other Morton recordings of 1926-7, the New Orleans early jazz style, as a collective blend of instruments varying the basic melody using both composed, written notes and improvisation, reached its peak of artistic development”.

The Crave

The Crave is the first jazz music that I have ever listened to and also my favorite.  In the movie The Legend of 1900, the main character 1900 can’t help crying and re-played this music in his own style.

“Jelly Roll Morton did not play, he caressed those notes, his hands were butterflies, so light.”

In this composition, Jelly makes use of Spanish rhythms for a piano style that he refers to as “Spanish Tinge.”  “Now in one of my earliest tunes, New Orleans Blues, you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for Jazz”. —— Jelly Roll Morton

Black Bottom Stomp

Another of Morton’s rhythmic penchants was the use of “stop time,” which used short intervals of suspenseful silence to build the momentum of a song or dramatically introduce a solo. These diverse elements, along with Morton’s flair for intricate and energetic arrangements, are all evident on compositions like “Black Bottom Stomp,” which Morton recorded with his Red Hot Peppers between 1926 and 1930.

Later Career

When the Great Depression came, Morton’s days became harder, and he gradually went downhill. Like other characters in classical jazz, his music was considered obsolete. Morton’s fate seems to be more unfortunate than many of the early jazz masters. In New York, he has few real friends because of his poor reputation. No one is willing to give him a rescuing hand during difficult times. Moreover, Morton, who has a strong personality, is not willing to work as a spare, it is a shame for him to accompaniment for others. In his view, glory is more important than work, so he has been in a state of unemployment for a long time.

Ironically, classical jazz re-emerged shortly after his death. The revival of New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland Jazz was carried out vigorously. As the famous trombone player Kid Ory said, if he can live for a few more years, he may also achieve the glory of his most prosperous period.

References

Jelly Roll Morton Biography. (2014, April 2). The Biography. https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945

Jelly Roll Morton AMERICAN MUSICIAN. (2018, July 6).  The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jelly-Roll-Morton

Sandmel, Ben “Jelly Roll Morton.” In knowlouisiana.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010–. Article published February 25, 2013. http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/jelly-roll-morton.

Ragtime · Blues · Hot Piano Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton [Digital image]. Retrieved July 10, 2018, http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/jelly24.html

The Crave Jelly Roll Morton. 20sJazz. http://www.20sjazz.com/videos/jelly-roll-morton/the-crave-1.html

The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music, September 2004, Cambridge University Press, p. 131

Hello everyone.

My name is Virgil Sun. For my first blog post, I would like to talk about Jelly Roll Morton, so-called the inventor of Jazz.

However, the first time that I know this man was from the movie: The Legend of 1900.  During the piano duel, Jelly Roll Morton played Big Foot Ham, The Crave and Finger breaker which shocked me in my young age.

Background

Jelly Roll Morton was born on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana, “a mix of African, French, and Spanish—he eventually adopted the last name of his stepfather, Morton.”  He was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, an early innovator in the jazz genre, he rose to fame as the leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, also known for influencing the formation of modern-day jazz during the 1920s.

He was recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, he is perhaps most notable as jazz’s first arranger, and he is believed to have been the first jazz musician to put his arrangements to paper.  Morton’s claim to have invented jazz in 1902 aroused resentment, the lies left a terrible impression on the fans, which is also a significant reason why he has long been despised.

Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red-light district bordello, where he earned the nickname “Jelly Roll.” He played in Los Angeles from 1917 to 1922 and later moved to Chicago, where he reached the peak of his career for the next six years.

Original Jelly Roll Blues

“Original Jelly Roll Blues” usually shortened to and known as “Jelly Roll Blues,” composed by Jelly Roll Morton.  “The Red Hot Peppers version is a typical New Orleans jazz presentation where the trumpet, clarinet, and trombone play lead melody and counterpoint, with the piano, guitar, string bass and drums providing the rhythmic accompaniment. However, Morton varies and enriches this basic structure by providing many instrumental breaks in suspended rhythm, as well as giving the horns and the piano solo passages”.

