African-American music

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African-American music is a broad term covering a diverse range of

Analyzing African music through the lens of European musicology can leave out much of the cultural use of sound and methods of music making. Some methods of African music making are translated more clearly though the music itself, and not in written form.^[7]

Blues and ragtime were developed during the late 19th century through the fusion of West African vocalizations, which employed the natural harmonic series and blue notes. "If one considers the five criteria given by Waterman as cluster characteristics for West African music, one finds that three have been well documented as being characteristic of Afro-American music. Call-and-response organizational procedures, dominance of a percussive approach to music, and off-beat phrasing of melodic accents have been cited as typical of the genre in virtually every study of any kind of African-American music from work songs, field or street calls, shouts, and spirituals to blues and jazz."^[8]

The roots of American popular music are deeply intertwined with African-American contributions and innovation. The earliest jazz and blues recordings emerged in the 1910s, marking the beginning of a transformative era in music. These genres were heavily influenced by African musical traditions, and they served as the foundation for many musical developments in the years to come.

As African-American musicians continued to shape the musical landscape, the 1940s witnessed the emergence of rhythm and blues (R&B). R&B became a pivotal genre, blending elements of jazz, blues, and gospel, and it laid the groundwork for the evolution of rock and roll in the following decade.^[9]

Historic traits

Most

American composer Olly Wilson outlines "heterogeneous sound ideals"^[15] that define traditional and common patterns in African Music, such as the use of timbre, pitch, volume and duration, and the incorporation of the body in making music. His findings include uses of call-and-response and the importance of interjections from the audience to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction.^[16] These heterogeneous sound ideals are also found in many other types of music.

History

18th century

In the late 18th century folk

Spirituals from the era of slavery are called Slave Shout Songs. These shout songs are sung today by Gullah Geechee people and other African Americans in churches and praise houses. During slavery, these songs were coded messages that spoke of escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad and were sung by enslaved African Americans in plantation fields to send coded messages to other slaves, unbeknownst to the slaveholders.^[18] According to musicologist and historian Eric Sean Crawford^[19] who published Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands, Gullah music influenced all genres of American music. Crawford said: "All genres of music have been influenced by Gullah Geechee spirituals. This music's bent notes, syncopated rhythms, and improvisational qualities heavily influenced gospel and country music. These musical traits found a secular home in the blues, jazz, and even later popular styles like hip hop".^[20] Scholar LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant explained Gullah spirituals are sacred music that connects Black Americans to ancestral spirits. She said: "I am suggesting that low country sacred music simultaneously takes on a cyclical and linear quality, which is best exemplified in the use of the low country clap, and the repetition of verses that literally push a song forward to invoke The Spirit. The rhythmic practices and theological motifs of this music suspend and push time by connecting with past traditions, while denoting a spiritual bond that is simultaneously ancestral, communal, and divine".^[21]

Slaves also used

Folk spirituals, unlike much white gospel, were often spirited. Slaves added dancing (later known as "

Folk spirituals were spontaneously created and performed in a repetitive, improvised style. The most common song structures are the call-and-response ("Blow, Gabriel") and repetitive choruses ("He Rose from the Dead"). The call-and-response is an alternating exchange between the soloist and the other singers. The soloist usually improvises a line to which the other singers respond, repeating the same phrase. Song interpretation incorporates the interjections of moans, cries, hollers, and changing vocal timbres, and can be accompanied by hand clapping and foot-stomping.

The Smithsonian Institution Folkways Recordings have samples of African American slave shout songs.^[28]

19th century

The influence of African Americans on mainstream American music began in the 19th century with the advent of blackface minstrelsy. The banjo, of African origin, became a popular instrument, and its African-derived rhythms were incorporated into popular songs by Stephen Foster and other songwriters. Over time the banjo's construction adopted some European traditions such as a flat fingerboard. Some banjos had five strings, in contrast to the West African three-string version. This resulted in the creation of several different types of banjos in the United States.^[29]

In the 1830s, the Second Great Awakening led to a rise in Christian revivals, especially among African Americans. Drawing on traditional work songs, enslaved African Americans originated and performed a wide variety of spirituals and other Christian music. Some of these songs were coded messages of subversion against slaveholders, or signals to escape. For example, Harriet Tubman sang coded messages to her mother and other slaves in the field to let them know she was escaping on the Underground Railroad. Tubman sang: "I'm sorry I'm going to leave you, farewell, oh farewell; But I'll meet you in the morning, farewell, oh farewell, I'll meet you in the morning, I'm bound for the promised land, On the other side of Jordan, Bound for the Promised Land."^[30][31][32]

