Antecedentes Musicales y Principales

Influencias del Jazz

Historia Discográfica 1
Contents

1 African-American music 1
1.1 Historic traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 African-American music styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3.1 18th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3.2 19th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.3 Early 20th century (1900s–1930s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.4 Mid-20th century (1940s–1960s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.5 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.6 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.7 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Economic impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2 Robert Johnson 9
2.1 Life and career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.1 Early life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.2 Itinerant musician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.3 Recording sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.4 Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.5 Gravesite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Devil legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.1 Various accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.2 Interpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 Musical style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.1 Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

i
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2.3.2 Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3.3 Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.4 Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.5 Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.5.1 Rock and roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.5.2 Rock music and related genres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.5.3 Guitar technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.5.4 Lifetime achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.5.5 Use in advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.6 Problems of biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.6.1 Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.6.2 Playback speed hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.6.3 Descendants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.7 Discography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.8 Awards and recognitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.8.1 Grammy Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.8.2 Grammy Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.8.3 National Recording Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.8.4 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.8.5 Blues Foundation awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.8.6 Honors and inductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.8.7 Tribute albums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.9 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.11 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.12 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3 Blind Lemon Jefferson 23

3.1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1.1 Early life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1.2 Beginning of recording career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1.3 Success with Paramount Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.1.4 Death and grave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Discography and awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3 Cover versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.7 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
CONTENTS iii

3.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4 American march music 28

4.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.1 Marches and the military band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.1.2 Marches and the concert band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.3 Marches and the circus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1.4 Marches and the marching band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.2 John Philip Sousa revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.3 Common march composers in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.4 Famous marches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.5 Musicality and the march music form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.5.1 Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.5.2 Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.5.3 Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.5.4 March music form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.5.5 Phrasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.5.6 Chords and harmonic progression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.6 Difficulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.7 Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.7.1 Assignments and roles of instrument sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.8 Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.10 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

5 Spiritual (music) 38
5.1 Terminology and origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.2 Religious significance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.2.1 Suppression of indigenous religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.2.2 Christianity’s influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.3 Alternative interpretations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.4 Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.5 Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.5.1 Jubilee Singers of Fisk University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.5.2 Other collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.7 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
iv CONTENTS

5.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.9.1 Audio samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

6 Ragtime 44
6.1 Historical context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.2 Musical form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.3 Related forms and styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.4 American, pre-1940, ragtime composers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6.5 Influence on European composers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.6 Revivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.7 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.8 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.10 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.11 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.12.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.12.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6.12.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 1
African-American music
“The Banjo Lesson,” by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1893. Oil on can-
vas, 49” × 35½". Hampton University Museum
African-American music is an umbrella term covering a
diverse range of musics and musical genres largely devel-
oped by African Americans. Their origins are in musical
forms that arose out of the historical condition of slavery instrumentation, it was the historical condition of chattel
that characterized the lives of African Americans prior to slavery experienced by black Americans within American
the American Civil War.
The modern genres of blues and ragtime were developed
during the late 19th century by fusing European musical
styles (characterized by diatonic harmony within the frame-
work of equal temperament) with those of African ori-
gin which employed the natural harmonic series and blue
notes. The exceptions are hip hop, house and techno, which
were formed in the late 20th century from earlier forms of
African-American music such as funk and soul.
Following the Civil War, black Americans, through em-
ployment as musicians playing European music in military
bands, developed a new style of music called ragtime which
gradually evolved into jazz. In developing this latter musi-
cal form, African Americans contributed knowledge of the
sophisticated polyrhythmic structure of the dance and folk
music of peoples across western and sub-Saharan Africa.
These musical forms had a wide-ranging influence on the
development of music within the United States and around
the world during the 20th century.
The earliest jazz and blues recordings were made in the
1920s. African-American musicians developed related
styles such as Rhythm and Blues in the 1940s. In the 1960s,
soul performers had a major influence on white US and UK
singers. In the mid-1960s, black musicians developed funk
and they were many of the leading figures in late 1960s and
1970s genre of jazz-rock fusion. In the 1970s and 1980s,
black artists developed hip hop and in the 1980s introduced
the disco-infused dance style known as house music. In
the 2000s, hip hop attained significant mainstream popu-
larity. Modern day music is heavily influenced by previous
and present African-American music genres.
1.1 Historic traits
As well as bringing harmonic and rhythmic features from
western and sub-Saharan Africa to meet European musical
society that contributed the conditions which would define
their music. Many of the characteristic musical forms that
define African-American music have historical precedents.
These earlier forms include:
• field hollers
1
2 CHAPTER 1. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC

• beat boxing • Jazz

• work song • Jug Band Music

• Spoken Word • Negro spirituals

• Rapping • Neo soul

• Scatting • New Jack Swing

• call and response • Quiet storm

• vocality (or special vocal effects): guttural effects, • Ragtime

interpolated vocality, falsetto, melisma, vocal rhyth-
• Contemporary R&B
mization
• Rhythm and blues
• improvisation
• Rock & roll
• blue notes
• Skiffle
• polyrhythms: syncopation, concrescence, tension, im-
provisation, percussion, swung note • Soul music
• texture: antiphony, homophony, polyphony, • Southern Rap
heterophony
• Spiritual
• harmony: vernacular progressions; complex, multi-
part harmony, as in spirituals, Doo Wop, and • Swing
barbershop music[1]
• Techno
• Trap music
1.2 African-American music styles • PBR&B

• Country music • Zydeco

• Barbershop music

• Blues 1.3 History

• Bebop
1.3.1 18th century
• Boogie woogie
See also: Work song § African-American work songs
• Delta Blues

• Disco In the late 18th century folk spirituals originated among

Southern slaves, following their conversion to Christianity.
• Doo-wop Conversion, however, did not result in slaves adopting the
• Electro traditions associated with the practice of Christianity. In-
stead they reinterpreted them in a way that had meaning to
• Funk them as Africans in America. They often sang the spirituals
in groups as they worked the plantation fields.
• Go-go
Folk spirituals, unlike much white gospel, were often spir-
• Gospel music ited: slaves added dancing (later known as "the shout") and
other forms of bodily movements to the singing. They also
• Groove changed the melodies and rhythms of psalms and hymns,
• Hip hop such as speeding up the tempo, adding repeated refrains and
choruses, and replaced texts with new ones that often com-
• House music bined English and African words and phrases. Originally
1.3. HISTORY 3

being passed down orally, folk spirituals have been central 1.3.3 Early 20th century (1900s–1930s)
in the lives of African Americans for more than three cen-
turies, serving religious, cultural, social, political, and his-
torical functions.[2]
Folk spirituals were spontaneously created and performed
in a repetitive, improvised style. The most common song
structures are the call-and-response (“Blow, Gabriel”) and
repetitive choruses (“He Rose from the Dead). The call-
and-response is an alternating exchange between the soloist
and the other singers. The soloist usually improvises a
line to which the other singers respond, repeating the same
phrase. Song interpretation incorporates the interjections
of moans, cries, hollers etc... and changing vocal timbres.
Singing is also accompanied by hand clapping and foot-
stomping.
Suggested listening: Spirituals [3] The Slayton Jubilee Singers entertain employees of the Old Trusty
Incubator Factory, Clay Center, about 1910

In early 20th-century American musical theater, the first

musicals written and produced by African Americans de-
1.3.2 19th century buted on Broadway in 1898 with a musical by Bob Cole and
Billy Johnson. In 1901, the first recording of black musi-
The influence of African Americans on mainstream Amer- cians was of Bert Williams and George Walker, featuring
ican music began in the 19th century, with the advent of music from Broadway musicals. Theodore Drury helped
blackface minstrelsy. The banjo, of African origin, be- black artists develop in the opera field. He founded the
came a popular instrument, and its African-derived rhythms Drury Opera Company in 1900 and, although he used a
were incorporated into popular songs by Stephen Foster and white orchestra, he featured black singers in leading roles
other songwriters. In the 1830s, the Second Great Awaken- and choruses. Although this company was only active
from 1900 to 1908, black singers’ opportunities with Drury
ing led to a rise in Christian revivals and pietism, especially
among African Americans. Drawing on traditional work marked the first black participation in opera companies.
songs, enslaved African Americans originated and began Also significant is Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha, which
performing a wide variety of Spirituals and other Christian is unique as a ragtime-folk opera; it was first performed in
music. Some of these songs were coded messages of sub- 1911.[5]
version against slaveholders, or that signaled escape. The early part of the 20th century saw a rise in popular-
During the period after the Civil War, the spread of ity of African-American blues and jazz. African-American
African-American music continued. The Fisk University music at this time was classed as “race music”.[6] This term
Jubilee Singers toured first in 1871. Artists including Jack gained momentum due to Ralph Peer, musical director at
Delaney helped revolutionize post-war African-American OKeh Records, who put records made by “foreign” groups
music in the central-east of the United States. In the follow- under that label. At the time “race” was a term commonly
ing years, professional “jubilee” troops formed and toured. used by African-American press to speak of the community
The first black musical-comedy troupe, Hyers Sisters as a whole with an empowering point of view, as a person of
Comic Opera Co., was organized in 1876.[4] In the last half “race” was one involved in fighting for equal rights.[7] Also,
of the 19th century, U.S. barbershops often served as com- developments in the fields of visual arts and the Harlem
munity centers, where most men would gather. Barbershop Renaissance led to developments in music. Ragtime per-
quartets originated with African-American men socializing formers such as Scott Joplin became popular and some
in barbershops; they would harmonize while waiting their were associated with the Harlem Renaissance and early civil
turn, vocalizing in spirituals, folk songs and popular songs. rights activists. In addition, white and Latino performers
This generated a new style, consisting of unaccompanied, of African-American music were visible, rooted in the his-
four-part, close-harmony singing. Later, white minstrel tory of cross-cultural communication between the United
singers adopted the style, and in the early days of the record- States’ races. African-American music was often adapted
ing industry their performances were recorded and sold. By for white audiences, who would not have as readily accepted
the end of the 19th century, African-American music was black performers, leading to genres like swing music, a pop-
an integral part of mainstream American culture. based outgrowth of jazz.
4 CHAPTER 1. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC

