The Payola Scandal of 1959

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by jlk265

The Payola Scandal of 1959

“Payola is the payment of cash or gifts in exchange for airplay.” “Payola” is a contraction of the words “pay” and”Victrola” (LP record player), and entered the English language via the record business. The first court case involving payola was in 1960” (Payola, 2018). Records began to replace live performance as the main way

to hear—and sell—music. And labels recognized that popular disc jockeys could influence sales.Fingers pointed and words flew over payola, but it wasn’t until the TV quiz show scandals of 1958 (most famously, the show Twenty-One was found to be fixed) that the government got seriously involved. Once the “Do you now or have you ever …?” questions began, the jig was up.With the threat of losing their licenses, some radio stations took the precaution of firing disc jockeys who might put them at risk. In November 1959, in closed and open sessions before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, 335 disc jockeys from around the country admitted to having received over $263,000 in “consulting fees.” Freed went down in 1960, and Congress amended the Federal Communications Act to outlaw “under-the-table payments and require broadcasters to disclose if airplay for a song has been purchased.” Payola became a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison (Hutchinson, 2015).

Most Well-Known Disc Jockeys

First you might ask what is a Disc Jockey? The Disc Jockeys were individuals who controlled the airwaves by picking the musical rotation and they had immense amounts of power because of it. “Every time a label had a record that really needed to be pushed, it entered into a devil’s bargain with the disc jockeys”(Kelly, 2016). The two Disc Jockey’s below were both publicly connected to the Payola Scandal in 1959.

Dick Clark

During the 1950s, Dick Clark also began investing in the music publishing and recording business. His business interests grew to include record companies, song publishing houses, and artist

management groups. When the record industry’s “payola” scandal (involving payment in return for airplay) broke in 1959, Clark told a congressional committee he was unaware performers in whom he had interests had received disproportionate play on his programs. He sold his shares back to the corporation, upon ABC’s suggestion that his participation might be considered a conflict of interest (Dick Clark Biography, 2017).

Alan Freed

Freed was accused of having taken such payments, a charge that he denied. Throughout the ensuing witch hunt, Freed steadfastly

maintained that he never played a record he didn’t like. Nonetheless, he was blackballed within the business (“Alan Freed”, 2018).

Payola Today

Unfortunately, as long as there has been a music industry, there have been attempts — both overt and clandestine — to manufacture hits. You can look as far back as the early 20th century, when musicians known as “song pluggers” were paid to promote sheet music. Today, large media companies own most major-market radio stations. Payola investigations in the mid-2000s led to multimillion-dollar settlements by several major label conglomerates, as well as four of the nation’s largest radio station owners (McCabe, 2017). One of the most popular ways to listen to music now is not only radio, but listening to media streamed online.

http://bit.ly/2JAs5sJ

These streaming applications include popular playlists and the top hits which demonstrate another form of payola. One example of this would be the application called Spotify. To better monetize their free tier, Spotify is testing their new ‘Sponsored Songs’ feature. The move will allow brands to put their ads in popular playlists, which sounds fine. But it’ll also allow labels to promote individual songs, a move that introduces some tricky payola issues (Sanchez, 2017). I believe payola to be bad thing. Payola technically decides which artists and what music will succeed or fail. The listeners may not hear the great music that comes from those who cannot afford to promote their music like others can. The overall idea of payola hurts the music businesses morals and honesty.

Works Cited:

“Alan Freed.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/alan-freed

“Dick Clark Biography.” A&E Television Networks. April 21th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/dick-clark-9249296

Hutchinson, Lydia. “Alan Freed and the Radio Payola Scandal.” Performing Songwriter. August 20, 2015. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/

Kelly, Kim. “A Brief History of American Payola.” Noisey. February 14^th, 2016. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

McCabe, Allyson. “In an Ever- Changing Music Industry, Cash for Hits Remains a Constant.” January 17, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/17/509851163/in-an-ever-changing-music-industry-cash-for-hits-remains-a-constant

“Payola.” Retrieved July 15, 2018. https://www.history-of-rock.com/payola.htm

Sanchez, Daniel. “Spotify Introduces a Brand-New Feature: Payola.” Digital Music News. June 20^th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/20/spotify-sponsored-songs-payola/

NO PAY, NO PLAY: PAST AND PRESENT PAYOLA (#M6Q3)

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by kmm086

Payola

Payola is the illegal practice of bribing a performer, or more commonly a music station, to play a certain song. Payola was first observed in the press during the late 1930s, when big bands were all the rage.[1] Music labels believed that song exposure and popularity were key to optimizing the amount of performance royalties and sheet music sales of a song, so they would pay popular bands to play their songs.[2] There had been some failed attempts to stop payola throughout the 1930s and 1940s, but payola was only becoming more common with time. In the 1950s, as radio stations became more powerful, the system of payola changed from a bribe between the publisher and the performer to a bribe between record companies and disc jockeys.[3]

The 1959 Payola Scandal

The Payola Scandal of 1959, in which Congress began to crack down on the issue of bribery within the music industry under Congressman Oren Harris, was the product not only an increase in payola over the years, but the rivalry between the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). ASCAP was allegedly unhappy with how many artists from BMI were getting exposure (presumably through payola), so ASCAP was hoping that through the abolishment of payola, their own musicians would have less competition.