Mixed with tango-like rhythm and flavor, Jelly Roll Blues is a prime example of the mixture of the international cultural influences that produced New Orleans jazz.  “In this record and several other Morton recordings of 1926-7, the New Orleans early jazz style, as a collective blend of instruments varying the basic melody using both composed, written notes and improvisation, reached its peak of artistic development”.

The Crave

The Crave is the first jazz music that I have ever listened to and also my favorite.  In the movie The Legend of 1900, the main character 1900 can’t help crying and re-played this music in his own style.

“Jelly Roll Morton did not play, he caressed those notes, his hands were butterflies, so light.”

In this composition, Jelly makes use of Spanish rhythms for a piano style that he refers to as “Spanish Tinge.”  “Now in one of my earliest tunes, New Orleans Blues, you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for Jazz”. —— Jelly Roll Morton

Black Bottom Stomp

Another of Morton’s rhythmic penchants was the use of “stop time,” which used short intervals of suspenseful silence to build the momentum of a song or dramatically introduce a solo. These diverse elements, along with Morton’s flair for intricate and energetic arrangements, are all evident on compositions like “Black Bottom Stomp,” which Morton recorded with his Red Hot Peppers between 1926 and 1930.

Later Career

When the Great Depression came, Morton’s days became harder, and he gradually went downhill. Like other characters in classical jazz, his music was considered obsolete. Morton’s fate seems to be more unfortunate than many of the early jazz masters. In New York, he has few real friends because of his poor reputation. No one is willing to give him a rescuing hand during difficult times. Moreover, Morton, who has a strong personality, is not willing to work as a spare, it is a shame for him to accompaniment for others. In his view, glory is more important than work, so he has been in a state of unemployment for a long time.

Ironically, classical jazz re-emerged shortly after his death. The revival of New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland Jazz was carried out vigorously. As the famous trombone player Kid Ory said, if he can live for a few more years, he may also achieve the glory of his most prosperous period.

References

Jelly Roll Morton Biography. (2014, April 2). The Biography. https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945

Jelly Roll Morton AMERICAN MUSICIAN. (2018, July 6).  The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jelly-Roll-Morton

Sandmel, Ben “Jelly Roll Morton.” In knowlouisiana.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010–. Article published February 25, 2013. http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/jelly-roll-morton.

Ragtime · Blues · Hot Piano Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton [Digital image]. Retrieved July 10, 2018, http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/jelly24.html

The Crave Jelly Roll Morton. 20sJazz. http://www.20sjazz.com/videos/jelly-roll-morton/the-crave-1.html

The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music, September 2004, Cambridge University Press, p. 131

Hello everyone.

My name is Virgil Sun. For my first blog post, I would like to talk about Jelly Roll Morton, so-called the inventor of Jazz.

However, the first time that I know this man was from the movie: The Legend of 1900.  During the piano duel, Jelly Roll Morton played Big Foot Ham, The Crave and Finger breaker which shocked me in my young age.

Background

Jelly Roll Morton was born on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana, “a mix of African, French, and Spanish—he eventually adopted the last name of his stepfather, Morton.”  He was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, an early innovator in the jazz genre, he rose to fame as the leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, also known for influencing the formation of modern-day jazz during the 1920s.

He was recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, he is perhaps most notable as jazz’s first arranger, and he is believed to have been the first jazz musician to put his arrangements to paper.  Morton’s claim to have invented jazz in 1902 aroused resentment, the lies left a terrible impression on the fans, which is also a significant reason why he has long been despised.

Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red-light district bordello, where he earned the nickname “Jelly Roll.” He played in Los Angeles from 1917 to 1922 and later moved to Chicago, where he reached the peak of his career for the next six years.

Original Jelly Roll Blues

“Original Jelly Roll Blues” usually shortened to and known as “Jelly Roll Blues,” composed by Jelly Roll Morton.  “The Red Hot Peppers version is a typical New Orleans jazz presentation where the trumpet, clarinet, and trombone play lead melody and counterpoint, with the piano, guitar, string bass and drums providing the rhythmic accompaniment. However, Morton varies and enriches this basic structure by providing many instrumental breaks in suspended rhythm, as well as giving the horns and the piano solo passages”.