In addition, African Americans were becoming part of
classical music by the turn of the 20th century. While origi-
nally excluded from major symphony orchestras, black mu-
sicians could study in music conservatories that had been
founded in the 1860s, such as the Oberlin School of Mu-
sic, National Conservatory of Music, and the New Eng-
land Conservatory.[8] Black people also formed their own
symphony orchestras at the turn of the 20th century in
major cities such as Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadel-
phia. Various black orchestras began to perform regu-
larly in the late 1890s and the early 20th century. In
1906, the first incorporated black orchestra was estab-
lished in Philadelphia.[9] In the early 1910s, all-black music
schools, such as the Music School Settlement for Colored
and the Martin-Smith School of Music, were founded in
New York.[10]
The Music School Settlement for Colored became a spon-
sor of the Clef Club orchestra in New York. The Clef Club
Symphony Orchestra attracted both black and white audi-
ences to concerts at Carnegie Hall from 1912 to 1915. Con-
ducted by James Reese Europe and William H. Tyers, the
orchestra included banjos, mandolins, and baritone horns.
Concerts featured music written by black composers, no-
tably Harry T. Burleigh and Will Marion Cook. Other an-
nual black concert series include the William Hackney’s
“All-Colored Composers” concerts in Chicago and the At-
lanta Colored Music Festivals.[11]
The return of the black musical to Broadway occurred in
1921 with Sissle and Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along. In 1927,
a concert survey of black music was performed at Carnegie
Hall including jazz, spirituals and the symphonic music of
W. C. Handy's Orchestra and the Jubilee Singers. The
first major film musical with a black cast was King Vidor's
Hallelujah of 1929. African-American performers were
featured in the musical Show Boat (which had a part written
for Paul Robeson and a chorus of Jubilee Singers), and es-
pecially all-black operas such as Porgy and Bess and Virgil
Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts of 1934.
The first symphony by a black composer to be performed by
a major orchestra was William Grant Still's Afro-American
Symphony (1930) by the New York Philharmonic. Flo-
rence Beatrice Price’s Symphony in E minor was performed
in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[12] In 1934,
William Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony was performed by
the Philadelphia Orchestra.[13]
African Americans were the pioneers of jazz music,
through masters such as Jelly Roll Morton, James P. John-
son, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson,
and Duke Ellington. In 1959, Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, the first
record label to primarily feature African-American artists
aimed at achieving crossover success. The label developed
an innovative—and commercially successful—style of soul
music with distinctive pop elements. Its early roster in-
1.3.4 Mid-20th century (1940s–1960s)
Billboard started making a separate list of hit records for
African-American music in October 1942 with the “Harlem
Hit Parade”, which was changed in 1945 to "Race Records",
and then in 1949 to “Rhythm and Blues Records”.[14]
By the 1940s, cover versions of African-American songs
were commonplace, and frequently topped the charts, while
the original musicians found success among their African-
American audience, but not in the mainstream. In 1955,
Thurman Ruth persuaded a gospel group to sing in a sec-
ular setting, the Apollo Theater, with such success that he
subsequently arranged gospel caravans that traveled around
the country, playing the same venues that rhythm and blues
singers had popularized. Meanwhile, jazz performers be-
gan to push jazz away from swing, a danceable popular
music towards more intricate arrangements, improvisation,
and technically challenging forms, culminating in the bebop
of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the cool sounds and
modal jazz of Miles Davis, and the free jazz of Ornette
Coleman and John Coltrane.
African-American musicians in the 1940s and 1950s were
developing rhythm and blues into a genre called rock and
roll, which featured a strong backbeat and whose promi-
nent exponents included Louis Jordan and Wynonie Har-
ris. However, it was with white musicians such as Bill Ha-
ley and Elvis Presley, playing a guitar-based fusion of black
rock and roll with country music called rockabilly, that rock
and roll music became commercially successful. Rock mu-
sic thereafter became more associated with white people,
though some black performers such as Chuck Berry and Bo
Diddley had commercial success.
The 1950s also saw increased popularity of hard blues in
the style from the earliest part of the century, both in the
United States and United Kingdom. The 1950s also saw
doo-wop style become popular. Doo-wop had been devel-
oped through vocal group harmony with the musical quali-
ties of different vocal parts, nonsense syllables, little or no
instrumentation, and simple lyrics. It usually involved en-
semble single artists appearing with a backing group. Solo
billing was given to lead singers who were more promi-
nent in the musical arrangement. A secularized form of
American gospel music called soul also developed in the
mid 1950s, with pioneers like Ray Charles,[15] Jackie Wil-
son and Sam Cooke leading the wave.[16] Soul and R&B be-
came a major influence on surf, as well as the chart-topping
girl groups including The Angels and The Shangri-Las, only
some of whom were white.
1.3. HISTORY
cluded The Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin
Gaye, and The Temptations, The Supremes, and others.[17]
Black divas such as Aretha Franklin became '60s crossover
stars. In the UK, British blues became a gradually main-
stream phenomenon, returning to the U.S. in the form of the
British Invasion, a group of bands led by The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones who performed blues and R&B-inspired
pop, with both traditional and modernized aspects. WGIV
in Charlotte, North Carolina was amongst a few radio sta-
tions dedicated to African-American music that started dur-
ing this period.
The British Invasion knocked many black artists off the
US pop charts, although some, among them Otis Redding,
Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin and a number of Mo-
town artists, continued to do well. Soul music, however, re-
mained popular among black people through highly evolved
forms such as funk, developed out of the innovations of
James Brown.[18]
By the end of the decade, black people were part of the
psychedelia and early heavy metal trends, particularly by
way of the ubiquitous Beatles’ influence and the electric gui-
tar innovations of Jimi Hendrix.[19] Hendrix was among the
first guitarists to use audio feedback, fuzz, and other effects
pedals such as the wah wah pedal to create a unique guitar
solo sound. Psychedelic soul, a mix of psychedelic rock and
soul began to flourish with the 1960s culture. Even more
popular among black people and with more crossover ap-
peal, was album-oriented soul in the late 1960s and early
1970s, which revolutionized African-American music. The
genre’s intelligent and introspective lyrics, often with a so-
cially aware tone were created by artists such as Marvin
Gaye in What’s Going On, and Stevie Wonder in Songs in
the Key of Life.
1.3.5 1970s
The 1970s was a great decade for black bands playing
melodic music. Album-oriented soul continued its popular-
ity, while musicians such as Smokey Robinson helped turn it
into Quiet Storm music. Funk evolved into two strands, one
a pop-soul-jazz-bass fusion pioneered by Sly & the Family
Stone, and the other a more psychedelic fusion epitomized
by George Clinton and his P-Funk ensemble. The sound
of Disco evolved from black musicians creating Soul mu-
sic with an up-tempo melody. Isaac Hayes, Barry White,
Donna Summer and among others help popularized disco
music. However, this music was integrated into popular
music achieving mainstream success.
Black musicians achieved some mainstream success,
though some African-American artists including The Jack-
son 5, Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder,
The O'Jays, Gladys Knight & the Pips found crossover au-
5
diences. White listeners preferred country rock, singer-
songwriters, stadium rock, soft rock, glam rock, and, in
some subcultures, heavy metal and punk rock. During the
1970s, The Dozens, an urban African-American tradition
of using playful rhyming ridicule, developed into street jive
in the early '70s, which in turn inspired a new form of music
by the late 1970s: hip-hop. Spoken-word artists such as The
Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and Melvin Van Peebles are
also cited as the major innovators in early hip-hop. Begin-
ning at block parties in The Bronx, hip-hop music arose as
one facet of a large subculture with rebellious and progres-
sive elements. DJs spun records, most typically funk, while
MCs introduced tracks to the dancing audience. Over time,
DJs, particularly Jamaican immigrant DJ Kool Herc for in-
stance, began isolating and repeating the percussion breaks,
producing a constant, eminently danceable beat, which they
or MCs began rapping over, through rhymes and eventu-
ally sustained lyrics. In the South Bronx, the half-speaking,
half-singing rhythmic street talk of 'rapping' grew into a cul-
tural force known as Hip hop.[20] Hip Hop would become
a multicultural movement in young black America, led by
artists such as Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC.
1.3.6 1980s
In the 1980s, Michael Jackson had record-breaking suc-
cess with his albums Off the Wall, Bad, and Thriller – the
latter remaining the best-selling album of all time – trans-