During the period after the Civil War, the spread of African-American music continued. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers first toured in 1871. Artists including Jack Delaney helped revolutionize post-war African-American music in the central-east of the United States. In the following years, professional "jubilee" troops formed and toured. The first black musical-comedy troupe, Hyers Sisters Comic Opera Co., was organized in 1876.^[33] In the last half of the 19th century, barbershops often served as community centers, where men would gather. Barbershop quartets originated with African-American men socializing in barbershops; they would harmonize while waiting their turn, singing spirituals, folk songs and popular songs. This generated a new style of unaccompanied four-part, close-harmony singing. Later, white minstrel singers stole the style, and in the early days of the recording industry their performances were recorded and sold. By the end of the 19th century, African-American music was an integral part of mainstream American culture.

Early 20th century (1900s–1930s)

In a groundbreaking moment in 1898, Broadway witnessed the debut of the first musical created by African Americans, courtesy of Bob Cole and Billy Johnson. The musical landscape saw another milestone in 1890 with the first recording by black musicians—Bert Williams and George Walker—highlighting music from Broadway productions. Theodore Drury played a pivotal role in nurturing black talent in opera, establishing the Drury Opera Company in 1900. Despite its short run until 1908, the company left an indelible mark as the pioneer in black participation within opera. Fast forward to 1911, where Scott Joplin's trailblazing ragtime-folk opera, Treemonisha, took center stage, adding a unique and vibrant chapter to the history of African American contributions to the musical realm.^[34]

The early part of the 20th century saw a rise in popularity of

The Music School Settlement for Colored became a sponsor of the Clef Club orchestra in New York. The Clef Club Symphony Orchestra attracted both black and white audiences to concerts at Carnegie Hall from 1912 to 1915. Conducted by James Reese Europe and William H. Tyers, the orchestra included banjos, mandolins, and baritone horns. Concerts featured music written by black composers, notably Harry T. Burleigh and Will Marion Cook. Other annual black concert series include the William Hackney's "All-Colored Composers" concerts in Chicago and the Atlanta Colored Music Festivals.^[40]

The return of the black musical to Broadway occurred in 1921 with

By the 1940s,

Thurman Ruth persuaded a gospel group to sing in the Apollo Theater. This presentation of gospel music in a secular setting was successful, and he arranged gospel caravans that traveled around the country playing venues that rhythm and blues singers had popularized. Meanwhile, jazz performers began to move away from swing towards music with more intricate arrangements, more improvisation, and technically challenging forms. This culminated in bebop, the modal jazz of Miles Davis, and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane

.

African-American musicians in the 1940s and 1950s were developing rhythm and blues into

Bill Haley and Elvis Presley, playing a guitar-based fusion of black rock and roll and rockabilly. Rock music became more associated with white artists, although some black performers such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley

had commercial success.

In 2017,

National Public Radio wrote about the career of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and concluded with these comments: Tharpe "was a gospel singer at heart who became a celebrity by forging a new path musically ... Through her unforgettable voice and gospel swing crossover style, Tharpe influenced a generation of musicians including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry and countless others ... She was, and is, an unmatched artist."^[45]

As the 1940s came to a close, other African Americans endeavored to concertize as classical musicians in an effort to transcend racial and nationalistic barriers in the post-war era. In 1968 Henry Lewis became the first African-American instrumentalist in a leading American symphony orchestra, an early "musical ambassador" in support of cultural diplomacy in Europe, and the first African-American conductor of a major American symphonic ensemble in 1968.^{[46][47][48][49]}

The term "rock and roll" had a strong sexual connotation in jump blues and R&B, but when DJ Alan Freed referred to rock and roll on mainstream radio in the mid 50s, "the sexual component had been dialed down enough that it simply became an acceptable term for dancing".^[50]

R&B was a strong influence on rock and roll, according to many sources, including a 1985

Wall Street Journal article titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues". The author states that the "two terms were used interchangeably", until about 1957.^[51]

The 1950s marked a significant uptick in the allure of blues, captivating audiences both in the US and across the pond in the UK, reminiscent of early 20th-century styles. Alongside this blues resurgence, Doo-wop center stage, enchanting listeners with its unique blend of vocal group harmonies, playful nonsense syllables, minimal instrumentation, and straightforward lyrics. Doo-wop, often featuring solo artists with backing groups, emphasized lead singers who played a prominent role in the musical arrangement. Simultaneously, a secularized version of American gospel music, known as soul ,emerged in the mid-1950s, led by trailblazers like Ray Charles,^[57] Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.^[58] This soulful wave had a profound impact, influencing not only surf music but also paving the way for chart-topping girl groups like The Angels and The Shangri-Las. In a dance revolution, 1959 saw Hank Ballard releasing a song tailored for the new dance craze, "The Twist," which would become a sensation defining the early '60s.^[59]

In 1959,

In 1964 the Civil Rights Act outlawed major forms of discrimination towards African Americans and women. As tensions began to diminish, more African-American musicians crossed over into the mainstream. Some artists who successfully crossed over were Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ella Fitzgerald in the pop and jazz worlds, and Leontyne Price and Kathleen Battle in classical music.

