Civil Rights Music

by Reiland Rabaka

  7. My interpretation of the origins and early evolution of rhythm & blues has been influenced by Baptista (2000), Broven (1974, 1978), Govenar and Joseph (2004), Otis (1993), A. Shaw (1978), and Wexler (1993).

  8. For further discussion of the assertion that at its emergence rhythm & blues represented the wide range and wide reach of post-war African American thought and culture, see George (1988), Osborne and Hamilton (1980), A. Shaw (1986), and Stamz (2010). And, for further discussion of my contention that early rhythm & blues was a music of motion, the sound of a people on the move—figuratively, physically, socially, and politically speaking, see Hildebrand (1994), O.A. Jackson (1995), and Ripani (2006).

  9. My emphasis on classic rhythm & blues having two meanings, one musical and the other extra-musical, between 1945 and 1965 has been influenced by several early rhythm & blues musicologists, see Caponi-Tabery (1999, 2008), Eastman (1989), Govenar and Joseph (2004), Maultsby (2006, 2015), McCourt (1983), Ripani (2006), and A. Shaw (1978, 1986).

  10. For further discussion of the African American migration during the early-to-mid twentieth century that significantly impacted the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement and its rhythm & blues soundtrack, see Arnesen (2002), D.L. Baldwin (2007), Blocker (2008), Groh (1972), Grossman (1991), Hahn (2003), Johnson and Campbell (1981), Lemann (1991), Marks (1989), Wilkerson (2010), Tolnay and Beck (1992), and Trotter (1991).

  11. My interpretation of African American migration between 1940 and 1970 has been informed by Askin (1970), Dodson and Diouf (2004), DuBose-Simons (2013), Gill (1975), Gregory (2005), L.L. Harris (2012), and A. Harrison (1991).

  12. The emphasis here on the city-centered nature of post-World War II black popular music, from bebop to hip hop, has been influenced by Banfield (2010), DjeDje and Meadows (1998), Forman (2002), Goosman (2005), M.A. Hunter (2010), Kochman (1972), Peretti (1992, 2009), Ramsey (2003), and L. Thomas (2008),

  13. My assertion that every major form of modern African American (or African American-derived) music, from rock & roll and soul to funk and disco, has utilized the innovations of early rhythm & blues as sonic paradigms and points of departure has been influenced by Banfield (2010, 2011), Maultsby (2006, 2015), Ramsey (2003), Ripani (2006), and A. Shaw (1986).

  14. My assertion that the Civil Rights Movement can be interpreted as a decade-long synthesis and translation of classic rhythm & blues’ extra-musical expressions into action, into collective struggle and radical political praxis, has been indelibly influenced by D. Brackett (2005), Carawan and Carawan (2007), D.C. Carter (2009), Dunson (1965), Garofalo (1992), Guralnick (1986), Maultsby (2006, 2015), Sanger (1995), S.E. Smith (1999), Ward (1998, 2001, 2004), and Werner (2004, 2006b).

  15. My interpretation of Louis Jordan and his distinct brand of jump blues has been informed by Chilton (1992), Eastman (1989), Koch (2014), and Robertson, Guerinot, Robertson and Levine (2013).

  16. For further discussion of jump blues, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my interpretation here, see Cohodas (2000), Coleman (2006), K.H. Miller (2010), and Shaw (1969, 1978, 1986, 1987b, 1998).

  17. For further discussion of the “white violence” (or, rather, anti-black racist violence) against African Americans during and immediately after World War II, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Berry (1994), A.V. Collins (2012), Kruse and Tuck (2012), Kryder (2000), Markovitz (2004), Nevels (2007), O’Brien (1999), Reddy (2011), H. Shapiro (1988), Waldrep (2001, 2002, 2006, 2009), and A.L. Wood (2009).

  18. For further discussion of the anti-black racism of, and segregationist policies in the U.S. military during and immediately after World War II, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Becton (2008), Brandt (1996), R.B. Edgerton (2001), Hervieux (2015), Hope (1979), Kimbrough (2007), McGuire (1983), Mjagkij (2011), B.L. Moore (1996), C.P. Moore (2005), and C.L. Williams (2010).

