A 20th century without the blues, jazz or rock and roll would be
unfathomable. How could we have existed without the elegance of Duke Ellington,
the pathos of Billie Holiday or the sheer excitement of Chuck Berry? The
musical contributions made by African-Americans which began to bear fruit in
the 1800's can only be fully understood by examining the enslavement of
millions of Africans for more than two centuries.
Being rounded up like cattle and carried off in chains to an alien land to be sold into slavery is the contemptible legacy of the African-American. Most slaves were brought from the savannah areas of Africa. In 1619, twenty African slaves arrived in Virginia one year before the Mayflower and in 1638, the slave trade was officially instigated with the arrival in Boston of the slave ship Desire. In New England, "the body of liberties" laws approved the institution of slavery in 1641. The number of slaves increased dramatically from about 75,000 in the 18th century to well over a million in the 19th century. And at the outbreak of The Civil War, there was an estimated 4.5 million slaves in the U.S.
With them, Africans brought their rich culture - traditional music, dance rhythms and two basic musical instruments which would influence and alter the sound of American popular music. The major ingredient in tribal music was the drum. Its importance can only be realized when just prior to the 20th century, the use of the drum by slaves was banned since it was feared that it might be used for sending messages. Aside from that, it was considered a pagan instrument by whites. Previous to the arrival of blacks, music was rarely percussive. African rhythms with their syncopated beats became the basis from which almost all modern American music forms stem.
Along with the drum, the other instrument introduced by blacks was one of the primitive stringed instruments of Africa called the banya, the precursor of the modern day banjo. It evolved from the four string gourd to a five string instrument by 1845, becoming a mainstay of the minstrel show, a dominant feature of early jazz and an important element in folk and country music.
Blacks in the colonies were regularly encouraged to sing since it was thought that it softened their nature. Slaves found strength and comfort in their music. Later, after being exposed to Christianity, they embraced it with fervour, adapting it to their lifestyle and their music. Religion often became a form of escape from the misery of their existence.
The first music form born out of slavery was surely the blues. Not only was it a music form but a state of mind and a way of life. It was the music of the oppressed. In the beginning, the blues was an emotional release, a way of bemoaning one's fate. Later, it encompassed any personal experience.
The basic blues form was the twelve bar, three line stanza. As it progressed, the blues infiltrated almost every modern music genre. Its influence can be felt in everything from jazz to country and western and anything in between.
The second black music form was the work song or "field holler." The predominant music of slavery, it was utilized to help make the time pass quickly and to occupy the mind during endless daily chores. Its actual roots can be traced back to traditional African tribal music. The two basic elements of the work song were rhythm and the call and response formula. This interesting vocal technique consisted of the caller or lead voice singing a line and in turn being answered by the chanters or choral group using a repeated word or phrase. Later, the call and response formula was adapted to instrumentation with the lead instrument assuming the role of the caller and the ensemble becoming the chanters.
Several factors led to the emergence of the third black music form. During slavery, blacks had become familiarized with European studied music. Later, after embracing Christianity, they learned Anglo-Saxon hymns, injecting the music with their own highly spirited vocal styles, creating sanctified singing and what would later be termed gospel music. In Africa, music and religion had always been closely linked. In America, gospels and spirituals became an essential way to unify black culture. The most African sounding music has always come from the church. It was the only place where blacks could enjoy total freedom. When twenty or more people gathered for religious purposes, there was an immediate strength.
There are several types of spirituals, the first being the aforementioned "call and response" style. Another type was the slower tempo pieces featuring sustained choral notes. These were often called sorrow songs (e.g. "Dere's A Man Goin' Round" by Paul Robeson - 1947), the origin of which is purely African. The last was the highly syncopated, quick tempo songs dominated by emotionally charged vocals.
On April 6, 1906, Jennie Evans was said to have spoken "in tongues" at The William Joseph Seymour Sanctified Revival in Los Angeles, California. It marked the founding of the Pentecostal movement in the U.S. Pentecostal services served as the inspiration for songs based on the "call and response" singing technique in what later would become gospel music.