By the end of the decade, black people were part of the

In the 1970s, album-oriented soul continued its popularity while musicians such as

Some African-American artists including The Jackson 5, Roberta Flack, Teddy Pendergrass, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, The O'Jays, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Earth, Wind & Fire found crossover audiences, while white listeners preferred country rock, singer-songwriters, stadium rock, soft rock, glam rock, and, to some degree, heavy metal and punk rock.

During the 1970s,

From about 1986,

While heavy metal music was almost exclusively created by white performers in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a few exceptions. In 1988, all-black heavy metal band Living Colour achieved mainstream success with their début album Vivid, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, thanks to their Top 20 single "Cult of Personality". The band's music contained lyrics that attack what they perceived as Eurocentrism and racism in America. A decade later, more black artists like Lenny Kravitz, Body Count, Ben Harper, and countless others would start playing rock again.^{[citation needed]}

1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and today

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2021)

Along with the singer-songwriter influence on hip-hop and R&B, there was an increase in creativity and expression through Rap music. Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G. ("Biggie"), N.W.A, Lil' Kim, Snoop Dogg, and Nas broke into the music industry. '90s rap introduced many other subgenres including Gangsta rap, Conscious rap, and Pop rap.^[66] Gangsta rap focused on gang violence, drug dealing and poverty.^[66] It was also a major player in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Main players in this rivalry were Tupac and Suge Knight on the West Coast and The Notorious B.I.G. and Diddy on the East Coast.

By the early 2000s R&B began to emphasize solo artists with pop appeal, including

Hip-hop remains a genre created and dominated by African-Americans. In its early years the lyrics were about the hardships of being black in the United States. White-owned record labels controlled how hip-hop was marketed, resulting in changes to the lyrics and culture of hip-hop to suit white audiences. Scholars and African-American hip-hop creators noticed this change. Hip-hop is used to sell cars, cell phones, and other merchandise.[67]^[68]

The hip-hop movement has become increasingly mainstream as the music industry has taken control of it. Essentially, "from the moment 'Rapper's Delight' went platinum, hiphop the folk culture became hiphop the American entertainment-industry sideshow."^[69]

In the early 2000s, 50 Cent was one of the most popular African-American artists. In 2005, his album The Massacre sold over one million albums in its first week. In 2008, Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter III also sold more than a million copies in its first week.^[70]

Within a year of Michael Jackson's unexpected death in 2009, his estate generated $1.4 billion in revenues. A documentary containing rehearsal footage for Jackson's scheduled This Is It tour, entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It, was released on October 28, 2009, and became the highest-grossing concert film in history.^[71]

In 2013, no African-American musician had a Billboard Hot 100 number one, the first year in which there was not a number-one record by an African-American in the chart's 55-year history.

In the early 2020s, Drill Music gained traction nationally, led by artists like Lil Durk, B-Lovee and Ice Spice. Oftentimes the genre incorporates background beats from popular songs and adds their twist.

Cultural impact

Through the hybridization of African, European, and Native American cultural elements, African American music has made itself "a distinctly American phenomenon".^[79]

Jim Crow & Civil Rights Eras (early to mid 20th century)

The music made during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights era awakened "the passion and purposefulness of the Southern Civil Rights Movement" that "provided a stirring musical accompaniment to the campaign for racial justice and equality".^[80] African-American men, women, and children from across the nation came together in social settings such as marches, mass meetings, churches, and even jails and "conveyed the moral urgency of the freedom struggle".^[80] African-American music served to uplift the spirits and hearts of those fighting for civil rights.^[80] Guy Carawan referred to the Civil Rights Movement as "the greatest singing movement this country has experienced".^[81]

"We Shall Overcome"

Often called "the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement", "

In 1947, Horton added some verses to the song and taught Pete Seeger her version.^[81] Seeger revised the song from "We will" to "We shall".^[82] In April 1960 at Raleigh, North Carolina, folk singer Guy Carawan sang the new version at the founding convention of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), starting its quick spread throughout the Civil Rights Movement.^[81] Seeger, Carawan, and Frank Hamilton copyrighted the song to prevent it from becoming a "commercialized pop song".^[81]

"We Shall Overcome" continued to spread rapidly as the Civil Rights Movement gained supporters and momentum.