Mixed with tango-like rhythm and flavor, Jelly Roll Blues is a prime example of the mixture of the international cultural influences that produced New Orleans jazz.  “In this record and several other Morton recordings of 1926-7, the New Orleans early jazz style, as a collective blend of instruments varying the basic melody using both composed, written notes and improvisation, reached its peak of artistic development”.

The Crave

The Crave is the first jazz music that I have ever listened to and also my favorite.  In the movie The Legend of 1900, the main character 1900 can’t help crying and re-played this music in his own style.

“Jelly Roll Morton did not play, he caressed those notes, his hands were butterflies, so light.”

In this composition, Jelly makes use of Spanish rhythms for a piano style that he refers to as “Spanish Tinge.”  “Now in one of my earliest tunes, New Orleans Blues, you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for Jazz”. —— Jelly Roll Morton

Black Bottom Stomp

Another of Morton’s rhythmic penchants was the use of “stop time,” which used short intervals of suspenseful silence to build the momentum of a song or dramatically introduce a solo. These diverse elements, along with Morton’s flair for intricate and energetic arrangements, are all evident on compositions like “Black Bottom Stomp,” which Morton recorded with his Red Hot Peppers between 1926 and 1930.

Later Career

When the Great Depression came, Morton’s days became harder, and he gradually went downhill. Like other characters in classical jazz, his music was considered obsolete. Morton’s fate seems to be more unfortunate than many of the early jazz masters. In New York, he has few real friends because of his poor reputation. No one is willing to give him a rescuing hand during difficult times. Moreover, Morton, who has a strong personality, is not willing to work as a spare, it is a shame for him to accompaniment for others. In his view, glory is more important than work, so he has been in a state of unemployment for a long time.

Ironically, classical jazz re-emerged shortly after his death. The revival of New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland Jazz was carried out vigorously. As the famous trombone player Kid Ory said, if he can live for a few more years, he may also achieve the glory of his most prosperous period.

References

Jelly Roll Morton Biography. (2014, April 2). The Biography. https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945

Jelly Roll Morton AMERICAN MUSICIAN. (2018, July 6).  The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jelly-Roll-Morton

Sandmel, Ben “Jelly Roll Morton.” In knowlouisiana.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010–. Article published February 25, 2013. http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/jelly-roll-morton.

Ragtime · Blues · Hot Piano Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton [Digital image]. Retrieved July 10, 2018, http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/jelly24.html

The Crave Jelly Roll Morton. 20sJazz. http://www.20sjazz.com/videos/jelly-roll-morton/the-crave-1.html

The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music, September 2004, Cambridge University Press, p. 131

Why did black people don blackface in early American theatre? Explain the power dynamics of blackface worn by black performers.

African –American people were not accepted to perform on stage for most of the 19^th The site of them was not tolerable to white audiences so in order for the white audience to feel more comfortable, they had to put on blackface as if they were Caucasian playing the role of a black person [2].

The interesting power dynamic of black face by black performers allowed the surrendering of the black performer’s power. Blackface was worn as a way to mock the African-American race.

How did ‘Shuffle Along’ reinforce or challenge:

The use of blackface in theater: The use of black face in reinforced or challenged “Shuffle Along” because of the way it was used. Black performers had to use blackface when performing to appear as a Caucasian performing as a black person. This showed that they surrendered their power because it mocked their own race.

The taboo of black sexuality: The observation of the white reaction to the song ‘Love Will Find a Way’ by Roger Matthews and Lottie Gee, the prima donna, was not what Les Walton, a journalist expected as they expressed more discomfort as opposed to rage or revolt [2]. White audiences did not want colored people to show too much affection from black individuals on stage. The audience would applaud if a coloured man serenades a girl at the window, but once he begins to resemble a Romeo, then he has crossed a line due to the fact black sexuality was dangerous to them [2].

Typical rhythms in musical theater: “Shuffle Along” challenged typical rhythms in musical theater because the “changes were often seemed as less rhythmical than mathematical” [2]. This made the pattern and rhythm much more difficult for dancers to follow.

Chorus lines: The chorus lines for “Shuffle Along” were mainly dance jazz, which was performed by stereotypical chorus girls. Josephine Baker was one of the performers on the chorus line.

Which song remains the most well-known from Shuffle Along? Had you heard this song before?