  19. For further discussion of the “Double V” campaign and its transformative impact on the worldviews of African American soldiers and civilians alike during and immediately after World War II, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Bailey and Farber (1993), R. James (2013), Jefferson (2008), E.L. Perry (2002a, 2002b), McGuire (1983), K.L. Phillips (2012), Scott and Womack (1998), J.E. Taylor (2013), Washburn (1981, 1986), and Wynn (2010).

  20. For further discussion of A. Philip Randolph’s life, legacy, and 1940s March on Washington Movement, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see J. Anderson (1973), Bynum (2010), D.S. Davis (1972), W.H. Harris (1977), Kersten (2007), Kersten and Lang (2013), Marable (1980), C.C. Miller (2005), Pfeffer (1990), Randolph (2014), C. Taylor (2006), Welky (2013), and S.E. Wright (1990).

  21. Lynne Ianniello’s Milestones Along the March: Twelve Historic Civil Rights Documents, from World War II to Selma (1965) continues to provide one of the best overviews of key civil rights legislation and is highly recommended to those seeking an understanding of the evolution of civil rights legislation between 1945 and 1965.

  22. Beyond Baraka’s Blues People, my interpretation here has greatly benefitted from close readings of Arnold Shaw’s classic Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm & Blues (1978) and Doug Miller’s “The Moan within the Tone: African Retentions in Rhythm & Blues Saxophone Style in Afro-American Popular Music” (1995).

  23. For further discussion of vocal harmony groups, street corner groups, barbershop quartets or, more simply, doo-wop groups, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Friedman and Gribin (2003), Goldberg (1998), Gribin and Schiff (1992, 2000), J.M. Jackson (2015), B. Morrow (2007), Pruter (1996), Rosalsky (2000), Runowicz (2010), and Santiago and Dunham (2006).

  24. My interpretation of the cultural, social, and political world doo-wop emerged from and, more or less, mirrored has been informed by L. Abbott (1992), Averill (2010), Baptista (2000), M. Ellison (1989), Goosman (1992, 1997, 2005), J.M. Jackson (2015), Kaplan (1993), Lornell (1995), Naison (2004), Phinney (2005), Ripani (2006), and Stebbins (1996).

  25. For further discussion of authenticity, “realness,” and “soulfulness” within the world of black popular music and black popular culture, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Banfield (2010), Bracey (2003), M. Ellison (1989), Goldman (1999), Le Gendre (2012), Jones and Jones (2001), Moten (2003), Nielsen (1997), and R.F. Thompson (1983).

  26. For further discussion of black popular music’s contributions to, and influence on the Great American Songbook, especially Tin Pan Alley pop, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Abbott and Seroff (2002), Appell and Hemphill (2006), Bennett, Shank and Toynbee (2005), Harer (2015), Kempton (2003), J.M. Jackson (2015), Riis (2006), Rubin and Melnick (2001), and Sanjek and Sanjek (1996).

  27. A couple of the most noteworthy works that informed my interpretation of American radio and television history and culture here include N. Browne (1994), Castleman and Podrazik (2003), G.R. Edgerton (2007), Mitchell (2010), Magoun (2007), Rudel (2008), J.A. Walker (2001), and Zook (2008).

  28. For further discussion of the contention that since the middle of the twentieth century every major form of black popular music has reflected and articulated, however incongruously, the core views and values of the major black popular movement of its era, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Banfield (2010, 2011), Burnim and Maultsby (2006, 2015), D.C. Carter (2009), Floyd (1995), B.W. Peretti (2009), Ramsey (2003), T.V. Reed (2005), Roach (1973), Rublowsky (1971), Sanger (1995), Schenbeck (2012), Southern (1997), E.L. Stewart (1998), and Tudor and Tudor (1979).

  29. For further discussion of Berry Gordy’s life and legacy, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see Abbott (2000), George (2007), Gordy (1994), Hirshey (1984), Maraniss (2015), and Singleton (1990).

  30. For further discussion of Motown’s origins and early evolution, and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis h
ere, see Benjaminson (1979, 2008, 2012), Dahl (2001), S. Davis (1988), Early (2004), Flory (2006), George (2007), Jamerson (1989), Maraniss (2015), Morse (1971), Ribowsky (2009, 2010a, 2010b), J. Ryan (2012), S.E. Smith (1999), Waller (1985), and A. White (1985).

