Black 'n White Blues

This week we look at the beginnings of much of the music we listen to today: blues and early country, both  musical genres that grew out of the hardships of the rural poor. In a sense, they are both about the blues. Although they appear somewhat distant from each other, their emotions have much in common. In spite of much of country music being gospel based, it can also be said that the blues has many of its roots in the music of the church. It comes from field hollers and work songs, from African melodies, from the pain and humiliation of slavery, infused with the yearning for redemption and salvation. Music becomes deliverance.

Let's start with a short clip from "The Great American Songbook" that shows how much Blues owes to Jazz and visa versa:

 But much can be made of the idea that the rise of "race" records and "hillbilly" music was the new technology that developed at the beginning of the 20th century - particularly the gramophone and the radio. Now, for the first time, people didn't have to leave their homes to hear music. They could have it right in their living rooms. This was indeed a radical change in how music was consumed and led to a new industry - the record business. Here is a short clip from "American Roots Music":

 Bessie Smith, known as the "empress of the Blues," was one of many strong and powerful woman blues singers. Here is a clip from Ken Burns' amazing series "Jazz" that looks at Bessie Smith and the beginnings of "race records":

Another important artist in the classic blues tradition is Ethel Waters. Here is a clip from Ken Burns' "Jazz" series:

This clip comes from the two-part series "American Roots Music" and covers the same ground as the clip above. It is interesting to note that the term "race records" was meant to classify more than stigmatize and the word "race," at that time, was a word of pride among African Americans. To be a "man of race" was to denote a man proud of his African heritage. Even though it looks racist to us through our somewhat "enlightened" eyes, at the time, it was a matter of black pride and power. I find it fascinating how we often distort things when we view them through the prism of our concerns and not in their original historical context. Maybe Bakhtin is right when he says context gives meaning.

Here are two of the great artists of country blues - Bukka White and Son House. Their performances were recorded in the early 1960s and are included on a great series called "American Folk Blues Festival 1962 - 1966." if you find copies of this three DVD set, do yourself a huge favour and scoop them up. 

At the same time as the blues - delta blues, country blues, and classic blues -  is developing in the rural areas of America, another seminal music is blossoming. with its roots deep in the English and Celtic folk ballad tradition. Country music gives voice to the trials and tribulations of the rural poor. Though many of the songs had been passed down from generation to generation, it was until A. P. "Doc" Carter decided to collect and perform them with his wife and sister-in-law that the music was taken seriously. Shortly afterward, Ralph Peer - a Missouri born talent scout for Okeh Records -  set up the now famous recording session in Bristol, Tennessee in 1923 and recorded the Cater Family and Jimmie Rodgers. This clip is also from "American Roots Music."

 Soon the radio starts to broadcast shows that featured this music and the working class and rural farm workers became a solid and steadfast audience, both as purchasers of the records and listeners of the radio broadcasts. The biggest and most important show was the Grand Ol' Opry, broadcast every Saturday night on WSM out of Nashville, Tennessee. It still exists and the broadcast is still very much at the heart of contemporary country music. You can't call yourself a country music star until you played the Opry. Here is yet another clip from "American Roots Music" dealing with the importance of radio in the promotion of country music.

Finally, here is a "lost" clip edited out of the first Star Wars trilogy. Why? I have no idea - it certainly would have added a deeper and more resounding insight into the nature of Darth Vader and his relationship with Luke Skywalker. I think it illustrates the far-reaching range of the blues . . .