Songster

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For the Soviet anti-tank missile, see
AT-8 Songster. For a composer of songs, see Songwriter. For a book of song lyrics, see Song book
.
Look up songster in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A "songster" is a wandering musician, usually but not always African-American, of the type which first appeared in the late 19th century in the southern United States.

Songsters in American culture

The songster tradition both pre-dated and co-existed with

Reconstruction era in the United States, when African-American musicians became able to travel and play music for a living.[1] Black and white musicians shared the same repertoire and thought of themselves as "songsters" rather than "blues" musicians.[2]

Songsters generally performed a wide variety of

minstrel songs. Initially, they were often accompanied by non-singing "musicianers", who often played banjo and fiddle. Later, as the guitar became more widely popular, the songsters often accompanied themselves.[3]

Songsters often accompanied

honky tonks
became more popular, so the older songster style became less fashionable.

Songsters had a notable influence on blues music, which developed from around the turn of the 20th century. However, there was also a change in song styles. Songsters often sang composed songs or traditional ballads, frequently about legendary heroes or characters such as "

Stagger Lee
". Blues singers, in contrast, tended to invent their own lyrics (or recycle those of others) and develop their own tunes and guitar (or sometimes piano) playing styles, singing of their own lives and shared emotional experiences.

Many of the earliest recordings of what is now referred to as the blues were made by songsters who commanded a much wider repertoire, often extending to popular

Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters
, performed a wide variety of music in public, but recorded only that proportion of their material which was seen by their producers as original or innovative.

The Salvation Army

In

soldier (member) who is commissioned to sing in a Salvation Army choir, which is called a "Songster Brigade".[6]
When a soldier of The Salvation Army wishes to join a Songster Brigade, he or she signs an agreement and is subsequently "promoted" to the rank of songster.

Songster Brigades are led by a Songster Leader, who is assisted by a Deputy Songster Leader.[6] Brigades are helped administratively by a Songster Sergeant, Songster Secretary and a Songster Treasurer who all assist the Songster Leader in the organization of the brigade. There is also a Songster Librarian, who handles and organizes the music, and a Songster Pianist.

Examples of songsters

See also

References

  1. ^ Fawcett, Kirstin (July 1, 2014). "Before There was the Blues Man, There Was the Songster". smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Golding, Barrett. "The Rise and Survival of the Country Blues". Npr.org. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  3. ISBN 0-333-40784-9
  4. ^ Gene Fowler's article entitled "'Physic Opera' on the Road: Texas Musicians in Medicine Shows". Journal of Texas Music History, 8(1) (2008); p. 11
  5. ISBN 978-0-06-052427-2
  6. ^
    General
    . Regulations And Guidelines For Musicians. Territorial Headquarters, London, 2000.
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