Two of the most well-known disc jockeys of the 1950s, Alan Freed and Dick Clark, were only a couple of the over three hundred DJs who were impacted by the 1959 Scandal.[4] Clark had connections to keep him from getting charged, which left Freed as the most liable and famous DJ guilty of payola – accordingly, he seemed to have suffered the most out of all the DJs involved in payola.[5] Freed was charged with 26 counts of commercial bribery and was given various fines as well as a suspended jail sentence. Freed, the man who is literally credited with thinking of the term rock’n’roll[6], ended up dying broke and with a terrible story attached to his name. Because rock and roll was the most popular genre during the time of the Payola Scandal, the genre became associated with the idea of corruption, which added to the decline of its popularity in the early 1960s.[7]

Dick Clark, perhaps in court smiling at the fact that he knows his connections and baby-face will stop him from getting any severe punishment [source: http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/]

Sadly, Alan Freed didn’t have the same luck that his colleague, Dick Clark, did. [source: http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/alan-freed-payola/]

Payola Laws

In 1960, Congress officially prohibited payola: secret payments were outlawed, and broadcasters were now required to state if a publisher or artist had paid for their song to be played on air.[8] This new law left room for many creative loopholes from music labels and DJs, not to mention undisclosed payments were still quite feasible if they remained under the Congress’ radar. An example of this is the 2005 case against Sony BMG Music Entertainment and radio stations. After it was discovered that Sony was engaging in some form of payola, they had to pay $10 million and agree to stop paying radio employees to feature artists under their label.[9]

Modern-day Payola

Under the current payola laws, payola is still very much so alive today, but just in a different way. A commonly seen modern-day version of Payola is streaming services’ ‘Recommended songs/albums based on your listening history’ feature. If you have Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, or any other streaming service, you are likely familiar with this feature. Artists can pay these streaming services to recommend their music next to other artists of their choice. Artists hoping for more exposure can similarly pay streaming services to feature their music on particular popular playlists.[10] The modern version of payola definitely impacts the music we’re exposed to: I often use the ‘track radio’ feature (which essentially curates a playlist of songs based on one song that I want to listen to) when I’m using my streaming service and end up listening to songs I never would have chosen otherwise. I think that modern payola is a gift and a curse – I can personally say that many of the artists and songs I love listening to now were recommended to me by Tidal (my streaming service of choice) based on my frequently searched artists. I don’t think it’s necessarily unethical for an artist to pay to get exposure near artists with similar sounds, because the recommendation is thus understandable. I can also attest to the fact that almost half of my recommended albums and artists on Tidal is music that I would absolutely never listen to, which is frustrating. I think if artists or record labels are going to pay to have their music promoted, they should do so in a way that makes sense (near artists/genres that resemble their sound). Another issue that I have with payola is that artists who are signed to less successful labels, or are independent artists, likely do not have the same resources available to make use of modern-day payola. In an ideal world, there would be no payola and only songs that listeners wanted to listen to most would be given exposure. Sadly, it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg dilemma – it’s hard to know what generally comes first with the most listened to songs: the song being given a lot of exposure because it is listened to a lot, or the song being listened to a lot because it is given a lot of exposure.

Bibliography

[1] Coase, R.H., “Payola in Radio and Television Broadcasting”, The Journal of Law & Economics, Vol. 22, Issue 2, 1979: 270, accessed July 16^th, 2018, doi: 10.1086/466944

[2] Ibid.

[3] Coase, R.H., “Payola in Radio and Television Broadcasting”, The Journal of Law & Economics, Vol. 22, Issue 2, 1979: 286, accessed July 16^th, 2018, doi: 10.1086/466944

[4] Kelly, K. “A Brief History of American Payola”. Noisey – Vice. February 14, 2016. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://noisey.vice.com/da/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2013.

[8] Kelly, K. “A Brief History of American Payola”. Noisey – Vice. February 14, 2016. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://noisey.vice.com/da/article/64y8y9/a-brief-history-of-american-payola

[9] Sherwin, A. “Payola: One of music’s oldest arrangements back with a bang on streaming playlists”. Independent UK. August 20, 2015. Accessed July 18^th, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/payola-one-of-musics-oldest-arrangements-back-with-a-bang-on-streaming-playlists-10464513.html

[10] Ibid.

Mamie Smith

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by krg267

#M2Q3

Mamie Smith was born in 1883 and is Historically well known in the music industry as well as the African American community. She was the first female artist to produce a phonograph record in 1920.[1] “Crazy Blues” was a top hit of the era selling a million copies in the first six months it was released. [2] Which went down in history as the start to “Race records” ultimately landing a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994.[3] The Library of Congress selected “Crazy Blues” to be eternally persevered in the National Recoding Registry in 2005. [4] Mamie was exceptionally talented in the performing business as a dancer, pianist, actress as well as an American vaudeville singer.[5] Although Mamie Smith past away in 1946 her legacy continues as one of the most influential singers.