  31. For further discussion of the much-celebrated “Motown sound,” and for the most noteworthy works that informed my analysis here, see K. Abbott (2000), Carasik (1972), Early (2004), Flory (2006), Fuller and Mack (1985), George (2007), E.E. Jones (2008), Lüthe (2010), Maraniss (2015), and Ribowsky (2009, 2010a, 2010b).

  32. It is interesting to observe that around the same time that Motown was “whitening and lightening” its rhythm & blues, over in Chicago Leonard and Phil Chess’s Chess Records was pushing Etta James, undoubtedly their most famous rhythm & blues/soul singer, in a pop or “cross-over” direction. Recording thirteen albums for Chess between 1960 and 1978, James’s first four Chess albums—which is to say, At Last! (1960), The Second Time Around (1961), Etta James Sings for Lovers (1962), and Etta James Top Ten (1963)—were each in their own way string-laden, early “pop soul” or “soft soul” records. By the time she recorded and released more soulful and musically mature albums such as The Queen of Soul (1965), Call My Name (1966), Tell Mama (1968), Etta James Sings Funk (1970), and Losers Weepers (1971), James had reinvented and re-branded herself as one of the undisputed “Queens of Soul” (alongside the likes of Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Carla Thomas, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack, Millie Jackson and, of course, Aretha Franklin) and indelibly etched her name into the annals of black popular music. For further discussion of Chess Records, see Broven (2009), Cohodas (2000), R. Cohen (2004, 2005), and Collis (1998). And, for further discussion of Etta James’s life and music, see Gulla (2008, 147–166), B. Jackson (2005), and E. James (1995).

  33. Several youth-centered or, at the least, youth issues-sensitive historical works on the Civil Rights Movement informed my narrative here, among them Blake (2004), Branch (1988, 1998, 2006), Bullard (1993), T.L. Bynum (2013), Carson, Garrow, Gill, Harding and Hine (1997), Dierenfield (2008), de Schweinitz (2009), Holsaert, Noonan and Richardson (2010), Kelley and Lewis (2000), Lawson and Payne (2006), E.S. Levine (1993), A.B. Lewis (2009), Loder-Jackson (2015), Morris (1981, 1984), Weisbrot (1990), and J. Williams (1987).

  34. In his famous, or should I say infamous, “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech in Malcolm X Speaks (1990), Malcolm X sternly stated: “No, I’m not an American. I’m one of the 22 million black people who are victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I’m not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver—no, not I. I’m speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare” (26). For further discussion of Malcolm X’s critique of the “American Dream” and Martin Luther King’s, as well as other Civil Rights Movement moderates’, embrace of the “American Dream,” see Branch (1988, 1998, 2006, 2013), Cone (1991), Garrow (2004), Howard-Pitney (2004), M.L. King (1986, 1992, 1998, 2001), Malcolm X (1971, 1990, 1991, 1992a, 1992b, 1992c), Marable (2011), and W.W. Sales (1994).

  35. For examples of autobiographical works by, and biographical works about Motown singer-songwriters, producers, and musicians that make, however muted, connections between 1960s Motown and the Civil Rights Movement, and for the most noteworthy works that factored into my interpretation here, see Benjaminson (1979, 2008, 2012), Dahl (2001), S. Davis (2001), Edmonds (2001), Gordy (1994), G. Knight (1997), Perone (2006), Reeves (1994), Ribowsky (2009, 2010a, 2010b), Ritz (1985), S. Robinson (1989), Taraborrelli (2014), S. Turner (1998), O. Williams (1988), M. Wilson (1999), and Whitall (1998).