forming popular music and uniting races, ages and genders,
and would eventually lead to successful crossover black solo
artists, including Prince, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross,
Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson. Pop and
dance-soul of this era inspired new jack swing by the end
of the decade.
Hip hop spread across the country and diversified. Techno,
Dance, Miami bass, Chicago house, Los Angeles hardcore
and Washington, D.C. Go-go developed during this pe-
riod, with only Miami bass achieving mainstream success.
But, before long, Miami bass was relegated primarily to
the Southeastern US, while Chicago house had made strong
headways on college campuses and dance arenas (i.e. the
warehouse sound, the rave). The DC go-go sound of Mi-
ami bass was essentially a regional sound that did not garner
much mass appeal. Chicago house sound had expanded into
the Detroit music environment and mutated into more elec-
tronic and industrial sounds creating Detroit techno, acid,
jungle. Mating these experimental, usually DJ-oriented,
sounds with the prevalence of the multi-ethnic New York
City disco sound from the 1970s and 1980s created a brand
of music that was most appreciated in the huge discothèques
that are located in cities like Chicago, New York, Los An-
geles, Detroit, Boston, etc. Eventually, European audiences
embraced this kind of electronic dance music with more
6 CHAPTER 1. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC
enthusiasm than their North American counterparts. These
variable sounds let the listeners prioritize their exposure to
new music and rhythms while enjoying a gigantic dancing
experience.
In the later half of the decade, from about 1986, rap took
off into the mainstream with Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell,
and the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill, the latter becoming
the first rap album to enter No.1 Spot on the Billboard 200.
Both of these groups mixed rap and rock together, which
appealed to rock and rap audiences. Hip-hop took off from
its roots and the golden age hip hop flourished, with artists
such as Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Queen
Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, and Salt-N-Pepa. Hip Hop be-
came popular in America until the late 1990s, when it went
worldwide. The golden age scene would die out by the early
1990s as gangsta rap and g-funk took over, with west-coast
artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Ice Cube, east-
coast artists Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Mobb
Deep, and the sounds of urban black male bravado, com-
passion, and social awareness best represented by the rapper
Tupac Shakur.
While heavy metal music was almost exclusively created
by white performers in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a
few exceptions. In 1988, all-black heavy metal band Living
Colour achieved mainstream success with their début album
Vivid, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200, thanks to their
Top 20 single "Cult of Personality". The band’s music con-
tained lyrics that attack what they perceived as the Eurocen-
trism and racism of America. A decade later, more black
artists like Lenny Kravitz, Body Count, Ben Harper, and
countless others would start playing rock again.
1.3.7 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s
Contemporary R&B, as the post-disco version of soul music
came to be known, remained popular throughout the 1980s
and 1990s. Male vocal groups in the style of soul groups
such as The Temptations and The O'Jays were particularly
popular, including New Edition, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Dru
Hill, Blackstreet, and Jagged Edge. Girl groups, including
TLC, Destiny’s Child, SWV and En Vogue, were also highly
successful.
Singer-songwriters such as R. Kelly, Mariah Carey, Montell
Jordan, D'Angelo, Aaliyah and Raphael Saadiq of Tony!
Toni! Toné! were also significantly popular during the
1990s, and artists including Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and
BLACKstreet popularized a fusion blend known as hip-hop
soul. The neo soul movement of the 1990s looked back on
more classical soul influences and was popularized in the
late 1990s/early 2000s by such artists as D'Angelo, Erykah
Badu, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill, India.Arie, Alicia Keys, Jill
Scott, Angie Stone, Bilal and Musiq Soulchild. Accord-
ing to one music writer, D'Angelo's critically acclaimed
album Voodoo (2000) “represents African American mu-
sic at a crossroads [...] To simply call [it] neo-classical
soul [...] would be [to] ignore the elements of vaudeville
jazz, Memphis horns, ragtime blues, funk and bass grooves,
not to mention hip-hop, that slip out of every pore of
these haunted songs.”[21] Blue-eyed soul is an influence
of African-American music performed by white artists,
including Michael McDonald, Christina Aguilera, Amy
Winehouse, Robin Thicke, Jon B., Lisa Stansfield, Teena
Marie, Justin Timberlake, Joss Stone, George Michael, and
Anastacia.
By the first decade of the 21st century, R&B had shifted
towards an emphasis on solo artists with pop appeal, with
Usher, Rihanna, and Beyoncé being the most prominent
examples. The line between hip-hop and R&B and pop
was significantly blurred by producers such as Timbaland
and Lil Jon and artists such as Missy Elliott, T-Pain, Nelly,
Akon and OutKast.
“Urban music” and “urban radio” are largely race-neutral
today, terms that are synonymous with hip hop and R&B
and the associated hip-hop culture that originated in New
York City. The term also reflects the fact that they are pop-
ular in urban areas, both within black population centers
and among the general population (especially younger au-
diences).
Edward Ray at Capital Records
The hip-hop movement has become increasingly main-
stream as the music industry has taken control of it. Es-
sentially, “from the moment 'Rapper’s Delight' went plat-
inum, hiphop the folk culture became hiphop the American
entertainment-industry sideshow.”[22]
In June 2009, Michael Jackson died unexpectedly from
a cardiac arrest, triggering a global outpouring of grief.
Within a year of his death, his estate had generated $1.4
1.6. NOTES
billion in revenues. A documentary film consisting of re-
hearsal footage for Jackson’s scheduled This Is It tour, en-
titled Michael Jackson’s This Is It, was released on October
28, 2009, and became the highest-grossing concert film in
history.[23]
In 2013, no African-American musician had a Billboard
Hot 100 number one. This was the first time there was no
number one in a year by an African American in the chart’s
55-year history.[24]
Plans for a Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of African-
American music to be built in Newark, New Jersey, and
an R&B museum/hall of fame have been discussed.
1.4 Economic impact
Record stores played a vital role in African-American com-
munities for many decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, be-
tween 500 and 1,000 black-owned record stores operated
in the American South, and probably twice as many in the
United States as a whole. African-American entrepreneurs
embraced record stores as key vehicles for economic em-
powerment and critical public spaces for black consumers at
a time that many black-owned businesses were closing amid
desegregation.[25] In addition, countless African Americans
have earned livings as musical performers, club owners, ra-
dio deejays, concert promoters, and record label owners.
1.5 See also
• African-American dance
• African American musical theater
• Afro-Caribbean music
• Banjo
• Beach music
• Blackface
• Cultural appropriation
• Gandy dancer
• Juke joint
• List of musical genres of the African diaspora
• Music of the African diaspora
7
1.6 Notes
[1] Stewart 1998, pp. 5–15.
[2] Maultsby, Portia. “A History of African American Music”.
Retrieved 2012-08-14.
[3] “African American Gospel Music from Smithsonian Folk-
ways”. Smithsonian Folways. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
[4] Southern 221.
[5] Southern 221-2, 294.
[6] “Race Music”. St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture by
Matthew A. Killmeier 01/29/02. 2002.
[7] Brackett, David. The Pop, Rock and Soul Reader.
[8] Southern 266.
[9] Southern 291.
[10] Southern 288-9.
[11] Southern 285, 292.
[12] http://americansymphony.org/
symphony-no-1-in-e-minor/
[13] Southern 361.
[14] Fred Bronson (June 12, 1993). “Billboard, Vol. 105, No.
24”. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 47. Retrieved 17 July
2011.
[15] Ray Charles interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
[16] Gilliland, John (1969). “Show 17 - The Soul Reformation:
More on the evolution of rhythm and blues. [Part 3]" (au-
dio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
[17] Motown artists interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
[18] “Soul Reformation” artists interviewed on the Pop Chronicles
(1970)
[19] Gilliland, John (1969). “Show 53 - String Man.” (audio).
Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
[20] “THE ROOTS OF HIP HOP – RM HIP HOP MAGAZINE
1986”. Globaldarkness.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
[21] “Review of Voodoo”. NME: 42. February 14, 2000.
[22] Tate, Greg. “Hip-hop Turns 30: Whatcha Celebratin’ For?"
Village Voice, January 4, 2005.
[23] “Michael Jackson’s wealth soars after death”. Retrieved
February 7, 2014.
[24] “Color Blind: No African-American Artists Had a No. 1 Hit
in 2013”. Time. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 21,
2014.
[25] Joshua Clark Davis, “For the Records: How African Amer-
ican Consumers and Music Retailers Created Commercial
Public Space in the 1960s and 1970s South,” Southern Cul-
tures, Winter 2011.
8 CHAPTER 1. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC

