Zuzanna Adamiec

nr 472309

Types of African-American Music

Typy Muzyki Afro-Amerykańskiej

Poznań, 2023
 Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................I

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................1, 2

CHAPTER 1 : JAZZ......................................................................................................3

1.1. DEFINITION OF JAZZ...............................................................................................3

1.2.1. BEST KNOWN JAZZ MUSICIANS - LOUIS ARMSTRONG........................................3
1.2.2. BEST KNOWN JAZZ MUSICIANS - ELLA FITZGERALD..........................................4

CHAPTER 2 : RHYTHM AND BLUES......................................................................5

2.1. DEFINITION OF RHYTHM AND BLUES......................................................................5

2.2.1. BEST KNOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES MUSICIANS - WILLIE MAE THORNTON..........5
2.2.2. BEST KNOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES MUSICIANS – ETTA JAMES...........................6

CHAPTER 3 : SOUL.....................................................................................................7

3.1. DEFINITION OF SOUL...............................................................................................7

3.2.1. BEST KNOWN SOUL MUSICIANS – ARETHA FRANKLIN.........................................7

3.2.2. BEST KNOWN SOUL MUSICIANS – NINA SIMONE..................................................8

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................10

REFERENCES.............................................................................................................11

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 Introduction

Music has always been a part of Africa. Many individuals would take part in practices,
often concerning religious or various rituals. Songs were often sung in unison, accompa-
nied by dancing. The two were treated as interrelated dance would not exist without
singing. Unfortunately, not every African person would live to perform in freedom.
When slave traders came in and kidnapped people from their homes, they also stripped
them of their cultural heritage. Many Africans had distinct cultures that nobody paid at-
tention to, living, breathing people with traditions and families were treated like cargo.
Every little thing that made them unique and essentially themselves, was taken away.
Music and memories were fundamentally all that they had left. This is one of the rea-
sons why plantation workers would sing while working, it provided a distraction from
the conditions that they found themselves in. That is where they found metaphorical,
and sometimes literal escape.
The songs performed by the African slaves carried much more meaning than
they seemed to have. The slave owners often encouraged the people that they kidnapped
to transfer to Christianism to gain more control over them. Little did they know that
songs generally accepted by masters could have double meanings. Two examples of
such songs are: “Roll, Jordan, Roll” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd”. The first one
refers to the Biblical river which separated Israelites from the Promised Land thus pro-
viding hope. The latter song was just as, or even more important. The lyrics to that song
described a way of getting away from plantations, not only by giving directions but also
referring to people that could provide more help with an escape. After gaining the abil-
ity to perform freely, there are various types of African-American music, but the ones

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that played the most significant roles in its development are jazz, rhythm and blues, and
soul.

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 Chapter 1: Jazz

1.1. Definition of jazz

There are about ten different types of jazz, that evolved throughout the twentieth
century, which makes it very hard to define. The city of New Orleans was where jazz
was born, in particular Congo Square, today’s Louis Armstrong Park (Gioia 2011). The
most crucial element of jazz is improvisation, the always changing form of jazz is
paradoxically its only constant. The instruments of jazz changed as the genre developed:
from trumpet, clarinet and trombone in New Orleans jazz, up to three trumpets and three
trombones, flute, clarinets, saxophones and upright bass in the Big Band jazz
(Breckenridge 2001). It definitely left its mark on music history, being the best known
music genre connected to African American people.

1.2.1. Best known jazz musicians - Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong gathered countless musical achievements during his lifetime. He be-
came one of the most important musical figure of the twentieth century. Collier (1983:
3) states, “Louis Armstrong was the preeminent musical genius of his era.” He is cred-
ited with inventing scat, a vocal improvisation that uses an onomatopoeic melody which
is similar to the instrumental sounds of jazz. When he was singing “Heebie Jeebies” on
a 1926 recording session, the rumor says that his music sheet fell on the floor in the

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middle of his vocal, causing Armstrong to continue by improvising phonetic sounds in
place of the words and thus, scat was created. (Nicholson 2004). His achievements are
impossible to fit on one page, but one of the most important ones was winning at the
1964 Grammy Awards for best male pop vocal performance.

1.2.2. Best known jazz musicians - Ella Fitzgerald

When learning about jazz music, not only Louis Armstrong is worth mentioning, but
also Ella Fitzgerald. Nicholson (2004: 17) states, ”Ella Fitzgerald lived to sing. Nothing
else in life meant as much to her. It was the focus of her whole being, sustaining her
career at the top of her profession through seven decades.” Few of her many
achievements were receiving thirteen Grammy awards and also the first Society of
Singers Lifetime Achievement Award was named “Ella” in her honor (Gavin et al.
2007). She was loved by many people worldwide, not only for her voice, and losing her
was a great tragedy.