  Chapter 5

  Rock & Roll and the Civil Rights Movement

  Introduction: The Hidden African American History of Rhythm & Blues-cum-Rock & Roll

  At this point it could almost go without saying that the Civil Rights Movement had more than one musical mouthpiece to (most often implicitly) express its politics, social visions, and cultural values. As was witnessed in chapter 2, gospel and its freedom song subgenre represent the major sacred music soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement, where chapter 3 revealed rhythm & blues to be the major black popular music soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement. However, a growing body of groundbreaking research has begun to increasingly reveal that rock & roll, which basically began as an offshoot of rhythm & blues, also served as a sonic symbol of the integrationist ethos and integrationist impulse of the Civil Rights Movement. Where gospel and rhythm & blues essentially represent the internal or intra-communal politics of the Civil Rights Movement, rock & roll could be said to register as the external or extra-communal politics of the Civil Rights Movement.[1]

  During the same epoch that African Americans began to physically defy social segregation via the Civil Rights Movement, their popular music began to musically defy sonic segregation via rhythm & blues and later its mostly black music-derived aural offspring: rock & roll. The black roots of what is now almost universally considered “white rock” are usually explored in the blues tradition, and more specifically in the music of luminaries like Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker, Big Maybelle, and Elmore James. However, even as the black roots of rock & roll are acknowledged via the blues tradition the early African American rock & rollers who not only electrified and amplified the blues, but who also innovatively synthesized it with gospel, jazz, jump blues, doo-wop, rhythm & blues, and country & western to birth rock & roll are, at best, marginalized or, at worst, altogether erased from rock history at the very moment they should be upfront and at the center of the discussion.

  Revisionist histories of rock & roll and its aftermath, “classic rock,” parallel revisionist histories of the Civil Rights Movement that either erase or attribute the contributions of local, grassroots civil rights foot soldiers, mostly female, to noted high-profile, mostly male, national civil rights leaders. Which is to say, revisionist histories of rock & roll frequently either erase or attribute the contributions of the unsung singing civil rights soldiers—whether gospel, freedom song, or rhythm & blues singer-songwriters—to now-famous white male rockabilly-cum-rock & rollers, such as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Reed, Scotty Moore, Tommy Sands, Jimmy Bowen, Charlie Gracie, Johnny Burnette, Paul Burlison, Billy Adams, Ronnie Dawson, Gene Summers, and Eddie Cochran. There simply is no way to get around the historical fact that just as racial segregation and economic exploitation were key issues in the Civil Rights Movement, they were also, however clandestinely, significant issues in each of the major soundtracks of the Civil Rights Movement, including the often shrouded origins and early evolution of rock & roll. In fact, as we begin our discussion of rock & roll as one of the central soundtracks of the Civil Rights Movement, it is important to bear in mind, not merely American history (broadly conceived), but more specifically American musical history.

  The history of popular music in the United States—at least, in the twentieth century—can be characterized in terms of an incessant pattern of black invention and white imitation, black innovation and white popularization. Hence, we should be careful here to turn ample attention to the black pioneers of rock & roll before we focus on the white popularizers of rock & roll because the black pioneers/white popularizers paradigm speaks volumes about the ways in which the rules and regulations of social segregation ran parallel with, and undeniably dictated the rules and regulations of sonic segregation. Part of the real genius of the unsung singing soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement is that they clearly understood that the movement was aimed at eradicating all forms of segregation in the United States, including sonic segregation and cultural racism. From their unique point of view, sonic desegregation and aural integration were an inte
gral part of the Civil Rights Movement’s broader desegregation and integration efforts because they unambiguously understood that black popular music has always been a barometer of the frustrations and aspirations of black America. In addition, the unsung singing soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement clearly comprehended that “we can implicitly sing what we cannot explicitly say,” and that white folk and the wider world has had a historical tendency to simultaneously and schizophrenically accept black music and reject black people.

  Obviously, a major frustration of black America during the Civil Rights Movement era was segregation, and a major aspiration was desegregation and integration (broadly conceived). As we witnessed with our discussion of Motown in the previous chapter, African Americans had aspirations to desegregate and integrate the American music industry and the pop charts just as much as they had aspirations to desegregate and integrate the government, military, schools, public transportation, hotels, theaters, parks, and restaurants. Keeping this in mind, we can come to conceive of rock & roll from the point of view of the unsung singing soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, not simply from the point of view of early white rock & roll youth, as black music aimed at desegregating and integrating the American music industry and the pop charts or, more accurately, “cross-over” rhythm & blues—that is to say, rhythm & blues created for the specific purpose of crossing-over to the pop charts, suburban white youth, and, thereby, the wider world of white America.