1.7 References • Wilson, Charles Reagan, William Ferris, Ann J.

Adadie, Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1656 pp.),
• Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Ameri- University of North Carolina Press; 2nd Edition
cans: A History. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edi- (1989). ISBN 0-8078-1823-2. ISBN 978-0-8078-
tion. ISBN 0-393-97141-4 1823-7

• Stewart, Earl L. (1998). African American Music: An

Introduction. ISBN 0-02-860294-3.
• Cobb, Charles E., Jr., “Traveling the Blues Highway”,
National Geographic Magazine, April 1999, v. 195,
n.4
• Dixon, RMW & Godrich, J (1981), Blues and Gospel
Records: 1902–1943, Storyville, London.
• Hamilton, Marybeth: In Search of the Blues.
• Leadbitter, M. & Slaven, N. (1968), Blues Records
1943–1966, Oak Publications, London.
• Ferris, William; Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices
of the Mississippi Blues, University of North Car-
olina Press (2009). ISBN 0-8078-3325-8 ISBN 978-
0807833254 (with CD and DVD)
1.8 Further reading
• Joshua Clark Davis, “For the Records: How African
American Consumers and Music Retailers Created
Commercial Public Space in the 1960s and 1970s
South,” Southern Cultures, Winter 2011
• Work, John W., compiler (1940), American Negro
Songs and Spirituals: a Comprehensive Collection of
230 Folk Songs, Religious and Secular, with a Fore-
word. Bonanza Books, New York. N.B.: Consists
most notably of an analytical study of this repertory,
on p. 1-46, an anthology of such music (words with
the notated music, harmonized), on pp. 47–250, and
a bibliog., on p. 252–256.

• Ferris, William; Glenn Hinson, The New Encyclopedia
of Southern Culture: Volume 14: Folklife, University
of North Carolina Press (2009). ISBN 0-8078-3346-
0 ISBN 978-0-8078-3346-9 (Cover :photo of James
Son Thomas)
1.9 External links
• Shall We Gather at the River, a collection of African-
American sacred music, made available for public use
by the State Archives of Florida

• Ferris, William; Blues From The Delta, Da Capo Press; • 20 historical milestones in African-American music
revised edition (1988). ISBN 0-306-80327-5 ISBN • "Negro Melodies". New International Encyclopedia.
978-0306803277 1905.
• Gioia, Ted; Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the
Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Mu-
sic, W. W. Norton & Company (2009). ISBN 0-393-
33750-2 ISBN 978-0393337501

• Harris, Sheldon; Blues Who’s Who, Da Capo Press,

1979.

• Nicholson, Robert; Mississippi Blues Today! Da Capo

Press (1999). ISBN 0-306-80883-8 ISBN 978-0-306-
80883-8

• Palmer, Robert; Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural

History of the Mississippi Delta, Penguin reprint (1982)
ISBN 0-14-006223-8; ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6

• Ramsey Jr, Frederic; Been Here And Gone, 1st edi-

tion (1960), Rutgers University Press; London Cassell
(UK) and New Brunswick, NJ. 2nd printing (1969),
Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ: Uni-
versity Of Georgia Press, 2000.
Chapter 2

Robert Johnson

For other people named Robert Johnson, see Robert mob to leave Hazlehurst following a dispute with white
Johnson (disambiguation). landowners. Julia left Hazlehurst with baby Robert but after
two years sent the boy to Memphis to live with her husband,
[6]
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) who had changed his name to Charles Spencer.
was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician. His About 1919, Robert rejoined his mother in the Mississippi
landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combina- Delta area around Tunica and Robinsonville, Mississippi.
tion of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has Julia’s new husband, known as Dusty Willis, was 24 years
influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson’s shad- her junior. Robert was remembered by some residents as
owy and poorly documented life and death at age 27 have “Little Robert Dusty”,[7] but he was registered at Tunica’s
given rise to much legend. One Faustian myth says that he Indian Creek School as Robert Spencer. In the 1920 census
sold his soul to the devil at a local crossroads of Mississippi he is listed as Robert Spencer, living in Lucas, Arkansas,
highways to achieve success. As an itinerant performer who with Will and Julia Willis. Robert was at school in 1924
played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Sat- and 1927.[8] The quality of his signature on his marriage
urday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success certificate[9] suggests that he was relatively well educated
or public recognition in his lifetime. for a boy of his background. A school friend, Willie Coffee,
After the reissue of his recordings in 1961, on the LP King who was interviewed and filmed in later life, recalled that as
of the Delta Blues Singers, his work reached a wider audi- a youth Robert was already noted for playing the harmonica
ence. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, and jaw harp.[10] Coffee recalled that Robert was absent for
particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues style. He is cred- long periods, which suggests that he may have been living
ited by many rock musicians as an important influence; the and studying in Memphis.[11]
blues and rock musician Eric Clapton has called Johnson After school, Robert adopted the surname of his natural fa-
“the most important blues singer that ever lived.”[1][2] ther, signing himself as Robert Johnson on the certificate of
Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame his marriage to sixteen-year-old Virginia Travis [12]
in February
in its first induction ceremony, in 1986, as an early influence 1929. She died in childbirth shortly after. Surviving rel-
on rock and roll.[3] In 2003, David Fricke ranked Johnson atives of Virginia told the blues researcher Robert “Mack”
fifth in Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of McCormick that this was a divine punishment for Robert’s
decision to sing secular songs, known as “selling your soul
All Time”.[4]
to the Devil”. McCormick believed that Johnson himself
accepted the phrase as a description of his resolve to aban-
don the settled life of a husband and farmer to become a
2.1 Life and career full-time blues musician.[13]
Around this time, the blues musician Son House moved
2.1.1 Early life to Robinsonville, where his musical partner Willie Brown
lived. Late in life, House remembered Johnson as a “little
Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, possibly on boy” who was a competent harmonica player but an em-
May 8, 1911,[5] to Julia Major Dodds (born October 1874) barrassingly bad guitarist. Soon after, Johnson left Robin-
and Noah Johnson (born December 1884). Julia was mar- sonville for the area around Martinsville, close to his birth-
ried to Charles Dodds (born February 1865), a relatively place, possibly searching for his natural father. Here he
prosperous landowner and furniture maker, with whom she perfected the guitar style of House and learned other styles
had ten children. Charles Dodds had been forced by a lynch from Isaiah “Ike” Zinnerman.[14] Zinnerman was rumored

9
10 CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON

to have learned supernaturally to play guitar by visiting
graveyards at midnight.[15] When Johnson next appeared in
Robinsonville, he seemed to have miraculously acquired a
guitar technique.[16] House was interviewed at a time when
the legend of Johnson’s pact with the devil was well known
among blues researchers. He was asked whether he at-
tributed Johnson’s technique to this pact, and his equivocal
answers have been taken as confirmation.[5]
While living in Martinsville, Johnson fathered a child with
Vergie Mae Smith. He married Caletta Craft in May 1931.
In 1932, the couple moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the
Delta. Here Caletta died in childbirth, and Johnson left for
a career as a “walking” or itinerant musician.[14]
2.1.2 Itinerant musician
or a restaurant. Musical associates have said that in live
performances Johnson often did not focus on his dark and
complex original compositions, but instead pleased audi-
ences by performing more well-known pop standards of the
day[30] – and not necessarily blues. With an ability to pick
up tunes at first hearing, he had no trouble giving his audi-
ences what they wanted, and certain of his contemporaries
later remarked on his interest in jazz and country music.
He also had an uncanny ability to establish a rapport with
his audience; in every town in which he stopped, he would
establish ties to the local community that would serve him
well when he passed through again a month or a year later.
Shines was 17 when he met Johnson in 1933. He esti-
mated Johnson was maybe a year older than himself. Shines
is quoted describing Johnson in Samuel Charters’s Robert
Johnson:

