Starr and Waterman (2014, page 133) describe W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis
Blues”, as performed by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, with words like “direct”,
“sincere”, and “emotionally devastating.” While the song is written about love
lost, I do not agree with the feeling of emotional devastation from Armstrong’s use
of deep vibrato and Smith’s addition of blue notes. If anything, I think the
song serves as emotional closure and the pain from the St. Louis break up
should be felt less after this musical experience. Even further removed from a
sad feeling, the instrumental arrangement is played often where I reside as an
anthem for our local hockey team.
The previous readings and
listening examples have made note of influential songs that have been recorded
by more modern performers, however it wasn’t until this week that I discovered
some “covers” that I have long known. Two in particular, “Crossroad Blues” by
Eric Clapton and “Wreck of Old ‘97” by Johnny Cash, are tracks I have been
familiar with for quite some time but did not realize they have a vernacular
history long before Clapton and Cash. Vernon Dalhart’s “Wreck of the Old ‘97” is
credited as the first big country music hit. While quite different from Cash’s
rendition, with a long instrumental introduction and a whistling break, the
basic form is held true in both. It is neat to see the correlation between the
artists over so many decades.
Chapter six also brought
familiarity through the introduction of swing music. Fletcher Henderson’s composition
of “Wrappin’ it Up” and arrangement of “Taking a Chance on Love” are no doubt similar
to what you would here a present day “jazz band” include in their repertoire. The
use of woodwinds, brass, and the rhythm section along with large, structured
solo sections for improvisation separated these swing bands from the older and smaller
jazz bands. This may pose the question why do we refer to public school
ensembles who play this style as “jazz bands” and not “swing bands”? As can be
heard in “Wrappin it Up”, Henderson had quite the ability to make music pleasing
for these ensembles. Benny Goodman took notice of his skills and hired him. With
the Goodman band playing Henderson arrangements, while Henderson was also in
the band, I wonder how much musical direction was provided by Goodman.
Two of the other very well-known
recordings from chapter six have some interesting contributors to their
success. “In the Mood” as performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which held
the number one spot on the charts for twelve weeks (2014, page 173),
coincidentally has an easy to follow structure. “Paper Doll”, as recorded by
the vocal harmony group the Mills Brothers, happened to fall during the American
Federation of Musician’s recording strike, which encouraged record companies to
focus on vocal artists.
The Latin music in the
Swing era had to ease its way into America. Musicians like Xavier Cugat, Chano
Pozo, and Machito (Frank Grillo) came to New York to spread Latin music, but
did so diligently. As Cugat noted about Americans’ acceptance of Latin music “they
have to be given music more for the eyes than the ears” (page 185). This is
evident in Machito and his Afro-Cubans’ performance of “Nague” complete with
palm trees around the stage.
Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American
popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
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