The song that remains most well-known from Shuffle along is “I’m Just Wild About Harry”. It is a song that most people can hum to and it was used as the theme song for Harry S. Truman’s presidential campaign in 1948 [2]. The song was written by African-Americans and was not used again till Barack Obama’s candidacy.

Explain what «patting Juba» meant, and who was Juba (the second Juba). Why is this story included, and how does it tie to our main story?

In the 1840s, P.T Barnum had a white kid in one of his shows named Diamond, the second Juba, who performed Juba or Juber dancing. “Patting Juba” is African dancing, plantation dancing. Juba was the inspiration behind the blacks and Irish-Americans creating tap. Juba was performed by you drumming on your body, slapping your chest and knees and the soles of your feet. Diamond would dance in blackface and Juba was seen as a black thing. Diamond ended up running away in 1841 due to him supposedly being dishonest with financial dealings before Barnum found out. Barnum was without his Juba dancer. He found the best in the world, a young boy that would come and perform for him in replacement of the second Juba. The first Juba was black and had to don the blackface [2]. This ties into our main story with how coloured individuals achieved small victories by donning the blackface.

Here is a video of the Juba Dance for you to have a better understanding what the Juba dance is:

Which claims about the historical significance of Shuffle Along are not exactly true? Who or what should actually claim this title?

Most of the claims that are made for “Shuffle Along” say that it is the first black Broadway show or the first successful one. Which isn’t exactly true because William’s and Walker’s show “Bandanna Land” of 1907-1909 was a black show performed over a decade before “Shuffle Along”. “Bandanna Land” should claim the first black successful Broadway show [2].

Explain the concept of the 2016 show and how it celebrated Shuffle Along. How does it approach the material?

There had been previous attempts in reviving “Shuffle Along” in 1932 and 1952 but both of them failed. George Wolfe, who started the recent revival portrayed it as not a revival, but a transformation. The new title for the show would be “Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”. He would not redo the show but instead “he would tell the story of the original creators and cast and how they pulled it off” [2]. This approach would give a voice to various white outsiders during the original show. This was approached through things such as syncopation, dancing and singing which were preserved.

Here is a sample of the performance of “Shuffle Along” when it was performed in 2017:

What new information came to light for you when reading this article, and does it change your perspective on the conditions and challenges faced by early African American performers?

What I learned from reading this article was the challenges African Americans went through in order to do things that they loved. Black performers were treated unfairly and went through many difficulties such as performing through blackface and the discomfort that was expressed upon them when too much affection was shown within their performance.

Look back to the section entitled ‘Minstrelsy and American Popular Music’ in your textbook (page 28), specifically the paragraph that begins “Minstrelsy would give blacks…” – in light of the article, do you feel this paragraph (or the textbook in general) offers a fair perspective on blackface in America? Why or why not?

After reading his section in the textbook, I feel like the textbook does not portray blackface and minstrels in light to what has occurred. It portrays Minstrels as more of a positive thing that contributed to four important firsts that influenced the coming generations of popular music:

“1. It was entertainment for the masses.

2. It used vernacular speech for music.

3. It created a new genre of music by synthesizing middle-class urban song and folk music.

4. It was the first instance of a phenomenon in American popular music that has continued to the present day: that of invigorating and transforming the dominant popular style through the infusion of energetic, often danceable music [1]”.

From the wording of the textbook and how it explains Minstrels, it gives them a positive outlook and that Minstrels were important. It portrays blackface as a positive occurrence. In my opinion, blackface was not a positive portrayal and offers up an unfair perspective of how it is viewed in America.

Works Cited:

[1] Campbell, Michael. 2012. Popular Music In America: The Beat Goes On. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Schirmer.

[2] Sullivan, John. 2016. “‘Shuffle Along’ And The Lost History Of Black Performance In America”. Nytimes.Com. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html?mcubz=1

Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe was born in New Orleans on October 20^th, 1890. He was a mix of African, French and Spanish ethnicity and eventually changed his last name to Morton, which was used by his stepfather [5].

At the age of 10, Morton began to play piano and a few years later, he was playing in the red light district bordellos. This is where he earned his nickname “Jelly Roll” [5]. He was on the forefront of a movement that would be known as “jazz” when he would have blended styles of ragtime, minstrelsy and the blues, and with undertones of Caribbean dance rhythms [3].