[1] “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery in America. 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith.

[2] “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery in America. 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith.

[3] “GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.” GRAMMY.com. January 31, 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/hall-of-fame#s.

[4] “2005 – National Recording Preservation Board | Programs | Library of Congress.” Apple Computers: This Month in Business History (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress). Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2005/.

[5] “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” “Smith, Mamie 1883–1946.” Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery in America. 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/mamie-smith.

“Crazy Blue”

“Crazy blues” went down in history as one of the most influential songs of all time. When one critique it a deeper meaning can be found. Many people hear the raw lyrics of a heart broken woman who cannot get over the man she loves. When listening to the lyrics one particular line stands out “Now I see my poor love was blind”. This particular phrase indicates that she realizes the mistreatment and the tears that were shed for that man. Mamie indicates that she was blind through it all until the man she loved left. A lesson is drawn from this that tough times bring bigger and better things. “Crazy Blues” has a swing like rhythm making the song quite catchy even though it is expressing a sad time in her life. This song is a good contribution to her career as it was one of the most well known song of her era and to this day it marks a piece of history.

“The Da Da strain”

I feel like this song created happiness in a room, it made people want to get up and dance. It has a high tempo in some spots that expresses the excitement that people feel while singing and dancing. “The Da Da strain” is a lot different than her other hits as she mostly wrote about heart break and love. This song is easy to follow and sing along too due to its repetitive chorus. This song expresses how communities come together to socialize focusing less on the valleys in life and finding the hills.This truly expresses how music brings people together as a whole and is enjoyable for all parties.

“Lord I love that man”

This song is very simplistic in the melody and the lyrics themselves. Once again, we see a repetitive chorus as we do in the song “The Da Da strain”. This symbolizes how artist have their own style and express it in every song the write. The tempo is slow and the intensity of the instruments is low allowing Mamie Smith’s voice to shine. Her voice is very powerful in this song as it expresses her love for the lord and the man she loved. The ending of this song really stands out as the instruments get loud and Mamie’s voice almost sounds like she’s shouting which draws the crowd in. I believe this song captures her strong stage presence and her unique style which helped her career path take off.

Mamie Smith created beautiful music that captured many life lessons that stay true today. Her warm stage presence and strong voice drove her to the top. Her love life seemed to drive the majority of her career but who doesn’t go through a lifetime with out heart ache. This allowed her to connect with her audience and create a fan base. Her African American decent tried to hold her back in the racial era she lived in but rose above all and created hope for not only women in the industry but Black women and men.

#M2Q2 The Importance of Mamie Smith

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by jlk265

Biography:

Although little is known about her early years, scholars believe that Smith was born Mamie Robinson in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1883. By the age of 10 she was working as a vaudeville entertainer and touring with the Four Dancing Mitchells. She continued to tour with various acts throughout her teens. By 1913 at the age of 20 she was living and working in Harlem and soon after married William “Smithy” Smith. She remarried twice after her career took off (Garner, 2018).

Obstacles of Race:

A newspaper article by a black writer from 1921 talks about the exploitation of black musicians by phonograph companies. The companies used these musicians of color to sell blues music to black record buyers, but still excluded other musicians of color who performed different kinds of music. This picking and choosing of what music to produce and sell contributes to the problem of erasure in black music. There are certain kinds of music that are recorded and preserved, but others aren’t, even if they are equally important (Kenny, 2017).

ALTHOUGH,

Mamie Smith’s record was purchased by black and white consumers and was recognized as a lucrative marketing segment by studios and record company executives (Garner, 2017).

Mamie Smith’s Significance:

Mamie Smith was the first to record blues songs in 1920 with her versions of Perry Bradford’s “Crazy Blues”, and “It’ s Right Here for You” on Okeh Records. The record was a wild success, selling over a million copies in less than a year, and finally ending up selling over two

million copies (Red Hot Jazz, 2018). Mamie Smith’s music seemed to open up the eyes of those around her. Record companies thought there was a lot of money to be made selling what was then called “race records” to various minority groups in big cities. The success of “Crazy Blues” prompted other record companies to also try to find other female blues singers that could match the sales of “Crazy Blues”. It was a very important record, because it opened the doors of the recording industry to African-Americans, whether they were Blues, Jazz or popular singers or musicians. Smith herself really wasn’t that much of a Blues singer (Red Hot Jazz, 2018). Mamie Smith’s music was loved for many reasons. “Crazy Blues”, represents the emergence of black female singers into popular music culture and was therefore a very important contribution to black music. Her pioneering musical career paved the way for more successful female blues and jazz artists like “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith (no relation), and Billie Holiday (Garner, 2018).

