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Celebrate Black History Month
Celebrate Black History Month by exploring the contributions of African-Americans to the legacy of American folk music. The survey below is by no means comprehensive - just a start.
A place to start learning about African-American music is with the songs of the Underground Railroad - mostly spirituals and spirituals adapted to speak specifically to the experience of slavery and the quest for freedom. Kim and Reggie Harris's Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railway is an accessible collection of these songs - an excellent resource for teaching - and their website's page on the CD offers extensive liner notes on the story behind each song as well as an informative article by Steve Kent.
One of our country's most distinctive, original art forms is the blues. With its rural roots, simple acoustic origins and improvisational form, the blues is squarely within the folk tradition. For a comprehensive biographical encyclopedia of blues musicians, browse the pages of the Blue Flame Cafe. And if you want one all-purpose blues site to serve as a jumping-off point for looking around the net, try this one, which lists all kinds of artists and events and has a huge links page.You might want to check out the Blues site at balladtree.com.
Blues came into the national spotlight through the work of female artists like Ma Rainey, Bessy Smith, and Memphis Minnie, who turned it into a form of popular music. Bonnie Raitt, Rory Block and Susan Tedeschi are their contemporary counterparts, exponents of this pop blues style. On the other hand, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Muddy Waters are all major links between blues, folk-rock and ultimately Rock n Roll. The young Keb Mo' has come to national attention for his portrayal of Robert Johnson. Taj Mahal has been a major exponent of folk blues along with the country blues duo Cephas & Wiggins. Today, Dave Van Ronk, Chris Smither and John Hammond Jr. are three of the most popular folk blues artists on the folk circuit, and Smither's songs rank with the best.
Paul Robeson, Lead Belly (Huddy Ledbetter), Odetta, Elizabeth Cotten and Josh White were some of the major African-American exponents of folk music who crossed the color line. All consistently addressed social issues either directly or indirectly through their work. Vance Gilbert and Jackie Washington continue this tradition, sending their positive message to largely white audiences.
On the pop front, Otis Blackwell wrote songs for Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis for $25 a pop - including some of the hits that have passed from pop into folk - this prolific writer's complete discography is an eye-opening glimpse at our national musical heritage. Gil Scott Heron sang and rapped to mainly acoustic accompaniment back in 1970, foreshadowing the work of political rappers like Public Enemy and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. The zydeco craze also reflects the fertile combination of Cajun with delta blues. Rounder's new Kingdom of Zydeco compilation powerfully illustrates the connections (see my review). Artists like Buckwheat Zydeco are now staples in the folk music world.
The movement among Blacks in America to reclaim their African heritage and culture has played a major role in the rise of world music over the last four decades. By far the most popular musical group in the folk world is Sweet Honey In The Rock. This a cappella sextet of women is absolutely captivating to listen to and watch, combining spiritual and political songs and promoting social action and change. Since its founding, the group has also always included a sign language interpreter, making them pioneers in bringing the art of song-signing to many major festivals. Also, check out Afropop Worldwide, a syndicated radio program that explores music with African roots around the world. And - where else do you put this - the power of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech owes more than a little to its music. You can find a complete copy of it online here. And sound clips here.
Finally, no discussion of the African-American contribution to American folk music would be complete without talking about rap music. Rap, with its tales of poverty, rape, murder and poisoning has more in common with folk music than anything being sung at today's folk festivals. It's always struck me as strange that the same people who happily listen to the tragic tales of "Omi Wise" (boy kills girl), "Tom Dooley" (boy kills girl) and "Pretty Boy Floyd" (boy kills cop) balk at Eminem and Ice-T. But even if these rappers aren't your cup of antifreeze, you might want to check out the work of all-acoustic, spoken word artists who set the tone for rap's forrays into social and political issues - Lord Buckley, The Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron - on my Poets & Rappers links page. And before you dismiss all of contemporary rap, you should listen to at least one song by Public Enemy.
For a whole page of links to African-American folk artists and online resources:
../links/afroam.htm
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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