The Roots of American Music: From West Africa to the Birth of Rock and Roll

West African Musical Roots and Cultural Proximity - Recordings of West African music used as reference were made in $1951$. - While the slave trade became illegal in the United States in the early part of the $19 ext{th century}$, the last slave boat arrived in $1860$. - This creates a gap of only $90 ext{ years}$ between the final group of enslaved people and the recordings made in West Africa. - This timeline suggests that only one or two generations separate the recordings from the lived experience of the slave trade, preserving cultural memory through direct transmission from grandfathers to grandchildren. - Cultural and musical practices are passed on very directly within this time span, which is essential to understanding the context of American music. # Complexity of West African Cultures - West Africa is described as a very complex place with many distinct cultures. - There is a significant distinction between Northern and Southern West Africa. - Northern West Africa is largely Muslim. Approximately $40 ext{\%}$ of the people taken from Africa and brought to the U.S. as slaves were Muslims. - These individuals were often literate and practiced a religion recognized as a modern religion, which had a major effect on American music. - Southern West African music is the primary focus of this specific discussion. # Musical Examples from Senegal and Nigeria - The first example (present-day Senegal) is a Wolof drum ensemble. It is characterized by a hard-driving, rhythmic, communal nature focused on drums. - The second example (Nigeria) features a single performer alternating between singing and playing a drum. This illustrates the tradition of using drums as an accompaniment for storytelling. - The rhythms in Nigerian Dundun drumming are described as complicated, elevated, and meaningful. - Despite the geographic distance between Senegal and Nigeria, their rhythmic influences can be used to determine paths of influence in later musical forms. - The third example is the Griat (or griot), a famous and influential figure across West African cultures. - The example features singing in the Wolof language, which is noted for its suitability for rapping. - Griots acted as news sources, describing local environments and events through music to pass information to listeners. - Connections are drawn between the primacy of rhythm and storytelling in these traditions and modern hip hop. # Religious Suppression and the Field Holer - Slaves were generally not allowed to maintain traditional instruments or cultural beliefs. - Because $40 ext{\%}$ of slaves were Muslim, Islamic practices such as the Adhan (call to prayer) survived in the cotton fields. - Islamic music is highly ornamented and follows strict modal rules, though performers often alter notes microtonally for artistic expression. - The "field holler" emerged as a mix of simple scales from Sub-Saharan Africa and European folk music with the Islamic practice of ornamenting notes. - Field hollers served as communication over long distances during labor and as a means of musical expression. - Mention of Omar ibn Said, a Muslim scholar from Mali who was sold into slavery. # Congo Square and Syncretic Music Development - Louisiana joined the U.S. in $1803$, bringing a population of slaves, freed Black people, and mixed-race Creoles. - The Code Noir (Black Code) required that slaves be given Sunday off. - To prevent unsupervised gatherings, authorities permitted slaves to gather in Congo Square to play drums and dance. - By the $1840 ext{s}$, various West African cultures yielded an "averaging out" or syncretism, blending different drumming styles and field hollers. - Creoles, some of whom were music teachers, introduced European instruments like trumpets, clarinets, and violins. - In the $1850 ext{s}$, authorities ended gatherings at Congo Square due to pressure to align with other slave states and fear of abolitionist-led revolts. - The foundations of American music, particularly marching band music and early jazz, were established in Congo Square. # The Negro Spiritual and Signifying - Slaves were largely converted to Christianity and permitted to sing European hymns at church. - These hymns were transformed into Negro spirituals through African performance practices, including melismas and "blue notes." - A crucial element of this music was "signifying" (as theorized by Henry Louis Gates), which involved using double talk and codes for resistance. - Spirituals focused on Old Testament themes, liberation theology, and the transmigration of the soul. - Coding examples: The "River Jordan" often symbolized the Ohio River and the path to freedom, and "Babylonian captivity" reflected their own enslavement. # The Bad Man Song - Derived from English ballads about tragic deaths and lurid murders where the perpetrator is punished by God or law. - African Americans adapted these in the late $1800 ext{s}$ to create the "bad man song." - In these versions, the murderer becomes the hero or anti-hero. The tragedy shifts from the crime to the death of the criminal (e.g., at the hands of a sheriff). - This tradition is linked to the rebellious and anti-authority themes in rock and roll and hip hop from the late $1980 ext{s}$ onward. # Two Streams of the Blues - Vaudeville Blues: Descended from Congo Square and variety shows. Featured composed music, large ensembles, and high levels of musicianship. Often performed by women like Mamie Smith. W.C. Handy was a famous composer. Prominent in Northern clubs and permanent venues following the Great Migration. - Country Blues: Derived from the traveling entertainer tradition (similar to the West African griots or ghouls). Performers traveled between farms/plantations bringing news, dirty stories, and "bad man" tales. # Instrumental Evolution: Banjo and Guitar - The banjo was invented by enslaved people in the Southern U.S. in the late $1800 ext{s}$ to approximate the sound of the Halam (a Wolof string instrument). - Early banjo music was a syncretic blend of African and New World elements. - The second generation of performers transitioned to the guitar, an instrument associated with the European middle class, for its ringing chords and sound projection. - Early guitars were often "found objects" acquired from plantation owners. # The Recording Industry and Race Records - In the $1920 ext{s}$, record companies focused on selling hardware (record players) in furniture stores. - White musicians often appropriated Black music; Paul Whiteman was known as the "King of Jazz" for creating "cleaned up" versions of Black music for white audiences. - Independent record companies emerged after copyright law changes, seeking new markets. - The Great Migration to Chicago, Harlem, and Los Angeles created a market of Black consumers seeking their culture on record. - Mamie Smith’s "Crazy Blues" led to the rise of "Race Records," which were sold and advertised exclusively in Black communities. - Industry practices often involved exploiting Black artists and not paying them. # Rhythm and Blues to Rock and Roll - Jerry Wexler of Billboard magazine changed the "Race Records" chart name to "Rhythm and Blues" (R&B) in the late $1940 ext{s}$ due to the Civil Rights Movement. - In Cleveland in $1953$, DJ Alan Fried noticed white suburban kids wanted to hear R&B. - To bypass racial stigmas and potential trouble, Fried rebranded R&B as "Rock and Roll." - By the late $1950 ext{s}$, rock and roll declined due to scandals, deaths, and Elvis Presley joining the army. - R&B continued to evolve into Motown, Soul (influenced by Gospel and the Civil Rights Movement), and Funk. - Rock music re-entered the U.S. via the British Invasion (e.g., The Beatles, Rolling Stones) as a white-coded genre from England. - Jamaica similarly developed its own traditions when the supply of American R&B records dried up in the late $1950 ext{s}$ and early $1960 ext{s}$.