Success:

Smith’s amount of success and talent was unbelievable. Smith found herself suddenly wealthy, and she spent much of her earnings on clothes, jewelry, real estate,

and servants (Garner, 2018). With all this Mamie Smith mania, New York City suddenly became the blues recording capital of the world. Mamie Smith records have enjoyed tremendous sale in all parts of the country.Mamie Smith and her jazz hounds came, saw, and conquered in Chicago during the month of February. She played to large audiences on the South Side at the Avenue Theatre with immense success.In Mamie Smith’s prime, her stage appearances netted her up to $1,500 a week. Bedecked in diamonds, plumes, and a shimmering gown, she could get a standing ovation just by strutting across the stage (Jasobrecht, 2018). Mamie Smith overall made a historic mark on the musical world that lead women in the right direction to pursue their own music.

Crazy Blues

This was a song about being in a relationship and the love and heartbreak that can go along with it. Throughout this song she wears her emotions on her sleeve about the love she has for a man. Although she also expresses that the love isn’t reciprocated and that he doesn’t treat her right. This song is significant because it was the first blues song recorded and was also recorded by a female which was the first step for black female vocalists.

That Thing Called Love

This song was also a very popular hit of Mamie Smith’s and was her first song recored for OKEH Records. It has a slower pace and is clearly another love song.

Don’t Care Blues

This song opens up with a wide variety of instruments that catches your attention and ear instantly. Immediately when Mamie Smith begins to sing the lyrics speak to you about being down and out.

Works Cited:

Garner, Carla. “Smith, Mamie.” Black Past. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://www.blackpast.org/aah/smith-mamie-1883-1946

Kenny, Grace. “Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues.” October 10^th, 2017. Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. https://pages.stolaf.edu/americanmusic/tag/mamie-smith/

“Mamie Smith.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://www.redhotjazz.com/mamie.html

“Mamie Smith: The First Lady of the Blues.” Retrieved July 15^th, 2018. http://jasobrecht.com/mamie-smith-the-first-lady-of-the-blues/

Traditional Country Music

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by dar997

Today i will be writing about tradition vs Innovative or new country music. Before we get started i would just like to say the country music today has recreated the genre and is so far off the concept of original country music that they are hard to even compare. When looking at where country music started we can look to what we have read from our textbook about Honky Tonks and when country music really started to become music for the working class people. Take Hank Williams for example one of the original and maybe most important “Honky Tonk” singers. He grew up in Alabama in a lower class family. Hank started playing music at a very young age and made it to the radio by 13. Hank Williams had a very short term with country music but songs that topped the charts like “I saw the light”. Hank was inducted into the Rock n Roll and Country music hall of fame. He was one of the very first country music singer to connect with the common working class. His music was very popular in Honky Tonk bars which is where country music really started. When these bars were created they were a place that everyday people could come gather and unwind from a long work week. This if where the honky tonk sound was created.

The Honky Tonk sound as well as Most of Mr. Williams songs are know for there two beat rhythm with guitar both steel and electric. This sound is what people who enjoy the traditional country music associate with it.

When we look at the trail of how we got to where we are today with country music obviously the technology has changed and advancements in music have made a new sound in country. If you asked someone who they like in country music today they might say Dan + Shay who is a country music duo that currently holds the number 3 spot on iTunes country charts. Somewhere between now and hank Williams era (1940s) the music changed to what it is today.

To understand the different between the two types of country music one can look at all the variables. When listening to Hank Williams “Hey Good Lookin’ ” listeners can hear the guitar strumming just as loud as Hanks voice. Which leads to my first point. Sometimes people can have a hard time even hearing an acoustic guitar in the modern day music. Traditional country music is signers like Johnny Cash that when you hear a song by him you know its country. Artists today combine pop music with country and that is what it is known for today. The innovation half of this Dichotomy will be focused on Taylor Swift. Fans have mixed emotions about Taylor Swift and some say she is not a country music singer. What fans can’t deny is that she has changed her sound of country music and gotten a few hit singles along the way. Earlier songs by Taylor Swift like “Fearless” guitar can be heard and the vocals are still somewhat country relatable.

Taylor Swift has changed her music style tremendously from music like this. The reason i am using her as an example is because of her most recently released music that some say is country but majority consider pop. In a way she tried to combine country with pop music and become a new unique sound but i think somewhere along the line she was more overtaken by pop music as the country side dissapeared. When comparing the two eras of country music a listener can realize how things have changed. People no longer want music they can relate to in a dusty old bar. The Honky Tonk era of country has come and passed and the new country pop sound has arrived and it sounds like this.

Songs like this have no resemblance to the old country music thank artists like Hank introduced to the world. Listen to the continuous rhythm with next to no guitar. They “String Twanging” style that honky tonk music had is gone and that is the innovation of country. Sam Hunt uses technology in his music to create different sounds that he can use to make the music more flowing and easier for the audience to sing along to.

I think the country music today has changed and “innovative” country is more about what the audience wants to hear rather than country that is real and relatable. I think today tradition country does still exist in artists such as Blake Shelton who sing songs more about country lifestyle and sing music more relatable for country fans. In my opinion if you let someone who was not a country music fan listen to some of the top hits on the country music charts they would enjoy the songs. That to me spells out innovative. Artists have changed the way of country music in order to appeal to the majority of music fans.