From 1904 to 1917 he roamed around the south as a gambler, pool shark, pimp, vaudeville comedian and a pianist. He began to hit his stride from 1917 to 1922 when he played on the West Coast and then in Chicago. In 1923 and 1924, he began recording piano solos for the Gennett label where they proved to be popular and influential [2]. Some of his most innovative and creative jazz and popular music emerged, such as “King Porter Stomp”, “New Orleans Stomp”, and “Kansas City Stomp” [3]. Beginning in 1926, Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, a seven or eight piece band that was a New Orleans ensemble style, produced hits such as “Black Bottom Stomp” and “Smoke-House Blues”. The sound and style helped lay the foundation for the swing movement [2].

By the early 1930s Morton’s fame began to become overshadowed by Louis Armstrong and other emerging innovators [5]. Morton recorded again briefly in 1939-1940 but due to his failing health that he blamed on a voodoo curse Morton had to stop. He died in 1941 [3].

Morton faced challenges at the beginning of his career. He was never hesitant to promote himself and claimed he had ‘invented’ jazz, but in reality he was just the first great jazz musician to write down his music. He worked as a young teen in clubs and brothels of Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans [6]. Working in this environment proved to be a challenge that needed to be overcome. It wasn’t until 1923 where he finally caught a break and signed with a record company where he began to produce and record music.

Morton’s contribution to music is the consideration that he is the inventor of jazz. This is questionable, he is the first to put his jazz style music onto paper, however there is no record of him being the sole inventor of jazz. No question about it though, he had a powerful influence by his ability to play the piano and was a great musician people still adore to this day.

“King Porter Stomp” is a piano solo that was recorded by Morton in 1923. I chose this song because it shows the emergence of swing-era jazz that Jelly Roll Morton helped establish. This song is one of his first recordings he did and it represents the brilliance as to what was in store for the years to come.

“Black Bottom Stomp” by Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers is a jazz composition that was recorded in 1926 [2].  His band was more New Orleans style which is a seven or eight piece ensemble. In this song you can hear trumpet, clarinet, trombone, piano, bass, drums and others. I chose this song because this was one of the first recordings with his band. The way Morton is able to incorporate two-beats and four-beats into this song and in among other structures of music. It is fascinating in how he was able to achieve this style. This song is personally one of my favorites that I heard of Jelly Roll Morton’s work.

“Doctor Jazz” is a third song I found interesting. It was recorded by Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers in 1926. This song was a great example of early New Orleans style jazz. There is an increasing in intensity towards the end of the song and various solos from the members on different instruments. In this song you can hear Jell Roll Morton’s piano solo and him singing for a bit.  I chose this song because it was one of his songs I could not stop tapping my foot to as I kept listening to it on repeat.

Works Cited:

[1] Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. n.d. Jelly Roll Morton. Accessed July 18 18, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jelly-Roll-Morton.

[2] n.d. Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton born Ferdinand Lamothe. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html.

[3] History. n.d. Jazz great Jelly Roll Morton dies. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jazz-great-jelly-roll-morton-dies.

[4] n.d. Jelly Roll Morton. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/music/musichistory/musicgreats/jellyroll.html.

[5] 2014. Jelly Roll Morton Biography. April 2. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945.

[6] Spitzer, Nick. 2000. King Porter Stomp. October 16. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2000/10/16/1112571/npr-100-i-king-porter-stomp-i.

Good afternoon, everyone! My name is Emily Huel and before I dive into today’s blog post, I would like everyone to consider the following three songs: “She’s a Lady,” “Love Never Felt So Good,” and opening theme to Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show (which were respectively performed by Tom Jones, Michael Jackson, and the Tonight Show Band).

Despite the fact that these songs cover a relatively broad range of musical styles and, to a far lesser extent, time periods, the three of them were all written or co-written by the same man: Paul Anka.

