African American Women And Music Essay Example For Students

African American Women And Music Essay The purpose of this report was for me to research and explore the connection between African American women and music. Since prior to the slave decades, music has been an integral part of African American society, and served as a form of social, economic, and emotional support in African American communities in the past and present. This paper will cover three different types of secular music that emerged during the slave days, through the civil war, reconstruction, and depression periods. They are blues, jazz, and gospel music. Each of these forms of music are still in existence today. In addition to exploring the history of each of these genres of music, this report will identify three African American female music legends, Bessie Smith, Emma Barrett, and Mahalia Jackson. Blues emerged in the period between the end of the civil war, and the beginning of the 20th century. Originating in the fields of the rural south, it became popular after the emancipation of the slaves. In this form of music, the singer and composer is one in the same, a characteristic not evident in the spiritual songs of the slave communities. Spirituals were somewhat of a passage way for blues. Blues followed blacks to urban societies as spirituals followed the slaves onto the plantations. The differences between these types of music were that spirituals were collective, whereas an individual sang blues. Blues attributed to the evolution of black society toward individualism after the collective society of slavery. Blues became know as the music of the black working class. It was a way for African Americans to express the modern problems of economics, social errors, and poverty and power struggles they faced after they became free. African Americans were still living in unjust societies, where jobs were hard to find. They began to migrate north, but the case remained the same. They used music for economic gain in nightclubs, corner halls, publishing, and recording. One of the greatest African American female blues singers was Bessie Smith. She was born on April 15, 1894 or 1898. The exact date is unknown. Her father William was a preacher, who died when Bessie was very young. This left her mother to raise seven children on her own. When Bessie was nine years old, her mother Laura had passed away, and two of her brothers had died as well. The oldest sister brought up the five remaining brothers and sisters. Prior to the death of Bessies mother, she was singing on a street corner to the accompaniment of her brothers guitar. The money that she made went to support the family. At the age of eighteen, she began performing professionally as a dancer. While traveling the south and mid-west, she met Ma Rainey, The Mother of Blues. She joined the most influential agency handling black artists, Theater Owners Booking Association TOBA. In February 1923, Bessie recorded for Columbia Record Company. Her songs Down-hearted Blues and Gulf Coast Blues sold 780,000 copies in less than six months. The contract Bessie signed with Columbia yielded a $20,000 yearly salary. Her popularity increased rapidly, and TOBA was able to book her for theater and club shows paying up to $2,500 per week for personal appearances. Life for Bessie became hectic, as she was unable to manage such large sums of money. By 1928, her popularity leveled off due to a decline in the popularity of blues. In addition to this, TOBA folded in the summer of 1930. In the same year, Columbia renegotiated her contract for half of the original contract of 1923. And, in 1931, Columbia dropped her altogether. Sound and music industry EssayThey disapproved of all kinds of secular music, including jazz, blues, and ragtime. Mahalia would sneak to listen to recordings of Bessie Smith, and other popular women of secular women. At age 16, she moved to Chicago and joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church Choir. Her strong, distinct voice carried above the entire choir, landing her a soloist spot. She also began to sing in popular storefront churches. Mahalia was not accepted by formal black congregations because of the strong rhythms in her songs. This rhythm is likely to have come from her listening to the secular jazz and blues music her religious family so strongly disapproved of. Her first recording was in 1934, and was named God Gonna Separate the Wheat From the Tares. Her first big hit came eleven years later in 1945. It was Move On Up a Little Higher . Eight of Mahalias records sold over one million copies each. Some of her most famous songs were I Believe, Hes Got the Whole World in His Hands, Just Over the Hill, and I Can Put My Trust in Jesus. All of her songs were drawn from biblical themes, but influenced by the blues. Mahalia was said to have one of the greatest potential blues voices, but only sang religious songs. Some of her greatest accomplishments were singing at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961, filling Carnegie Hall, and singing at the Newport Jazz Festival. Mahalia was also closely associated with the civil rights movement. She died in Illinois on January 27, 1972. Blues, Jazz, and Gospel each contributed to the completeness of the other. Each was a form of music used to express the inner most feelings of African Americans during such a struggling period of time. These forms of music were followed by several other music genres leading up to what we now know as soul music, rhythm and blues, and even rap music. During the years of emancipation and slavery, women of all colors had none or close to no role in American society. The three African American women defined in this report broke the mold. Not only did they have to overcome race barriers, but they also had to overcome the gender barriers alive at that time. The accomplishments they made speak for themselves, and they certainly opened up the door for some of the present African American females in music, such as Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Dianna Ross, to name a few.