#M4Q3

Works Cited:

Matt Errey(n.d)History of Country Music. Retrieved from:https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/music-country.htm

Citizen K.(November 11,2008)He walked Alone. Retrieved from: http://killiansaid.blogspot.com/2008/11/he-walked-alone.html

Shuffle Along

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by amd719

‘Shuffle Along,’ a musical comedy composed by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle features an all-black cast. An all-black cast was a large achievement for black theatre at that time. However, African-Americans were not accepted nor allowed to perform on stage because “the stage held power,” but they wouldn’t be going up there to claim power. It started as a minstrel show practice where whites performed wearing burnt cork to darken them own selves, but later black performers were allowed to join the stage. For that though, they had also to paint their face with burnt cork to darken there own selves more. They hide behind this new mask; mocking themselves and giving up their self-identity. They wore these masks because of social stigma, also gave up their self-identity for their love to perform. They changed stage presences and were pulling audiences to performances.

‘Shuffle Along,’ did reinforce blackface by continuing to mock African-Americans. By masking themselves with burnt cork and preventing black performs/people to have their own identity, and not this portrayed imagine on stage. They challenged socials by having black performs, but they continued to push more by introducing “black sexuality.” Black sexuality was a huge taboo because they didn’t want black people to indulge in too much lovemaking. They saw black sexuality as dangerous. ‘Shuffle Along,’ didn’t stop there in challenging the 20th century. They challenged the typical rhythms in musical theatre by introducing ragtime. Ragtime is a mixture of European forms and African inspired syncopation. By introducing this, it meant they were introducing blackness, allowing the mask to slowly come off.

Over the years ‘Shuffle Along’ created many wonderful songs. Original a love song, “I’m just wild bout Harry,” written and composed by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, remains to be an iconic song of theirs. Many people can say they have heard the song, and many like myself can say I’ve never heard it before.

Juba or patting Juba was African dancing/ plantation dancing that had certain familiar Celtic elements mixed into it. Juba performed by drumming your body, by slapping your chest, knees, and soles of their feet. By wearing hard sole shoes, it evolved into what is called tap. The second Juba was Juba, the first great American tap dancer. He was the young child who was known to be the best in the world. His real name is unknown and is only referred to as Juba. ‘Shuffle Along’ was nervous to bring him on because he was replacing Diamond, a white juba dancer that was performing in blackface. They thought because he was actually black, spectators wouldn’t accept it. Juba got the position with ‘Shuffle Along’ but had to paint his face with burnt cork, and wear the same black wig to look like Diamond. People loved Juba more than Diamond. He was the first black performer to perform before large crowds of whites in a context that transcended the informal.

Claims of the historical significance of ‘Shuffle Along’ became the first successful all-black Broadway musical. The original creators who put the show together didn’t last long. In less than two years of it being open on Broadway, they split up because they couldn’t agree on how the show’s profit should be split. Miller and Lyles (writers of the books) thought everything should be split down the middle; Sissle and Blake (songwriters) thought otherwise. Credit needed to go to call. Even without William and Walker, the production wouldn’t have been such a great success. It was the transition from ‘Bandanna Land,’ an all-white young crowd base, to ‘Shuffle Along,’ which opened it up to a black and white audience. This shift is what allowed ‘shuffle to advance as it did. People were buying tickets for all sorts of reasons. It was also thanks to the whole team for those whose careers began with the show or later productions, was enough to influence American theater and song. It was said by Landstong Hughes that ‘Shuffle Along’ was the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance because it introduced syncopation and jazz into the American musical.

‘Shuffle Along’ has made a huge impact on our Broadway today. The 2016 show has evolved from not doing ‘Shuffle Along,’ but rather telling the story of the making of ‘Shuffle Along.’ It shows a creative musical way of expressing how the production and creators came to be. The 2016 show expresses both sides, of the white and black perceptive during that time. The creative team brought back tap and jazz in a wonderful Broadway musical that brilliantly showed the story of the original ‘Shuffle Along.’

Upon reading this article, I was astonished by the information. I couldn’t believe that white people felt the need to paint their faces black, and then make African-Americans paint there own selves black to hide the blackness. They allowed mockery of there own selves on stage; because this was the only way they could be on stage. The challenges they faced were to be accepted and express themselves the way they wanted. Despite having to mask their identity and be made a joke, they were able to change the game by being a black performer on stage.

