Roots2: The Impact of Black Music on America and the World (1945- 1995)
This is a shorter version of a much larger article of the same name
Long before Rap and Hip-hop dominated the music culture, Black Music had a profound influence on the culture of the United States and the world. From the turn of the 20th century to modern times, African American music has been the heartbeat of America and emulated around the world.
The post-World War II era saw the emergence of Rock and Roll and Bebop Jazz. After two decades of stress, the music of the 50s, once again led by African American musicians, migrated toward a free and open style; and the leitmotif of white musicians imitating black artists continued. Between the two world wars, records and radio were the mediums of musical expression. The 50s, however, gave rise to a new medium called television; and by the end of the decade, it was a staple in most American homes.
Former Big Band singers such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and others emerged from the shadows of the Big Band as television raised the singer above the band. Musicians were no longer relegated to live shows, radio and records, which ushered in a new era of stardom hitherto unseen. Doris Day was pretty, and Sinatra was handsome; such features were enhanced by the magic of television.
Undeterred by what many viewed as the annexation and commercialization of their music by white singers and musicians, black artists created new forms of music that once again, became the signature of the decade. The chief architects of Bebop Jazz were Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Charlie Parker on saxophone, Thelonious Monk on piano, Max Roach and Kenny Clarke on drums and Charles Mingus on bass. This style of jazz was a referendum on Swing and the Big Band sound.
It was common for Beboppers to improvise over the harmony of popular songs, thus giving the song a new life and sometimes a new name. Although the principal timekeeping remained the responsibility of the drummer, more and more of this responsibility was given to the bass player, an evolution that continued in other Jazz forms. Also popular in the late-fifties and early sixties was the smooth guitar playing of West Montgomery and Grant Green. Both were influenced by the playing style of Charlie Cristian one of the first Jazz guitarist.
Cool Jazz was introduced in the-50s by, Miles Davis: the premier disciple of Gillespie and Parker. Although Davis was a gifted musician, he was a much better teacher who recognized talent and helped musicians develop their musical voice. Chief among them were: saxophonists John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, pianists Herbie Hancock, Chick Chorea, Joe Zawinul, guitarist John McLaughlin and bassist Ron Carter. Many became leaders of Jazz Fusion bands. Unlike Bebop and Swing, Cool Jazz was so cool and quiet that you could snap to it, but you couldn’t clap to it. Even though Jazz was popular in the United States, many Jazz musicians such as Miles, found Europe, particularly France, more appreciative of their music.
The most innovative of Miles’ protégés was John Coltrane. He is not only renowned for his music but in some circles worshiped as a saint. In fact, he is the patron saint of John Coltrane Orthodox Church in San Francisco. In the late 50s, Coltrane had a spiritual epiphany the helped him to kick drugs and this spiritual experience was reflected in his music. He is consistently considered the quintessential Jazz saxophonist, often imitated but never duplicated
The Boogie Woogie sound of the 40s was extended to form the foundation of the Rock and Roll craze of the 50s and once again it started with America’s youth. In the post-World War II years, America emerged as the undisputed leader of the free world and the standard-bearer of democracy around the world. With the threat of Armageddon looming over the world in the form of Nuclear War and the more immediate threat of the Soviet Union in the form of the Cold War, the 50s was a transitional decade and a prelude to “the race for space.” America was not only seen as a military power, but it was also viewed as a new cultural center and the musical Mecca of the world.
Rock and Rollers were perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of television. It provided a forum for showmanship and was seen and heard simultaneously in cities and small towns across America. African American musicians such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Bo Diddley were the trendsetters of this new genre. The 50s saw the incorporation, many argue the imitation, of this style of music by white musicians. Record companies quickly realized that more money could be made by having white artists perform black songs.
Elvis Presley became the dominant figure of this style of music, not because he was the best or the most innovative, but because white youth could identify with him. Young white girls could think of Elvis and other white singers as being cute or sexy, but they could not think of any black male singer in this way. During the 50s, as in the decades before, interracial marriages were not only deemed taboo, but against the law in some states.
The introduction of televisions shows such as American Bandstand, hosted by the legendary Dick Clark and the Ed Sullivan Show, launched Rock and Roll into the public sphere. Such changes were not welcomed by all, as the merger of Black Music and whites dancing alongside blacks disturbed many during an era when segregation and “separate but equal” laws were being challenged in the highest court in the land. Many whites, particularly in the South, viewed Rock and Roll as the corruption of the white youth and the smearing of the color line long held between the two races.
Other technological inventions of the late 40s also contributed to the advancement of Rock and Roll in the 50s. The electric guitar was further enhanced by Leo Fender and Less Paul. Additionally, Columbia Records released the first 12-inch LP which allowed musicians to experiment. The 45 rpm smaller record provided enough space for a three-minute song to be recorded on one side and another on the flip side. These innovations set the stage for the music of the 60s and beyond.
Also popular during the 50s were Doo-wop groups such as The Platters, The Drifters and others which had a softer and more romantic sound. In the late-fifties, singers such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke combined Blues, Gospel and Jazz into a soulful sound that was a preface to the Soul Music of the 60s. Blind since the age of seven, Charles was not only a great singer but a talented musician. Sam Cooke’s career was short but fruitful. His Gospel roots could clearly be heard in his soulful singing. So much so that he was often called “The King of Soul.”