Beginnings:

Paul Anka was born on July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Canada. His parents, who were Lebanese/Syrian immigrants, owned a restaurant that was popular among various entertainers.¹  It was at this restaurant, the Locanda, where Anka honed his trademark charm, “schmoozing with. . . Ottawa journalists, politicians, and businessmen.”²  A gifted writer, Anka originally planned to become a journalist and worked for the Ottawa Citizen for a brief period. However, Anka had always been interested in Music: he grew up singing in his church choir and took piano lessons. When he was thirteen, he formed his own group: The Bobbysoxers.³ His first attempt at recording resulted in some success: while visiting his uncle in Los Angeles, he was able to convince Modern Record’s Ernie Freeman to sign him to label’s subsidiary, RPM. His first recorded song, “Blau-Wile Deveest Fontaine” was released in 1956. While he did achieve some local exposure, appearing in CBC’s Pick the Stars and the Cross-Canada Hit Parade, the single didn’t gain much traction. ⁴ In 1957, after spending three months collecting soup labels, Anka won a trip to New York. Here he was able to secure a meeting with ABC-Paramount Record’s Don Costa, who agreed to sign him.⁵ In 1957, the sixteen-year-old Anka made his debut on network television, performing his song “Diana” on American Bandstand.⁶ “Diana,” a song Anka wrote about an older teen crush, was his first single: the song soon became the No. 1 song in the world and would eventually sell over 20 million copies, securing Anka’s place among other crooners of his day.⁷

As a Crooner:

As described by one French reviewer, a “Paul Anka cocktail” could be described as a “finger of Johnnie Ray, a touch of Frankie Laine, the zest of Elvis Presley, several drops of the Platters – shake and serve.”⁸ Musically, Anka’s singing could be classified as crooning, which is “an intimate, pleasant singing style.” This allowed crooners (such as Bing Crosby) to sing in an intimate, personal way. Songs that utilized crooning emphasised melody, were slower and less syncopated, and contained more subdued sonorities.⁹ Crooners often used song interpretation to distinguish their songs and did so through inflection, subtle timing, and speech-like presentation.¹⁰ Consider the following song by Paul Anka: “Put Your Head On My Shoulder.”

Now, compare both the song and Anka’s performance of it to the following video of Nat King Cole, who was one of Anka’s crooning predecessors, singing “Unforgettable.”

Both songs are slower love ballads. Lyrically, they both mimic tender words spoken between lovers. Neither are fast-paced and both invoke a dream-like mood from their listening. Furthermore, while Campbell describes “Unforgettable” as a song for slow-dancing.¹¹ Not only is “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” likely a song for slow-dancing, the lyrics themselves actually describe the act of slow-dancing (which, in Anka’s case, could arguably be a “clean” metaphor for love-making). Additionally, there are some similarities between the two performances. In Anka’s performance, he directly interacts and “flirts” with the audience, occasionally blowing kisses and holding the hands of audience members. He plays to a young girl’s libido and he does it well. Anka himself describes his role as a sex-symbol in the documentary Lonely Boy. In this documentary, Anka describes the lengths he went to in order to appeal to teenage girls: he changed his hair, worked out and dieted extensively, and even received a nose job. According to Anka, about 60% of his success involved the emotions of girls and subtle allusions to sex. In summary, he played the role of a lonely young boy so any girl could imagine that he’s singing to her.¹² This method is something that I like to call The Boyfriend Experience. Now, this method is less explicit in Nat King Cole’s performance. However, it is still there, albeit in a subtler way. This done partly by the way the video is filmed. The performance, to an extent, is not filmed as a performance: while we can hear the audience as they cheer, they are more or less absent. Instead, Cole makes up the entirety of the frame and looks directly into the camera. This creates an illusion of personalized intimacy and viewers can easily pretend that Cole is singing sweetly to them. Moreover, Cole’s demeanor is extremely flirty. He has a twinkle in his eye and he occasionally, almost bashfully, looks away. Therefore, by borrowing an understated sex-appeal and the concept of The Boyfriend Experience from artists such as Nat King Cole, Anka aligns himself with other pop-crooners of his time. However, it is Anka’s talent as a keen songwriter that places him within a league of his own.