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 Chapter 2: Rhythm and blues

2.1. Definition of rhythm and blues

First of, rhythm and blues consists of a variety of African American music styles, but
the most characteristic one is dancing music. Its improvisational instrumentation can re-
mind some of jazz. What is interesting, is that it had gospel vocal influences. The
rhythmic patterns of this musical genre are often compared to blues, swing and boogie
woogie. It was divided into four categories. The first two share one characteristic – vo-
cal male lead: “club” blues and jazz, and jump blues. The other two categories are “bar
band’’ blues, with lead female singer, use of full-throated vocal singing, and doo-wop -
usually performed by vocal quartet groups with the use of vocables.

2.2.1. Best known rhythm and blues musicians – Willie Mae Thornton

When it comes to women of rhythm and blues, there were not many who stood out like
Willie Mae Thornton did. Spörke (2014: 2) states, “She sang the megahit “Hound Dog”
before the major record labels began to copy or cover successful R&B song for predom-
inantly white pop market and Elvis Presley made a worldwide hit with the song” She
acquired the name ‘Big Mama’ after her performance at the Apollo Theatre in New
York. What is also interesting, is that she remained relatively unknown to ‘white’ audi-
ences for many years, just because people with fair skin color refused to play ‘black’
music on their stations. Also known as a person who dressed like a man, she was one of
the most central figures of rhythm and blues.

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2.2.2. Best known rhythm and blues musicians – Etta James

Another important figure in rhythm and blues was Etta James. During her life, she con-
tributed to the development of this music genre and managed to get over thirty awards
from various organizations, for example the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Fabian 2012).
Even famous modern musicians admit to having Etta as an inspiration, including
Christina Aguilera and Beyonce. Osha (2012: 3) said, “She was a tornado of a personal -
ity who displayed her powers through the earthiness and searing quality of her voice.”
Considered to be one of the most dynamic singers, she left a mark on today’s world that
will not be easily repeated.

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 Chapter 3: Soul

3.1. Definition of Soul

Soul music is one of the most interesting music genres, sometimes treated as an out-
growth of human emotions, was almost exclusively performed by Black artists. It con-
cerned itself with topics that covered experiences of African American people, like fight
with prejudice, discrimination, and the struggle for the access to equal education. Per-
formances communicated heartfelt emotions, grounded in equality, freedom, peace and
love. It developed from gospel music, as to better convey deep emotions. It could re-
mind some of jazz a performance represented how artists felt at a given time.

3.2.1. Best known soul musicians – Aretha Franklin

One of the most important singers of soul was Aretha Franklin. She did not have an
easy childhood, having given birth twice, before she turned fifteen years old. Her song
‘‘Respect” was embraced all around the world as the civil rights anthem and the rapidly
growing women’s movement. Awkward (2007: 26) stated: “While Franklin’s first At-
lantic release is endlessly fascinating, (…) it is impossible for me to locate within it or
its reception anything close to the sorts of compelling interpretative conflicts that can be
said to animate her performances on ‘Unforgettable’.” She also performed at Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s funeral, who was actually her childhood friend. Known as the “Queen
of Soul”, she will forever remain unforgettable.

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3.2.2. Best known soul musicians – Nina Simone

A very impactful and talented vocalist was Nina Simone. She was known as the “High
Priestess of Soul” because of her hypnotizing voice and the ability to make the listener
forget about the whole world while listening to her. Her most incredible quality not only
as a singer but also as a person was actively standing up to racism and social injustice.
The song “Mississippi Goddamn” is an iconic one. By shouting-singing the title of the
song, she brought attention to and protested the disturbing events of 1963. Simone
wrote this song right after she had heard about the bombing which resulted in the death
of four young African American girls (Feldstein 2005). She was not afraid to speak – or
rather sing her mind, and she deserves to be admired for that.

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 Conclusion

This research paper is about different types of music of African-American people and
the artists that created and shaped that genre. Firstly, jazz, one of the most crucial mu-
sical styles, along with people like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald were intro-
duced. Both of these musicians stayed on top of their professions until their deaths, and
are missed to this day. Furthermore, there was rhythm and blues and important names
such as Willie Mae Thornton and Etta James, incredibly dynamic and powerful singers,
whose performances shook the earth to its core. Lastly, the importance of soul in
African American culture was described. Its singers, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin,
played roles in the most significant events of Black history.

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 References

Breckenridge, Stan. 2001. African American music for everyone. Kendall, FL: Hunt
Publishing Co, U.S.
Gioia, Ted. 2011. The history of jazz. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA.
Collier, James Lincoln. 1983. Louis Armstrong, an American genius. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, USA
Nicholson, Stuart. 2004. A biography of the first lady of jazz. New York, NY: Routlcdge
Berger, Miriam Roskin. 2007. Women of vision: their psychology, circumstances, and
success. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
Spörke, Michael. 2014. Big Mama Thornton: the life and music. Jefferson, NC: McFar-
land & Company, Inc., Publishers
Osha, Olusanya. 2012. "Chess queen, Etta James (1938-2012)". Journal of Interna-
tional Women's Studies 13: 3.
Awkward, Michael. 2007. Soul covers. Durham: Duke University Press.
Feldstein, Ruth. 2005. "'I don't trust you anymore' Nina Simone, culture and black activ-
ism in the 1960s". The Journal of American History 91: 2.

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