From 1932 until his death in 1938, Johnson moved fre- Robert was a very friendly person, even
quently between cities like Memphis, Tennessee, and He- though he was sulky at times, you know. And
lena, Arkansas, and the smaller towns of the Missis- I hung around Robert for quite a while. One
sippi Delta and neighboring regions of Mississippi and evening he disappeared. He was kind of a pe-
Arkansas.[17][18] On occasion, he traveled much farther. culiar fellow. Robert'd be standing up playing
The blues musician Johnny Shines accompanied him to some place, playing like nobody’s business. At
Chicago, Texas, New York, Canada, Kentucky, and about that time it was a hustle with him as well
Indiana.[19] Henry Townsend shared a musical engage- as a pleasure. And money'd be coming from all
ment with him in St. Louis.[20] In many places he stayed directions. But Robert'd just pick up and walk
with members of his large extended family or with fe- off and leave you standing there playing. And
male friends.[21] He did not marry again but formed some you wouldn't see Robert no more maybe in two
long-term relationships with women to whom he would re- or three weeks. ... So Robert and I, we began
turn periodically. One was Estella Coleman, the mother journeying off. I was just, matter of fact, tagging
of the blues musician Robert Lockwood, Jr. In other along.[31]
places he stayed with a woman he seduced at his first
performance.[22][23] In each location, Johnson’s hosts were
During this time Johnson established what would be a
largely ignorant of his life elsewhere. He used different relatively long-term relationship with Estella Coleman, a
names in different places, employing at least eight distinct
woman about 15 years his senior and the mother of the mu-
surnames.[24] sician Robert Lockwood, Jr. Johnson reportedly cultivated
Biographers have looked for consistency from musicians a woman to look after him in each town he played in. He
who knew Johnson in different contexts: Shines, who reputedly asked homely young women living in the country
traveled extensively with him; Lockwood, who knew him with their families whether he could go home with them,
as his mother’s partner; David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and in most cases he was accepted, until a boyfriend arrived
whose cousin Willie Mae Powell had a relationship with or Johnson was ready to move on.
Johnson.[25] From a mass of partial, conflicting, and incon-In 1941, Alan Lomax learned from Muddy Waters that
sistent eyewitness accounts,[26] biographers have attemptedJohnson had performed in the area around Clarksdale, Mis-
to summarize Johnson’s character. “He was well mannered, sissippi.[32] By 1959, the historian Samuel Charters could
he was soft spoken, he was indecipherable”.[27] “As for hisadd only that Will Shade, of the Memphis Jug Band, re-
character, everyone seems to agree that, while he was pleas-
membered Johnson had once briefly played with him in
ant and outgoing in public, in private he was reserved and West Memphis, Arkansas.[33] In the last year of his life,
liked to go his own way”.[28] “Musicians who knew Johnson Johnson is believed to have traveled to St. Louis and
testified that he was a nice guy and fairly average—except, possibly Illinois and then to some states in the East. In
of course, for his musical talent, his weakness for whiskey1938, Columbia Records producer John H. Hammond, who
and women, and his commitment to the road.”[29] owned some of Johnson’s records, directed the record pro-
When Johnson arrived in a new town, he would play for ducer Don Law seek out Johnson to book him for the first
tips on street corners or in front of the local barbershop "From Spirituals to Swing" concert at Carnegie Hall in New
2.1. LIFE AND CAREER 11

York. On learning of Johnson’s death, Hammond replaced composed song into the three minutes of a 78-rpm side.[38]
him with Big Bill Broonzy, but he played two of Johnson’s Most of Johnson’s “somber and introspective” songs and
records from the stage. performances come from his second recording session.[39]
In 1937, Johnson traveled to Dallas, Texas, for another
recording session with Don Law in a makeshift studio at
2.1.3 Recording sessions the Vitagraph (Warner Brothers) Building, at 508 Park
Avenue,[40] where Brunswick Record Corporation was lo-
cated on the third floor.[41] Eleven records from this ses-
sion would be released within the following year. Johnson
did two takes of most of these songs, and recordings of
those takes survived. Because of this, there is more oppor-
tunity to compare different performances of a single song
by Johnson than for any other blues performer of his time
and place.[42] Johnson recorded almost half of the 29 songs
that make up his entire discography in Dallas.

Johnson’s
recordings were released by several record companies:
“Milkcow’s Calf Blues” by Perfect, “Love in Vain Blues” by 2.1.4 Death
Vocalion, and “I Believe I'll Dust My Broom” by Conqueror
Johnson died on August 16, 1938, at the age of 27, near
Greenwood, Mississippi, of unknown causes. Several dif-
In Jackson, Mississippi, around 1936, Johnson sought out fering accounts have described the events preceding his
H. C. Speir, who ran a general store and also acted as a death. Johnson had been playing for a few weeks at a coun-
talent scout. Speir put Johnson in touch with Ernie Oer- try dance in a town about 15 miles (24 km) from Green-
tle, who, as a salesman for the ARC group of labels, in- wood. According to one theory, Johnson was murdered by
troduced Johnson to Don Law to record his first sessions the jealous husband of a woman with whom he had flirted.
in San Antonio, Texas. The recording session was held on In an account by the blues musician Sonny Boy Williamson,
November 23, 1936, in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in Johnson had been flirting with a married woman at a dance,
San Antonio,[34] which Brunswick Records had set up to be who gave him a bottle of whiskey poisoned by her husband.
a temporary recording studio. In the ensuing three-day ses- When Johnson took the bottle, Williamson knocked it out
sion, Johnson played 16 selections and recorded alternate of his hand, admonishing him to never drink from a bottle
takes for most of them. He reportedly performed facing the that he had not personally seen opened. Johnson replied,
wall, which has been cited as evidence he was a shy man and
“Don't ever knock a bottle out of my hand.” Soon after,
reserved performer. This conclusion was played up in the he was offered another (poisoned) bottle and accepted it.
inaccurate liner notes of the 1961 album King of the Delta
Johnson is reported to have begun feeling ill the evening af-
Blues Singers. The slide guitarist Ry Cooder speculates that ter and had to be helped back to his room in the early morn-
Johnson played facing a corner to enhance the sound of the
ing hours. Over the next three days his condition steadily
guitar, a technique he calls “corner loading”.[35] worsened. Witnesses reported that he died in a convulsive
Among the songs Johnson recorded in San Antonio were state of severe pain. The musicologist Robert “Mack” Mc-
"Come On in My Kitchen", "Kind Hearted Woman Blues", Cormick claimed to have tracked down the man who mur-
"I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" and "Cross Road Blues". dered Johnson and to have obtained a confession from him
The first to be released were "Terraplane Blues" and “Last in a personal interview, but he declined to reveal the man’s
Fair Deal Gone Down”, probably the only recordings of his name.[13]
that he would live to hear. “Terraplane Blues” became a While strychnine has been suggested as the poison that
modest regional hit, selling 5,000 copies. killed Johnson, at least one scholar has disputed the notion.
His first recorded song, “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”, was Tom Graves, in his book Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife
part of a cycle of spin-offs and response songs that began of Blues Legend Robert Johnson, relies on expert testimony
with Leroy Carr's “Mean Mistreater Mama” (1934). Ac- from toxicologists to argue that strychnine has such a dis-
cording to Elijah Wald, it was “the most musically complex tinctive odor and taste that it cannot be disguised, even in
in the cycle”[36] and stood apart from most rural blues as a strong liquor. Graves also claims that a significant amount
thoroughly composed lyric, rather than an arbitrary collec- of strychnine would have to be consumed in one sitting to
tion of more or less unrelated verses.[37] In contrast to most be fatal, and that death from the poison would occur within
Delta players, Johnson had absorbed the idea of fitting a hours, not days.[43] Johnson’s contemporary David “Hon-
12
eyboy” Edwards similarly noted that the poison could not
have been strychnine, since Johnson would have died much
more rapidly, instead of suffering for three days.
The LeFlore County registrar, Cornelia Jordan, after con-
ducting an investigation into Johnson’s death for the state
director of vital statistics, R. N. Whitfield, wrote on John-
son’s death certificate:
I talked with the white man on whose place
this negro died and I also talked with a negro
woman on the place. The plantation owner said
the negro man, seemingly about 26 years old,
came from Tunica two or three weeks before he
died to play banjo at a negro dance given there on
the plantation. He stayed in the house with some
of the negroes saying he wanted to pick cotton.
The white man did not have a doctor for this ne-
gro as he had not worked for him. He was buried
in a homemade coffin furnished by the county.
The plantation owner said it was his opinion that
the man died of syphilis.[44]
2.1.5 Gravesite
Alleged gravesite with one of Johnson’s three tombstones
The exact location of Johnson’s grave is officially unknown;
three different markers have been erected at possible sites
in church cemeteries outside Greenwood.
• Research in the 1980s and 1990s strongly suggests
Johnson was buried in the graveyard of the Mount
Zion Missionary Baptist Church near Morgan City,
Mississippi, not far from Greenwood, in an unmarked
grave. A one-ton cenotaph in the shape of an obelisk,
listing all of Johnson’s song titles, with a central in-
scription by Peter Guralnick, was placed at this loca-
tion in 1990, paid for by Columbia Records and nu-
merous smaller contributions made through the Mt.
Zion Memorial Fund.
CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON
• In 1990, a small marker with the epitaph “Resting
in the Blues” was placed in the cemetery of Payne
Chapel, near Quito, Mississippi, by an Atlanta rock
group named the Tombstones, after they saw a photo-
graph in Living Blues magazine of an unmarked spot
alleged by one of Johnson’s ex-girlfriends to be John-
son’s burial site.[45]
• More recent research by Stephen LaVere (including
statements from Rosie Eskridge, the wife of the sup-
posed gravedigger) indicates that the actual grave site
is under a big pecan tree in the cemetery of the Little
Zion Church, north of Greenwood along Money Road.
Through LaVere, Sony Music placed a marker at this
site, which bears LaVere’s name as well as Johnson’s.
An interviewee in the documentary The Search for Robert
Johnson (1991) suggests that owing to poverty and lack of
transportation Johnson is most likely to have been buried
in a pauper’s grave (or "potter’s field") very near where he
died.
2.2 Devil legend
According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation
in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to be-
come a great blues musician. He was instructed to take his
guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight.
There he was met by a large black man (the devil) who took
the guitar and tuned it. The devil played a few songs and
then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of
the instrument. This was a deal with the devil mirroring the
legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Johnson was able
to create the blues for which he became famous.
2.2.1 Various accounts
This legend was developed over time and has been chroni-
cled by Gayle Dean Wardlow,[46] Edward Komara[47] and
Elijah Wald, who sees the legend as largely dating from
Johnson’s rediscovery by white fans more than two decades
after his death.[48] Son House once told the story to Pete
Welding as an explanation of Johnson’s astonishingly rapid
mastery of the guitar. Welding reported it as a serious belief
in a widely read article in Down Beat in 1966.[49] Other in-
terviewers failed to elicit any confirmation from House and
there were fully two years between House’s observation of
Johnson as first a novice and then a master.
Further details were absorbed from the imaginative
retellings by Greil Marcus[50] and Robert Palmer.[51] Most
significantly, the detail was added that Johnson received his
gift from a large black man at a crossroads. There is dispute
2.2. DEVIL LEGEND 13