The textbook gives a rather unfair perspective in blackface in America because it speaks so vaguely about African-Americans during that time, and having to deal with it. It doesn’t go into detail of why they did it but only that promoters billed the minstrel show as an authentic portray of plantation life. Therefore, showed a very stereotyped view. It just goes to voice one reason about blackface and why it was a thing. The only context they have for why blackface was a thing for white and black performers was the inside perspective of William and other black performers; that they had to appear in blackface so that they looked the way, white people thought they should. It doesn’t talk explain the other difficulties African-Americans faced just to become a performer or what it was like performing with all the stigma surrounding them. It lists not an explanation of why blackface was so popular amongst the audience, and what it did for everyone. The textbook could have been fairer about its perspective on blackface in America.

resources

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html

Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by amd719

Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy in American College Textbooks, by Josphep Byrd reveals the dark side of history during blackface minstrelsy entertainment in America and analysis how the topic is described in main of our textbooks. The article discusses the lack of information that is provided in music history textbooks and challenges the ways that the history involving racism become distorted. This period of music and theatre was influencing society and culture, which draws the importance to know the whole depth of history. Byrd’s approach is necessary for challenging our system so that we are made aware of the racism that occurred and to prevent such racism from escalating again.

The article was quite eye-opening. It didn’t shy away at exposing the history that so many of our textbooks were choosing to leave out. The educational system fails at giving all the necessary information for a deeper understanding of history. It chooses to leave out valuable information that can help round an opinion, but this ignorance is what leads to more racism and a more hateful society. The misrepresented history of blackface minstrelsy and other points of history can’t continue to be hidden and forgotten. It is necessary to have a better understanding of our past for a better future.

The minstrel show main audience for blackface shows was lower-class males, which included the “lumpenproletariat.” The lumpenproletariats were low paid and unemployed first generation whites and Irish immigrants trying to survive during the time of an unskilled labour force, which included first-generation free blacks. This mix had eventually brought about the Draft Riots. This audience base allows us to see their primary target was the lower-class; not very well educated people. This crow base was able to be easily influenced by the rude, bias humor. This lower-class intended humor spread to other classes causing America to become subjected to racism.

In 1832, Thomas Dartmouth Rice claimed to observe African-American street performers. He copied the performer’s acts and brought it to stage. He created Jim Crow as his character that was his interpreting a caricature of a clumsy, dimwitted black slave. As a result of Rice, by the 1830’s ‘Jim Crow’ had become a pejorative expression. When the southern legislature passed laws of segregation directed against African-Americans at the end of the 19th century, these statutes became known as “Jim Crow laws.” These new laws meant a separation from whites and “people of colour” from public transportation, schools, and from businesses and facilities. “Jim Crow” was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. African-Americans were regulated to the status of second-class citizens.

It is important to understand the reality of our history because we can’t be ignorant parts, and only acknowledge one side of history. In order to tackle racism, we need to have a better understanding of the past, and that includes knowing blackface minstrel entertainment and songs. Textbooks shouldn’t be leaving out information because it causes misconceptions. The distorted historical facts are misguiding students. The textbooks can’t skim over or shy away from showing the truth during that time because people need to be aware the racism that existed, that was influencing the evolution of music, and society. This material was avoided because it was raw and exposed the truth. However, information like this needs to be out there. This music shaped society and led to cultural appropriation. To better our futures we need to know the history and how everything has evolved from our past and helps to avoid anything like that to happen again.

resources

https://www-tandfonline-com.cyber.usask.ca/doi/pdf/10.1080/03007760802207882?needAccess=true

Mamie Smith: Woman of Blues

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by Heather

Hi everyone!

My name is Heather and I am a second-year business student. For my first blog post, I wanted to discuss Mamie Smith and her lifelong contributions to the world of music.

I really wanted to learn more about Mamie Smith because of how much of an influence she is for young women today. She didn’t have the easiest time being black and a woman in the 1920’s(shocking I know!) but she didn’t let that stop her and refused to play by anyone else’s rules. And this I find is something everybody should do in their own life, while they follow their own dreams.

Background

While most 10-year-olds today spend their time snap-chatting or watching YouTube videos, Mamie Smith was busy on tour with an act called the Four Dancing Mitchells. With time, Mamie put her many talents to use and began dancing on different sets and continually pushing herself. By 1913, Mamie even decided to leave the Tutt Brothers and pursue her solo career. As fate would have it Mamie even ended up finding love and married a waiter named William.

Living in Harlem at the time Mamie proved herself time and time again as more than just a pretty face with a successful career as a singer, dancer, pianist, and even actress. It was here that she would meet the highly talked about songwriter; Mr. Perry Bradford. Despite being turned away from many music executives simply because of the fact that Mamie was black, the duo persevered. By August of 1920, Mamie was on track to record numerous songs with a talented young group of African American musicians referred to as “The Jazz Hounds”. Two of the songs on the album released called “Crazy Blues’ and “It’s Right Here For You” were wildly successful as over a million copies in less than a year.

Crazy Blues

As I listened to many Mamie Smith songs before choosing three to further explore, I felt as if I couldn’t not choose “Crazy Blues”. With so much hype around this song, I am happy to say I was not disappointed. This song was not only one of her biggest hits (if not the biggest) but it also paved the way for other black female artists.

While some argue that “Crazy Blues” isn’t technically a typical blues song, many still view it as the first blues song to be recorded by a person of color. As I mentioned earlier, “Crazy Blues” recorded with Okeh records was a smash hit and had started a movement. It proved very popular with other African Americans and had sparked the interest in race records (Kernfeld, 2000).