The 60s was a decade of rebellion, Civil Rights and civil discourse often reflected in its music and style of dress. By the mid-sixties, the clean-cut look of the 50s was superseded by long hair, bell-bottom pants and miniskirts. Gone, was the straight processed hair of Black artists — abandoned in favor of the Afro which reflected their affinity with Africa, and moreover, with themselves. They rejected the term Negro, in favor of black or Afro-American. Black people rebelled against injustice at home and white people rebelled against the Vietnam War abroad.
The Baby Boomers had come of age and with it came a disdain for the umbrella of war from which they were conceived. As in previous decades, African American musicians and vocalists were the pacesetters: from the soulful sounds of Motown and the gospel-like songs of Aretha Franklin that demanded respect — to the austere electric Rock of Jimi Hendrix.
Although centered in Detroit, MI, Motown was more than a city; it was the voice of America. As blacks migrated from the South to the Motor City, they forged the sound of a nation. Motown helped to transform the Rock and Roll and Doo-wop sound of the 50s into Soul Music of the 60s. Aretha’s style of singing was so soulful and so powerful that it made you feel like saying “Hallelujah” after hearing her sing.
Hendrix got his start with the Isley Brothers and also played in Little Richard’s band. Known for his unique playing style and on-stage theatrics, such as playing the guitar with his teeth and setting it on fire. He was instrumental in transforming Rock and Roll into Rock. During his lifetime he was idolized by other Rock guitarists. Although other black musicians had crossed over to white audiences, Hendrix was a black star in a genre comprised primarily of whites and included white members in his band.
The British Invasion of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and others was also stimulated by African American music. The Blues was a gift to them, and it returned to America in different draping. In fact, The Rolling Stones took their name from a Muddy Watters song. Yet, most white Americans saw this music as something different and of foreign origin.
The 1969 Woodstock concert was a seminal moment as black and white artists united under the banner of Peace, Love and Music. Woodstock was the culmination and the reflection of a turbulent decade — plagued by assassinations of American leaders, America’s confrontation with its hypocritical past and the direction of its future. It was, however, the popularity of this concert that convinced Miles Davis to develop an electric Jazz band which gave birth to Jazz Fusion, Jazz Funk and Smooth Jazz.
Moreover, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Mercy Mercy Me along with Stevie Wonder’s Music of my Mind and Superstition were both a reformation on the Motown sound of Smoky Robinson, The Supremes, The Temptations and others of the 60s and a window into the music and mindset of the 70s. Furthermore, in the late 60s, James Brown, Sly in the Family Stones and others helped to lay the foundations of what would become the Funk of the 70s. In the early 70s, the music of Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield and Gill Scott-Heron included rap, although it was not called it at the time.
In the 70s, Funk, Disco and Jazz Fusion conquered the airways and would give birth to Rap and Hip-hop music. The music of Earth, Wind and Fire, Parliament, and Donna Summer helped to define a new decade of Soul Music. Frequently referred to as Old School, the music of this decade had a profound impact on Rap and Hip-hop music which sampled its funky music to produce a new genre that has lasted decades. During an era, in which the CD became the widespread music media, young rappers went in search of LPs to scratch; thus, overlaying raps atop of sampled 70s beats.
In the 80s, the music and showmanship of Michael Jackson, reminiscent of the 50s Rock and Rollers, helped to define the music video and further heightened the Rap and Hip-hop culture. Jackson’s music was produced by Quincy Jones, a thirty-year composer of Jazz and Pop. Their collaboration began in 1979 with the hit album Off the Wall. A child protégé of the Motown era, ”The King of Pop”, as Jackson was so often called, was a megastar, treated like royalty and admired around the world. It was not necessarily the music of Michael Jackson that the new generation of rappers gravitated toward, but rather his showmanship.
The sampled music of 70s groups such as Chic’s Good Time (1979) and contemporary sounds such as Herbie Hancock’s Rockit (1983), which featured synthesizers and drum machines to produce unique sounds without a band, became the core of the early Rap and Hip-hop sound. Breakdancing, a new and innovative style of dancing that was frequently driven by Rap and Hip-hop, was also a product of the 80s.
Such techniques set the stage for N.W.A, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Biggie, and others that would emerge in the 90s as part of the Gangsta Rap craze. Although previous styles often included racy lyrics in their song, the use of profanity, the N word and the degradation of women in the form of the B word, along with the glorification of violence, was viewed by many as a bridge too far. As in other genres, these rappers became the mentors and models of a new generation of rappers, including: Jay-Z, Kanye West, 50 Cent, and others.
Hence, the current dominance of Rap and Hip-hop is just one link in a long chain of music — from the slave plantations of the South, to the modern-day. From the syncopated rhythms of Joplin to the synthesized melodies of Dr. Dre, Black Music has defined “what is hip”, before it hopped over to other forms of music and it has been a constant ambassador of American culture. Although the allure of freedom has always been the linchpin of America, it is somewhat ironic that it was the music of those held in bondage for centuries that helped to convey and display this message.
The embedded links represent a discography and history of 20th century African American music.