Later Career and Influence:

Unfortunately for Anka, his newfound success as a crooner was relatively short-lived. By the time that the Rock Revolution hit in the sixties, Anka’s style felt largely out of place. However, Anka purchased the rights to his music and rebranded himself as a songwriter. In addition, to the three songs mentioned at the beginning, Anka also wrote for fellow crooner Frank Sinatra, penning the song “My Way.”¹³ According to Anka, “Songwriting has separated [him] from the pack. It has allowed [him] to survive the cultural changes and musical changes. . .” He even won an Oscar for composing the theme for The Longest Day.¹⁴ Anka has continued to perform and release music over the years (his most recent album, Classic Songs, My Wayis a compilation of covers that span multiple genres and time periods).¹⁵ However, it can be argued that while his singing career made him a heartthrob, it is his writing that made him a legend. Over the course of his career, Anka has written more than 900 songs which have been performed by artists such as Buddy Holly, Barbra Streisand, The Sex Pistols, and Elvis Presley. Globally, as one of the few artists throughout history to have a record in Billboard’s Top 50 charts for six consecutive decades, Paul Anka’s influence transcends his heartthrob beginnings and reaches across multiple genres.¹⁶ Furthermore, to Canadians, Paul Anka was their first homegrown pop-star: at a time when the media strongly favoured American music, Paul Anka likely did for Canada what the Beatles did for the UK and paved the path for later Canadian musicians.¹⁷  As a final fun fact, did you know that Paul Anka was co-owner of the Ottawa Senators during the nineties?¹⁸  As many of us are likely aware, for a young Canadian with big dreams, owning your very own hockey team is likely the ultimate measure of success.

Endnotes:

1. Rachel Cole, “Paul Anka: American Singer and Songwriter,” last modified March 14, 2016, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Anka.
2. “Paul Anka Biography,” Biography,” accessed July 18, 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424.
3. “Biography,” Paul Anka, accessed July 18, 2018, http://paulanka.com/biography/.
4. “Paul Anka,” Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, accessed July 18, 2018, http://www.cshf.ca/songwriter/paul-anka/.
5. “Biography.”
6. “Paul Anka,” Canada’s Walk of Fame, accessed July 18, 2018, https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/2005/paul-anka.
7. “Paul Anka Biography.”
8. “Paul Anka,” Historica Canada, accessed July 18, 2018, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/.
9. Michael Campbell, Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On, 4^th ed (Boston: Schirmer, 2013), 71.
10. Ibid., 153.
11. Ibid., 154.
12. Lonely Boy, directed by Wolf Koening and Roman Kroiter (1962; Montreal, QC: National Film Board of Canada), accessed July 18, 2018, http://www.nfb.ca/film/lonely_boy/.
13. “Paul Anka Biography”
14. “Paul Anka,” Canada Songwriters Hall of Fame.
15. “Biography.”
16. “Paul Anka Biography;” “Paul Anka,” Canada’s Walk of Fame.
17. John Douglas, “9.15 Cold War Themes,” in Canadian History: Post-Confederation (Victoria, BC: BCcampus, n.d.), https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/chapter/9-14-cold-war-themes/.
18. “Expansion Senators thrown an Anka,” UPI, last modified May 13, 1991, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/05/13/Expansion-Senators-thrown-an-Anka/9421674107200/.

Bibliography:

“Biography.” Paul Anka. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://paulanka.com/biography/.

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music: The Beat Goes On. 4^th ed. Boston: Schirmer. 2013.

Cole, Rachel. “Paul Anka: American Singer and Songwriter.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Last Modified March 14, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Anka.

Douglas, John. “9.15 Cold War Themes.” In Canadian History: Post Confederation. Victoria, BC: BCcampus. n.d. https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/chapter/9-14-cold-war-themes/.

“Expansion Senators thrown an Anka.” UPI. Last Modified May 13, 1991. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/05/13/Expansion-Senators-thrown-an-Anka/9421674107200/.

Koening, Wolf, and Roman Kroiter, dirs. Lonely Boy. 1962; Montreal, QC:  National Film Board of Canada. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.nfb.ca/film/lonely_boy/.

“Paul Anka.” Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.cshf.ca/songwriter/paul-anka/.

“Paul Anka.” Canada’s Walk of Fame. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/2005/paul-anka.

“Paul Anka.” Historica Canada. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/.

“Paul Anka Biography.” Biography. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424.