“Crazy Blues could be heard coming from the open windows of virtually any black neighborhood in America.”

-Jazz musician, Danny Barker

While analyzing the actual music the component that stood out most to me was the actual lyrics. The lyrics themselves are actually quite harsh. I think perhaps the reason this song was so successful is because of how relatable it is. Mamie sings about how nothing is going her way and how the person she loves doesn’t seem to care about her at all. After really listening to this song I am not surprised how much people loved it. It’s one thing to write about your feelings, and another to actually sing them, and Mamie Smith was able to accomplish both beautifully.

You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down

One of Smiths classics, “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” starts off with a faster, high tempo tune leading the listener to believe the song will be an upbeat tune. However, slowly this song transitions into a soothing, slower melody. One specific detail I noticed while listening to this song was the work of the trombone and piano. With such a strong voice being the center of attention, the piano and trombone do a great job of complimenting Mamie’s voice, rather than overpowering it.

Between Mamie Smiths powerful voice and the Jazz Hounds delicate instrumentation, this song went on to be one of her most successful and was a stepping stone for Mamie Smith to one day become a household name.

That Thing Called Love

Being that this song was one of the first songs to ever be released by a black Blues singer, I found myself instantly drawn to it. Like many of Mamie’s songs, “That Thing Called Love” starts off with a faster paced instrumental mix of piano notes. Then, by the time the vocals come in the song slows down. I really enjoyed this single because of how the piano harmonizes with Mamie’s singing. It gives the song a really intimate vibe. “That Thing Called Love” is one of those songs that will have you swaying and singing along without even realizing it.

Mamie after Music

While Mamie’s short life was mostly filled with music she did pursue other dreams. She spent her well deserved money on the luxuries of life such as diamonds and real estate, continued singing and performing in New York Theatres, and even made an appearance in a few African American films.

Looking Back

Before this blog, I really didn’t know much about Mamie Smith and what she did for the world. However, now I feel so much more educated and excited to continue learning about the impacts of these early time musicians. I hope the world remembers Mamie Smith as more than just a Blues Singer but perhaps a powerful woman, an underdog, and an inspiration.

Works Cited

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. 4th ed.* Boston: Schirmer/Cengage Learning, 2013

.Kernfeld, Barry. “Smith, Mamie (26 May 1883–30 October 1946?), Blues and Vaudeville Singer and Film Actress.” American National Biography Online, 2000.

Reiner, Robert. “2. The Birth of the Blues.” The Politics of the Police, 2010, 39-66.

“World Chronicles.” Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle.

Jelly Roll Morton, the So-Called Inventor of Jazz

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by joj729

Hello my name is Jordan, I’m a second year commerce student. My first post is about Jelly Roll Morton.

Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)

A picture of Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton

Jelly Roll Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ferdinand’s parents were Creole; he was a mix of African, French and Spanish heritage. Morton began learning music at the age of 10, soon after he started to perform in Storyville a red light district in New Orleans. It was here that he earned the nickname “Jelly Roll”. Morton’s playing style was a mix of ragtime, minstrels and dance rhythms. Hi eventually be called jazz. Morton, his musical talents, and popularity found their way finally to Chicago where he formed the musical group called Red Hot Peppers. Morton and the Red Hot Peppers recorded many jazz style songs together until Morton left again for New York, where he created a band similar to the Red Hot Peppers. However, like many artists of this time, Morton’s musical success fell on hard times with the coming of the Great Depression, as Hot Jazz was out of style and the public preferred the sound of Bigger Band music. During Morton’s Later years a man by the name of Alan Lomax recorded multiple interviews with Morton for the Library of Congress. These interviews were initially short musical examples but soon expanded into more than 8 hours of Morton talking and playing piano.

Morton also claimed to be the inventor of jazz, although he was never able to prove that he did invent this style of music. Morton ended his career playing piano in a dive bar. Morton died in 1941 at the age of 51 and blamed his declining health on a voodoo spell.

Jelly Roll Morton’s most famous song is Original Jelly Blues. It is an early Jazz era songs, which was initially recorded by Jelly Roll Morton himself. Then re-recorded when he formed the Red Hot Peppers in Chicago.

This second song features the full talents of Morton and the Red Hot Peppers. It is titled The Pearls and highlights the early jazz style similar to his other songs.

Lastly, to highlight the ability that made Morton famous, I have selected the song King Porter Stomp. This song displays his remarkable piano abilities

References

Jelly Roll Morton Biography. (2014, April 02). Retrieved July 13, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945

Jelly Roll Morton. (2018, May 2). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 03:02, July 18, 2018 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Jelly_Roll_Morton&oldid=1011244

Ferdinande “Jelly Roll” Morton. (n.d.). Retrieved July 09, 2018, from http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html

Photo References

Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2018, from http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html

Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers [Digital image]. (2004). Retrieved July 10, 2018, from http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/jelly24.html

The Evolution of Music after Elvis Presley

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018 by eml528

Today I will be looking at three sets of musicians that were all major influences on their era in music history. Like you and me, we all grow up watching and listening to people who influence the way we talk, think, and act. Some people can pin point them and some can’t, but the interactions with other human beings is what makes us unique. Generally, musician influences can be tracked back to their teenage years when they are most malleable and susceptible to outside voices and actions. My goal is to show how Bon Jovi was influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones were influenced by Elvis Presley, and if any distinctive crossover is seen between the generation gap of Bon Jovi and Elvis. I’ll be mainly focusing on the chosen’s looks and sound to fulfill this.