Record stores played a vital role in African-American communities for many decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, between 500 and 1,000 black-owned record stores operated in the American South, and probably twice as many in the United States as a whole. According to The Political Economy of Black Music By Norman Kelley,"Black music exists in a neo-colonial relationship with the $12 billion music industry, which consist of six record companies." African-American entrepreneurs embraced record stores as key vehicles for economic empowerment and critical public spaces for black consumers at a time that many black-owned businesses were closing amid desegregation.^[84] Countless African Americans have worked as musical performers, club owners, radio deejays, concert promoters, and record label owners. Many companies use African-American music to sell their products. Companies like Coca-Cola, Nike, and Pepsi have used African-American music in advertising.^[85]

International influence

Jazz and hip-hop traveled to Africa and Asia and influenced other genres of African and Asian Music.^[86] Many state that without African-American music, there would be no American music.^[87] The songs that Africans brought to America created a foundation for American music.^[87] The textural styles, slang and African-American Vernacular English influenced American pop culture and global culture. The way African Americans dress in hip-hop videos and how African Americans talk is copied in the American market and the global market.^[88][89]

Afrobeat

Hip-hop came to Korea in the 1990s and developed into Korean hip-hop and Korean K-pop music.^[96] Some Korean artists have appropriated African-American vernacular and other aspects of Black culture.^[97][98] Groups like the girl group MAMAMOO have been known to dress in blackface, and others speak in "blaccents" and wear their hair in ethnic styles. Artist Zico has used the n-word in his music, and has claimed that he has a "black soul."^[99] As of 2020, within "K-pop, blackface, mouthing or saying racial slurs, and purely aesthetic uses of Black culture and hairstyles" were still common,^[100] without necessarily understanding, honoring or crediting their African-American roots.^[99] According to sources cited in a 2020 Guardian article, many K-pop artists do not show support for African-American social justice issues. "[M]any international fans are waiting for the industry to develop a more sensitive, globalized understanding of race."^[100] In Korean there are phrases that have been misconstrued to sound like the a racial slur. These include the phrase "because of" (니까), pronounced 'nikka' and the word "you" or "you're" (니가), pronounced 'neega'.^[101]

See also

References

Sources

• ISBN 0-393-97141-4
• ISBN 0-02-860294-3
  .
• Cobb, Charles E. Jr., "Traveling the Blues Highway",
  National Geographic Magazine
  , April 1999, v. 195, n.4
• Dixon, RMW & Godrich, J (1981), Blues and Gospel Records: 1902–1943, Storyville, London.
• Hamilton, Marybeth: In Search of the Blues.
• Leadbitter, M., & Slaven, N. (1968), Blues Records 1943–1966, Oak Publications, London.
• ISBN 978-0807833254
  (with CD and DVD)
• Ferris, William; Glenn Hinson, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 14: Folklife, University of North Carolina Press (2009).
  ISBN 978-0-8078-3346-9
  (Cover :photo of James Son Thomas)
• Ferris, William; Blues From The Delta, Da Capo Press; revised edition (1988).
  ISBN 978-0306803277
• ISBN 978-0393337501
• Harris, Sheldon; Blues Who's Who, Da Capo Press, 1979.
• Nicholson, Robert; Mississippi Blues Today! Da Capo Press (1999).
  ISBN 978-0-306-80883-8
• ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6
• Ramsey Jr, Frederic; Been Here And Gone, 1st edition (1960), Rutgers University Press; London Cassell (UK) and New Brunswick, NJ. 2nd printing (1969), Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ: University Of Georgia Press, 2000.
• Wilson, Charles Reagan,
  ISBN 978-0-8078-1823-7

Further reading

• Joshua Clark Davis, "For the Records: How African American Consumers and Music Retailers Created Commercial Public Space in the 1960s and 1970s South," Southern Cultures, Winter 2011.
• Work, John W., compiler (1940), American Negro Songs and Spirituals: a Comprehensive Collection of 230 Folk Songs, Religious and Secular, with a Foreword. Bonanza Books, New York. N.B.: Consists most notably of an analytical study of this repertory, on p. 1–46, an anthology of such music (words with the notated music, harmonized), on pp. 47–250, and a bibliography, on p. 252–256.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to African American music.

• A collection of African-American Gospel Music from the Library of Congress
• Shall We Gather at the River, a collection of African-American sacred music, made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida
• 20 historical milestones in African-American music
• "Negro Melodies" .
  New International Encyclopedia
  . 1905.
• History of African music