Following emancipation, spirituals evolved into jubilees (formal concerts featuring trained singers). During the 1870's, one particular group, The Fisk Jubilee Singers of The Fisk School in Nashville, Tennessee (the first important mixed male-female black vocal group) were responsible for the popularizing of spirituals worldwide. The group achieved such notoriety, they appeared at 1872's World Peace Jubilee in Boston and successfully toured Europe, performing for Queen Victoria. Their enthusiastic vocal style (e.g. "Ezekiel Saw The Wheel" - 1920) and stage presentation became the pattern for the numerous gospel groups to follow. By the early 1900's, the jubilee had given birth to sacred music and gospel.
Early gospel music was sometimes dubbed "reelin' and rockin'" because of the expressive physical motions often employed during the execution of these highly emotional songs. As a choir performed, certain individuals would improvise soulfully, utilizing provocative shouts or soars (also called squalling). Anyone who has ever attended a black Baptist church can surely attest to the incredible power and the invigorating, uplifting effect of the music. Powerful songs such as "Steal Away," "Wade In The Water," "Oh, Freedom," "I Got Shoes" and "This Little Light Of Mine" survive to this very day. It must also be noted that much of the underlying lyric content of such material clearly expressed a sense of pride and inner strength as well as a plea for freedom.
Congregational singing, incorporating both religious and freedom songs nurtured the soul and confirmed the richness of African-American culture. One early unique musical happening was the ring shout where a group of ecstatic singers would form a close circle, clapping hands and moving their bodies in rhythm. Drum restriction in early times was the basic reason for the emergence of the ring shout and its intensity. The drum had been replaced by the rhythm stick and polyrhythmic clapping.
Black vocals have almost always been improvisational in comparison to strict white standards. Songs are rarely executed the same way twice. Most vocals are performed free-form and are often considered harsh and grainy in texture by European standards. Sometimes both falsetto and full voice are utilized in the same song passage. Blacks have proved that there is no so-called proper way to sing. The meaning is placed in the songs by the singer, the most important message in black vocal being "the truth."
In 1817, slaves in New Orleans were allowed to sing and dance Sunday afternoons at Congo Square. Most of such slaves were recent arrivals from the Caribbean, their music flavoured with West Indian rhythms. Others came from the American South, bringing the call and response vocal style and the gospel music of the Baptist Church.
On Sept. 22, 1862, slavery was legally abolished. However, although this was technically the law, it took years before it was enforced. Sharecropping replaced slavery. Many freed blacks continued to work the same plantations they had always known. Others travelled to the bigger cities, working for a fraction of a white man's wage. After freedom came segregation. Blacks were relegated to the outskirts of towns in areas later dubbed ghettos. Poverty was a way of life. Segregation caused the black community to withdraw and rely on its own resources, leading to the rediscovery of the black identity and a form of separatism which has continued to this very day.
In Louisiana, a racial group called the Creoles, a mixture of French or Spanish and black ancestry became a key factor in the development of several black music styles of the late 19th century. They were an educated, upscale people who had attained a certain prominence in Louisiana culture. They associated themselves with their European ancestry rather than their African background, often looking down on the darker skinned individual. Some even owned slaves. Creoles were acquainted with the popular white music of the times - the Strauss waltzes and polkas, American composers such as Stephen Foster and later, the marches of John Philip Sousa. In the 1890's, to the chagrin of the Creoles, racist legislation forced people of mixed race into areas previously considered black only. The result musically was an intermingling of Creole and black music styles. In New Orleans, young black players were being schooled in European music by the Creoles and the Creoles learned of their black music heritage. Together, they changed the entire face of American popular music.
By the turn of the century, black music had become an important influence in American popular music. New sounds originating in the South began spreading across the country. Exciting new words such as "ragtime" and "jazz" were added to the vocabulary. Black music was here to stay!
Later, whites began emulating the new black music styles although imitation of black culture was not entirely new. As early as 1769, there is record of blackface performance and by the 1840's, the spoofing of blacks in an unflattering way was featured in travelling minstrel shows (See - Vaudeville, Music Hall And Cabaret - Minstrels). The basic premise was to present the stereotype of the lazy, shiftless, ignorant "nigger" in a musical revue. Unfortunately, much of the disgusting terminology popularized by such shows still runs rampant in various white factions.
Not only has the music been copied by whites, but black fashions, trends and dances have dominated the century. Black expressions have crept into our everyday speech. Musically, the most obvious effect of black influence is the multitude of white vocalists who incorporate black vocal techniques into their style. Imitation is the highest form of flattery ........... when tempered with respect and sincerity.