Black Contributions to US Culture
It is hard to think of American music culture without associating it with the African American community. Given recent times, hip hop has become the primary genre of music expressing African American views. However, some artists are still keen on preserving the old blues, R&B, jazz, and soul sounds that once stood at the core of black music culture (Peretti, 2009). Emphasis on these genres overshadows other black influences like rock and roll, country. Additionally, not many artists of color became well known in in the said genres. Therefore, African Americans have made music that has an immense cultural impact on the US.
Original black music inspiration finds its roots in Africa. The first slaves brought into the country were from diverse cultural backgrounds. Each group had developed their sense of music and rhythm that later slowly fused and evolved due to their continued interactions on the plantations (Peretti, 2009). The cultivated sounds were soulful gospels and blues. Besides, they came up with bluegrass music that later came to be known as country music. Over time, the musicology enriched from the African inspiration while others got high jacked along the way. For example, nowadays, the typical image of country music is a white southerner with a cowboy hat and an acoustic guitar (Price, Kernodle, & Maxile, 2011). Therefore, African American music is grounded deep in the original traditions of the slaves.
The modern gospel sound can trace its roots in African American society. The influences span from the 1800 jubilee singers to the predominantly male gospel quartets and choirs of the 1930s. The main contribution however came in the 1920s from a former bluesman named “Georgia Tom” Dorsey (Peretti, 2009). He began composing religious songs with local lyrical quality and a highly modern blues sound. The bluesman is credited for the highly popularized song ‘precious lord’. Later on, the music grew giving black church music a rich soulful sound. Prominent gospel icons like James Cleveland and Shirley Caesar rose to fame due to their creative solos before choirs. Cleveland in particular was popular for his narrations of a redemption story either during or before the singing. This technique was called sermonizing (Price, Kernodle, & Maxile, 2011). Although current gospel songs have changed in terms of structure, it is important to recognize the retained elements like emphasis on establishment of vocals, lengthening and creation of dramatic power. Gospel music has also helped in development of other music genres by contributing noteworthy stars, such as Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, who started out in choirs (Breckenridge, 2014). Accordingly, the black community played a role on the establishment and of gospel music in the country.
Blues is one of the most versatile and universally known American music genres. Together with Jazz music, blues music is defined in the way it is performed with invaluable flexibility. Although the genre is almost entirely a product of slavery, some elements of the music can be traced to West Africa (Peretti, 2009). The music began in the south during servitude and later spread out over the length of the country by traveling musicians. Among the pioneer distributers of the music was Bunk Johnson who traveled all over the country playing blues in the late 1800s. Nationally, commercial blues was popularized by W.C Handy between 1912 and 1914 when he wrote two of the most popular blues hits of the time. These songs are ‘Memphis Blues’ and the ‘St Louis Blues’ respectively (Maultsby & Burnim, 2017). These songs are credited for driving Blues to its 1920s classical era. During this time, the music became global with figures such as Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith at the forefront with sophisticated and beautiful performances (Price et al., 2011). Bessie Smith’s optimization of emotional power in the music perhaps made her the most classical blues singer. Later on, attention shifted from classic blues to country blues and later to urban blues after World War II. Chicago blues stood out the most of the urban blues. Thus, blues from African Americans flourished into an international phenomenon that was integrated as part of American musical cultural.
Jazz is described as ‘America’s classical music.’ It is the most complex and creative music produced by the country. Although no one can pin point its exact origin, the music encompasses blues musical flexibility and the musical traditions of the black New Orleans folk (Maultsby & Burnim, 2017). The first national and international jazz success was from Luis Armstrong in the 1920’s with his “West End Blues.” His influence led to the development of other Jazz music and big bands, some of which had popularity lasting over half a century. Later on, Bebop describe by music enthusiasts as the most revolutionary Jazz style, sprung up from a much smaller band. Bebop consisted of a piano rhythm section, strings, drums and occasionally a soloist on the trumpet backing the guitar. The style evolved as a result of the jam sessions held at Minton’s Playhouse and in Harlem (Price et al., 2011). Bebop set the standard for the following generations of Jazz Music. Freze jazz emerged in the 1970s from the improvising of bebop. Black influence on Jazz music made the music shape American culture
Although at the moment, the predominant art form of African American is hip hop, black folk have had other influential contributions to America culture. All black musical roots came from Africa during the slave era. In the plantations, their interactions led to the development of various musical genres among them country, gospel, soul, and jazz. Blues came from the farms in the south and spread all over the country. Globally the music gained recognition in the 1920s and became part of the American culture. Another contribution to US culture is Jazz. With New Orleans and blues influences, the genre grew to be a significant proportion of the country’s music. Thus, conclusively, black folk have had a major impact on American culture.
References
Floyd Jr, S. A. (1996). The power of black music: Interpreting its history from Africa to the United States. London: Oxford University Press.
Breckenridge, S. L. (2014). African American music for everyone: Including theater, film, and dance. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt
Top of Form
Maultsby, P. K., & Burnim, M. V. (2017). Issues in African American music: Power, gender, race, representation. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge
Bottom of Form
Peretti, B. W. (2009). Lift every voice: The history of African American music. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Price, E. G., Kernodle, T. L., & Maxile, H. J. (2011). Encyclopedia of African American music. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