as to how and when the crossroads detail was attached to
the Robert Johnson story. All the published evidence, in-
cluding a full chapter on the subject in the biography Cross-
roads, by Tom Graves, suggests an origin in the story of
the blues musician Tommy Johnson. This story was col-
lected from his musical associate Ishman Bracey and his
elder brother Ledell in the 1960s.[52] One version of Ledell
Johnson’s account was published in David Evans's 1971 bi-
ography of Tommy Johnson,[53] and was repeated in print in
1982 alongside House’s story in the widely read Searching
for Robert Johnson, by Peter Guralnick.[54]
In another version, Ledell placed the meeting not at a cross-
roads but in a graveyard. This resembles the story told to
Steve LaVere that Ike Zinnerman of Hazlehurst, Missis- 2.2.2
sippi, learned to play the guitar at midnight while sitting
on tombstones. Zinnerman is believed to have influenced
the playing of the young Johnson.[55]
While Dockery, Hazlehurst and Beauregard have each been
claimed as the locations of the mythical crossroads, there
are also tourist attractions claiming to be “The Crossroads”
in both Clarksdale and Memphis.[57] Residents of Rosedale,
Mississippi, claim Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the
intersection of Highways 1 and 8 in their town, while the
1986 movie Crossroads was filmed in Beulah, Mississippi.
The blues historian Steve Cheseborough wrote that it may
be impossible to discover the exact location of the myth-
ical crossroads, because “Robert Johnson was a rambling
guy”.[58]
Interpretations

The legendary crossroads at Clarksdale, Mississippi

Recent research by the blues scholar Bruce Conforth, in

Living Blues magazine, makes the story clearer. Johnson
and Ike Zimmerman (the spelling reportedly given in cen-
sus records for the family going back to the early 1800s, on
his Social Security card and Social Security death notice, on
his funeral program, and by his daughters) did practice in a
graveyard at night, because it was quiet and no one would
disturb them, but it was not the Hazlehurst cemetery as had Folklorist Alan Lomax, who was instrumental in preserving John-
been believed. Zimmerman was not from Hazlehurst but son’s recordings and spreading the mythology about his skill
nearby Beauregard, Mississippi. And he didn't practice in
one graveyard, but in several in the area.[56] Johnson spent Some scholars have argued that the devil in these songs may
about a year living with and learning from Zimmerman, refer not only to the Christian figure of Satan but also to
who ultimately accompanied Johnson back to the Delta to the African trickster god Legba, himself associated with
look after him. crossroads. Folklorist Harry M. Hyatt wrote that, dur-
14
ing his research in the South from 1935 to 1939, when
African-Americans born in the 19th or early 20th century
said they or anyone else had “sold their soul to the devil at
the crossroads,” they had a different meaning in mind. Hy-
att claimed there was evidence indicating African religious
retentions surrounding Legba and the making of a “deal”
(not selling the soul in the same sense as in the Faustian
tradition cited by Graves) with the so-called devil at the
crossroads.[59]
The Blues and the Blues singer has really spe-
cial powers over women, especially. It is said that
the Blues singer could possess women and have
any woman they wanted. And so when Robert
Johnson came back, having left his community
as an apparently mediocre musician, with a clear
genius in his guitar style and lyrics, people said
he must have sold his soul to the devil. And
that fits in with this old African association with
the crossroads where you find wisdom: you go
down to the crossroads to learn, and in his case
to learn in a Faustian pact, with the devil. You
sell your soul to become the greatest musician in
history.[60]
This view that the devil in Johnson’s songs is derived from
an African deity was disputed by the blues scholar David
Evans in an essay published in 1999, “Demythologizing the
Blues":
There are ... several serious problems with
this crossroads myth. The devil imagery found
in the blues is thoroughly familiar from western
folklore, and nowhere do blues singers ever men-
tion Legba or any other African deity in their
songs or other lore. The actual African mu-
sic connected with cults of Legba and similar
trickster deities sounds nothing like the blues,
but rather features polyrhythmic percussion and
choral call-and-response singing.[61]
The musicologist Alan Lomax dismissed the myth, stating,
“In fact, every blues fiddler, banjo picker, harp blower, pi-
ano strummer and guitar framer was, in the opinion of both
himself and his peers, a child of the Devil, a consequence
of the black view of the European dance embrace as sinful
in the extreme”.[62]
2.3 Musical style
Johnson is considered a master of the blues, particularly it becomes a competing voice ...or a complementary voice
of the Delta blues style. Keith Richards, of the Rolling ... in the performance.”[60]
CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON
Stones, said in 1990, “You want to know how good the
blues can get? Well, this is it.” But according to Elijah
Wald, in his book Escaping the Delta, Johnson in his own
time was most respected for his ability to play in a wide
range of styles, from raw country slide guitar to jazz and
pop licks, and for his ability to pick up guitar parts almost
instantly upon hearing a song.[63] His first recorded song,
“Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” in contrast to the prevailing
Delta style of the time, more resembled the style of Chicago
or St. Louis, with “a full-fledged, abundantly varied musical
arrangement.”[64] Unusual for a Delta player of the time, a
recording exhibits what Johnson could do entirely outside
of a blues style. “They're Red Hot”, from his first recording
session, shows that he was also comfortable with an “up-
town” swing or ragtime sound similar to that of the Harlem
Hamfats, but as Wald remarked, “no record company was
heading to Mississippi in search of a down-home Ink Spots
... [H]e could undoubtedly have come up with a lot more
songs in this style if the producers had wanted them.”[65]
The journalist Marc Myers wrote:
To the uninitiated, Johnson’s recordings may
sound like just another dusty Delta blues musi-
cian wailing away. But a careful listen reveals
that Johnson was a revisionist in his time... John-
son’s tortured soul vocals and anxiety-ridden gui-
tar playing aren't found in the cotton-field blues
of his contemporaries.[66]
2.3.1 Voice
An important aspect of Johnson’s singing was his use of
microtonality. These subtle inflections of pitch help explain
why his singing conveys such powerful emotion. Eric Clap-
ton described Johnson’s music as “the most powerful cry
that I think you can find in the human voice.” In two takes
of “Me and the Devil Blues” he shows a high degree of pre-
cision in the complex vocal delivery of the last verse: “The
range of tone he can pack into a few lines is astonishing.”[67]
The song’s “hip humor and sophistication” is often over-
looked. "[G]enerations of blues writers in search of wild
Delta primitivism,” wrote Wald, have been inclined to over-
look or undervalue aspects that show Johnson as a polished
professional performer.[68]
Johnson is also known for using the guitar as “the other vo-
calist in the song”, a technique later perfected by B. B. King
and his personified guitar named Lucille: “In Africa and in
Afro-American tradition, there is the tradition of the talk-
ing instrument, beginning with the drums ... the one-strand
and then the six-strings with bottleneck-style performance;
2.5. LEGACY 15