The Back Story

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi was formed in 1983 in Sayreville New Jersey by a group of five guys, Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, Dave Sabo, and Alec John Such [1]. Their main success was through the 80’s and 90’s with notably their most successful album being Slippery When Wet but had some success in the 2000’s when they weren’t broken up. They have managed to sell over 120 million albums and had many more songs streamed in the recent years [1]. The style they’ve been placed under would be rock or a hard/metal rock [1].

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones was shaped in 1962, based in London England and consisted of seven members, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Ian Stewart [2]. Deaths have occurred, new pickups have happened, but they are still a current band to this day. They have been compared as a hard-driving, gritty alternative to the equally famous Beatles [2]. Over the evolution of The Rolling Stones sound they are most commonly considered a blues-based rock and roll group [2].

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley, other wise known as the King of Rock seems to be the quintessential musician of all time. The fact that many artist era’s after him still consider him to be one of the most influential of all time says a lot. Elvis had a dominate career from the 50’s until the 70’s when he sadly died at the age of 42 [3]. This style begun with a strong flavor in blues and rockabilly and evolved into its own rock voice [3].

The Rolling Stones Influence on Bon Jovi

Now lets begin to look at what similarities Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones have. From the looks standpoint you can see Bon Jovi has a similar hair style to the Stones, long, puffy, and messy would be a few of the many words that could describe it. Next up I could see some similarities in the ways they dressed, specifically in the jackets they wore. In both cases they both wear flamboyant clothing with the edge to The Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi being a little more edgy and “bad boy looking”. Jon Bon Jovi and Mick Jagger the lead singers and band members gave off the impression that the jacket was part of their stage character. Lastly those two have a lot of movement in their performances, they both enjoy using the entire stage to involve the crowd, I can see the influence Mick gives from his stiff dance moves that he pulls out at just about any moment.

Mick Jagger busting his moves and showing his unique style.

Now lets move to how The Rolling Stones sound can be exposed in Bon Jovi’s music. First off, I noticed that both bands have comparable instrumentation, generally a lead vocalist, a guitar or two, bass, keyboardist, and a drummer. They both resemble that stereotypical rock package that most people are familiar with. Secondly, they both use backup vocalists to form harmonies or throat produced sounds throughout their songs, this is mainly done by a second band member but occasionally by a woman. Lastly, I would like to point out they both have high tempo music along with both having a signature scream tone to it with Bon Jovi’s being a little bit more hard rock and rougher around the edges.

(You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi. This should help give a visualization of the look they had an the typical sound of their songs.)

(Jumping Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones. This should help give a visualization of their looks and rock sound.)

Elvis Presley’s influence on The Rolling Stones

Lets jump back in time a little further and see what influences the King of Rock had on The Rolling Stones. With anyone who knows Elvis, they likely noticed two main things regarding his appearance, his bold slicked back hair and his outlandish suit. These two things are represented in The Rolling Stones hair and clothing style, maybe not in the same sense as clean slick hair but eye catching audacious hair. During their first big hit in the 60’s they received more attention on their appearance then the hit they produced [4]. Once again, the influence of dance is seen, they both had a stiff, choppy style to their step. If we now flip around to the sound aspect of their acts I discovered a few similarities. I will begin with voice tone, both vocalists incorporate a muffled grainy like voice that was able to hit higher pitched tones, but it tends to settle on the low end. Next the accompaniment of vocal harmony is apparently influential from Elvis’s use in the clear majority of his songs. Lastly, the instrumentation pulled from Elvis is apparent, guitar, drums and piano. Those help incorporate that blues rock sound and tempo into The Rolling Stones tunes.

(Satisfaction- The Rolling Stones)

(Jail House Rock- Elvis Presley)

Connecting The Ends

To finish I’ll round up the connections seen on the two ends. To Begin, style is a key similarity, from the way they dress to style of dance they have. Instrumentation also carried down through the era’s keeping that broad array of instruments.

References

Erlewine, Stephen. 2018. “Bon Jovi Biography & History”. Allmusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bon-jovi-mn0000069534/biography.
Erlewine, Stephen. 2018. “The Rolling Stones Biography & History Allmusic”. Allmusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-rolling-stones-mn0000894465/biography.
Marsh, Dave. 2018. “Elvis Presley Biography, Songs, Movies, & Facts”. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elvis-Presley.
Wood, Jennie. 2018. “The Lasting Influence Of The Rolling Stones”. Infoplease. https://www.infoplease.com/arts-entertainment/music/lasting-influence-rolling-stones.