Bob Dylan wrote that “When Johnson started singing, he James’s “Devil Got My Woman”, but the lyrics rise to the
seemed like a guy who could have sprung from the head level of first-rate poetry, and Johnson sings with a strained
of Zeus in full armor. I immediately differentiated be- voice found nowhere else in his recorded output.[72]
tween him and anyone else I had ever heard. The songs The sad, romantic “Love in Vain” successfully blends sev-
weren't customary blues songs. They were so utterly fluid. eral of Johnson’s disparate influences. The form, including
At first they went by quick, too quick to even get. They the wordless last verse, follows Leroy Carr’s last hit “When
jumped all over the place in range and subject matter, short the Sun Goes Down"; the words of the last sung verse come
punchy verses that resulted in some panoramic story-fires directly from a song Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded in
of mankind blasting off the surface of this spinning piece
1926.[73] Johnson’s last recording, “Milkcow’s Calf Blues”
of plastic.”[69] is his most direct tribute to Kokomo Arnold, who wrote
“Milkcow Blues” and influenced Johnson’s vocal style.[74]
2.3.2 Instrument "From Four Until Late" shows Johnson’s mastery of a blues
style not usually associated with the Delta. He croons the
Johnson mastered the guitar, being considered today one lyrics in a manner reminiscent of Lonnie Johnson, and his
of the all-time greats on the instrument. His approach was guitar style is more that of a ragtime-influenced player like
complex and musically advanced. When Keith Richards Blind Blake.[75] Lonnie Johnson’s influence is even clearer
was first introduced to Johnson’s music by his bandmate in two other departures from the usual Delta style: “Malted
Brian Jones, he asked, “Who is the other guy playing with Milk” and “Drunken Hearted Man”. Both copy the arrange-
him?", not realizing it was Johnson playing one guitar. “I ment of Lonnie Johnson’s “Life Saver Blues”.[76] The two
was hearing two guitars, and it took a long time to actually takes of “Me and the Devil Blues” show the influence of
realise he was doing it all by himself,”[70] said Richards, Peetie Wheatstraw, calling into question the interpretation
who later stated that “Robert Johnson was like an orchestra of this piece as “the spontaneous heart-cry of a demon-
all by himself.”[66] “As for his guitar technique, it’s politelydriven folk artist.”[68]
reedy but ambitiously eclectic—moving effortlessly from In 1990 Yazoo Records released “The Roots of Robert
hen-picking and bottleneck slides to a full deck of chucka- Johnson”, a compilation CD of Delta blues recordings (in-
chucka rhythm figures.”[66] cluding several of those cited here) which pre-date Johnson
and illustrate how his blues output was inluenced.
2.3.3 Lyrics
In The Story with Dick Gordon, Bill Ferris, of American 2.5 Legacy
Public Media, said, “Robert Johnson I think of in the
same way I think of the British Romantic poets, Keats and Johnson has had enormous impact on music and musicians,
Shelley, who burned out early, who were geniuses at word- but outside his own time and place and even the genre
smithing poetry ... The Blues, if anything, are deeply sex- for which he was famous. His influence on contempo-
ual. You know, 'my car doesn't run, I'm gonna check my oil' raries was much smaller, in part because he was an itinerant
... 'if you don't like my apples, don't shake my tree'. Everyperformer—playing mostly on street corners, in juke joints,
verse has sexuality associated with it.”[60] and at Saturday night dances—who worked in a then under-
valued style of music. He also died young after recording
only a handful of songs. Johnson, though well-traveled and
2.4 Influences admired in his performances, was little noted in his lifetime,
and his records were even less appreciated. "Terraplane
Johnson fused approaches specific to Delta blues to those Blues", sometimes described as Johnson’s only hit record,
from the broader music world. The slide guitar work on outsold his others, but was still only a minor success.
“Rambling on My Mind” is pure Delta and Johnson’s vo- If one had asked black blues fans about Johnson in the first
cal there has “a touch of ... Son House rawness,” but the twenty years after his death, writes Elijah Wald, “the re-
train imitation on the bridge is not at all typical of Delta sponse in the vast majority of cases would have been a
blues—it is more like something out of minstrel show music puzzled 'Robert who?'" This lack of recognition extended
or vaudeville.[71] Johnson did record versions of “Preach- to black musicians: “As far as the evolution of black mu-
ing the Blues” and “Walking Blues” in the older bluesman’s sic goes, Robert Johnson was an extremely minor figure,
vocal and guitar style (House’s chronology has been ques- and very little that happened in the decades following his
tioned by Guralnick). As with the first take of “Come On death would have been affected if he had never played a
in My Kitchen,” the influence of Skip James is evident in note”.[77] Columbia Records released the album King of
16
the Delta Blues Singers, a compilation of Johnson’s record- Other examples of the influence he had on English blues
ings, in 1961, which introduced his work to a much wider and blues-rock musicians and musical groups include the
audience—fame and recognition he only received long after following:
his death.
• Eric Clapton considers Johnson “the most impor-
2.5.1 Rock and roll
Johnson’s greatest influence has been on genres of music
that developed after his death: rock and roll and rock. The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included four of his songs in a
set of 500[78] they deemed to have shaped the genre:
• “Sweet Home Chicago” (1936)
• “Cross Road Blues” (1936)
• “Hellhound on My Trail” (1937)
• “Love in Vain” (1937)
Johnson recorded these songs a decade and a half before the
advent of rock and roll, dying a year or two later. The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him as an early influence in
its first induction ceremony, in 1986, almost a half century
after his death. Marc Meyers, of the Wall Street Journal,
wrote that “His 'Stop Breakin' Down Blues’ from 1937 is so
far ahead of its time that the song could easily have been a
rock demo cut in 1954.”[66]
2.5.2 Rock music and related genres
Many of the artists who claim to have been influenced by
Johnson the most, injecting his revolutionary stylings into
their work and recording tribute songs and collections, are
prominent rock musicians from the United Kingdom. His
impact on these musicians—who contributed to and helped
to define rock and roll and rock music—came from the
compilation of his works released in 1961 by Columbia
Records (King of the Delta Blues Singers).
Brian Jones, of the Rolling Stones, introduced his band-
mate Keith Richards to this album by Johnson. The blues
master’s recordings would have as much impact on him
as on Mick Jagger. The group performed his "Walkin'
Blues" at the Rock and Roll Circus in 1968. They arranged
their own version of "Love in Vain" for their album Let It
Bleed and recorded "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" for Exile
on Main Street. Jagger, in the role of Turner in the 1970
film Performance, performed excerpts from "Come On in
My Kitchen" and "Me and the Devil Blues.”
Alexis Korner, who has been called “the Founding Father
of British Blues”, co-wrote and recorded a song entitled
“Robert Johnson” for The Party Album, released in 1978.
CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON
tant blues musician who ever lived.”[70] He recorded
enough of his songs to make Me and Mr. Johnson, a
blues-rock album released in 2004 as a tribute to the
legendary bluesman (it was also used in the film Ses-
sions for Robert J). He earlier recorded “Crossroads”,
an arrangement of "Cross Road Blues", with Cream in
1968, leading some to consider him “the man largely
responsible for making Robert Johnson a household
name.”[79]
• Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin, referred to Johnson on
the NPR radio program Fresh Air (recorded in 2004)
as “Robert Johnson, to whom we all owed our exis-
tence, in some way.” His group recorded "Traveling
Riverside Blues", a song that drew from Johnson’s
original and quoted a number of his songs; the accom-
panying music video showed images from the Delta,
which Johnson often wrote about.
• Fleetwood Mac was strongly influenced by Johnson
in the group’s early years as a British blues band.
Guitarist Jeremy Spencer contributed two covers of
Johnson-derived songs to the group’s early albums,
and lead guitarist Peter Green later recorded Johnson’s
entire catalogue in two albums, The Robert Johnson
Songbook and Hot Foot Powder.
• Sam Dunn's documentary Metal Evolution cites John-
son as the “great grandfather to all things heavy metal”,
with members of the bands Rush and Slipknot agree-
ing that he played a major role in the development of
rock music.
• Bob Dylan wrote of Johnson in his 2004 autobiogra-
phy Chronicles: Volume One, “If I hadn't heard the
Robert Johnson record when I did, there probably
would have been hundreds of lines of mine that would
have been shut down—that I wouldn't have felt free
enough or upraised enough to write.”[69]
2.5.3 Guitar technique
Johnson’s revolutionary guitar playing has led contempo-
rary experts, assessing his talents through the handful of old
recordings available, to rate him among the greatest guitar
players of all time:
• In 1990 Spin magazine rated him first in its list of
“35 Guitar Gods”—on the 52nd anniversary of his
death.[80]
2.6. PROBLEMS OF BIOGRAPHY 17

2.6 Problems of biography

The thing about Robert Johnson was that he only existed

on his records. He was pure legend.

–Martin Scorsese, Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson

Very little of Johnson’s early life is known with certainty.
Two marriage licenses for Johnson have been located in
county records offices. The ages given in these certificates
point to different birth dates, as do the entries showing his
attendance at Indian Creek School, in Tunica, Mississippi.
That he was not listed among his mother’s children in the
1910 census[8] casts further doubt on these dates. Carrie
L-1 Gibson guitar, subsequently reissued by Gibson as a tribute to Thompson claimed that her mother, who was also Robert’s
Johnson mother, remembered his birth date as May 8, 1911. The
1920 census gives his age as 7, suggesting he was born in
1912 or 1913.[84] Five significant dates from his career are
• In 2008 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him fifth on documented: Monday, Thursday and Friday, November
their list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”— 23, 26, and 27, 1936, at a recording session in San Antonio,
70 years after he died.[4] Texas; and Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20, 1937, at
a recording session in Dallas. His death certificate, discov-
[85]
• In 2010 Guitar.com ranked him ninth in its list of “Top ered in 1968, lists the date and location of his death.
50 Guitarists of All Time”—72 years after he died.[81] Johnson’s records were admired by record collectors from
the time of their first release, and efforts were made to dis-
cover his biography, with virtually no success. The blues
Musicians who proclaim Johnson’s profound impact on
researcher Mack McCormick began researching his fam-
them—including Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric
ily background but was never ready to publish his findings.
Clapton—all rated in the top ten with him on each of these
McCormick’s research eventually became as much a legend
lists. The boogie bass line he fashioned for "I Believe I'll
as Johnson himself. In 1982, McCormick permitted Peter
Dust My Broom" has now passed into the standard guitar
Guralnick to publish a summary in Living Blues (1982),
repertoire. At the time it was completely new, a guitarist’s
later reprinted in book form as Searching for Robert John-
version of something people would otherwise have heard
son.[86] Later research has sought to confirm this account or
only from a piano.[82]
to add minor details. A revised summary acknowledging
major informants was written by Stephen LaVere for the
booklet accompanying the compilation album Robert John-
2.5.4 Lifetime achievement son, The Complete Recordings (1990), and is maintained
with updates at the Delta Haze website.[87] The documen-
The Complete Recordings, a double-disc boxed set released tary film The Search for Robert Johnson contains accounts
by Sony/Columbia Legacy on August 28, 1990, contain- by McCormick and Wardlow of what informants have told
ing almost everything Johnson ever recorded, with all 29 them: long interviews of David Honeyboy Edwards and
recordings and 12 alternate takes, won a Grammy Award Johnny Shines and short interviews of surviving friends
for “Best Historical Album” that year. In 2006 Johnson and family. These published biographical sketches achieve
was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (ac- coherent narratives, partly by ignoring reminiscences and
cepted by his son Claud). hearsay accounts which contradict or conflict with other ac-
counts.
A relatively full account of Johnson’s brief musical ca-
2.5.5 Use in advertisements reer emerged in the 1960s, largely from accounts by Son
House, Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards and
Johnson’s recordings, such as “Sweet Home Chicago”, have Robert Lockwood. In 1961, the sleeve notes to the album
been used by companies and nonprofit organizations for King of the Delta Blues Singers included reminiscences of
marketing purposes. “Sweet Home Chicago” is played at Don Law who had recorded Johnson in 1936. Law added
many events in Chicago.[83] to the mystique surrounding Johnson, representing him as
18
very young and extraordinarily shy.
2.6.1 Photographs
The two confirmed images of Johnson were located in 1973,
in the possession of his half-sister Carrie Thompson, but
were not widely published until the late 1980s. A third
photo, purporting to show Johnson posing with the blues
musician Johnny Shines, was published in the November
2008 issue of Vanity Fair magazine.[88] It was declared au-
thentic by the forensic artist Lois Gibson and by Johnson’s
estate in 2013.[89] The authenticity of the third photo has
been disputed by some music historians, including Elijah
Wald, Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow, who con-
sidered that the clothing suggests a date after Johnson’s
death and that the photograph may have been reversed and
retouched.[90] In December 2015 a fourth photograph was
published, purportedly showing Johnson, his wife Calletta
Craft, Estella Coleman, and Robert Lockwood Jr.[91] This
photograph was also declared authentic by Lois Gibson, but
her identification of Johnson has been dismissed by other
facial recognition experts and blues historians.[92][93] In his
book Searching for Robert Johnson, Peter Guralnick stated
that the blues archivist Mack McCormick showed him a
photograph of Johnson with his nephew Louis, probably
taken at the same time as the famous “pinstripe suit” pho-
tograph, showing Louis dressed in his United States Navy
uniform. This photograph has never been made public.
2.6.2 Playback speed hypothesis
In The Guardian's music blog from May 2010, Jon Wilde
speculated that Johnson’s recordings may have been “ac-
cidentally speeded up when first committed to 78 [rpm
records], or else were deliberately speeded up to make them
sound more exciting.”[94] He did not give a source for this
statement. Biographer Elijah Wald and other musicolo-
gists dispute this hypothesis on various grounds, includ-
ing that Johnson’s extant recordings were made on five dif-
ferent days, spread across two years at two different stu- 2.8
dios, making uniform speed changes or malfunctions highly
improbable.[95] In addition, fellow musicians, contempo- 2.8.1
raries and family who worked with or witnessed Johnson
perform spoke of his recordings for more than 70 years pre-
2.8.2
ceding Wilde’s hypothesis without ever suggesting that the
[95]
speed of his performances had been altered.
2.6.3 Descendants The National Recording Preservation Board added The
Complete Recordings to the National Recording Registry of
Johnson left no will. In 1998, the Mississippi Supreme the Library of Congress in 2003.[102] The board annually se-
Court ruled that Claud Johnson, a retired truck driver liv- lects songs that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically
ing in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, was the son of Robert significant” for inclusion in the Registry.
CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON
Johnson and his sole heir. The court heard that he had been
born to Virgie Jane Smith (later Virgie Jane Cain), who had
a relationship with Robert Johnson in 1931. The relation-
ship was attested to by a friend, Eula Mae Williams, but
other relatives descended from Robert Johnson’s half-sister,
Carrie Harris Thompson, contested Claud Johnson’s claim.
The effect of the judgment was to allow Claud Johnson to
receive over $1 million in royalties.[96] Claud Johnson died,
aged 83, on June 30, 2015, leaving six children.[97]
2.7 Discography
Main article: Robert Johnson discography
Eleven 78-rpm records by Johnson were released by
Vocalion Records during his lifetime. A twelfth was issued
posthumously.[98] Johnson’s estate holds the copyrights to
his songs.
The Complete Recordings, a two-disc set, released on
August 28, 1990, contains almost everything Johnson
recorded, with all 29 recordings, and 12 alternate takes.
(Another alternate take of “Traveling Riverside Blues”
which was released by Sony on the CD King of the Delta
Blues Singers and was included in early printings of the pa-
perback edition of Elijah Wald’s Escaping the Delta.)[99]
To celebrate Johnson’s 100th birthday, May 8, 2011, Sony
Legacy released Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collec-
tion, a re-mastered 2-CD set of all 42 of his recordings[100]
and two brief fragments, one of Johnson practicing a gui-
tar figure and the other of Johnson saying, presumably
to engineer Don Law, “I wanna go on with our next one
myself.”[100] Reviewers commented that the sound quality
of the 2011 release was a substantial improvement on the
1990 release.[101]
Awards and recognitions
Grammy Awards
Grammy Hall of Fame
2.8.3 National Recording Registry
2.10. REFERENCES 19

2.8.4 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [11] Pearson and McCulloch, p. 6.

[12] Wald 2004, p. 108.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included four songs by
Johnson in its list of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock [13] The Search for Robert Johnson, 1992 film.
and Roll”.[103] A memorial to him reads, “Robert Johnson
stands at the crossroads of American music, much as a pop- [14] Pearson and McCulloch, p. 7.
ular folk legend has it he once stood at Mississippi cross- [15] Pearson and McCulloch, p. 94.
roads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar-
playing prowess.[3] [16] Guralnick, p. 15.

[17] Pearson and McCulloch, p. 12.

2.8.5 Blues Foundation awards [18] Gioia, p. 172.

2.8.6 Honors and inductions [19] Neff and Connor, p. 56.

[20] Townsend, p. 68.

On September 17, 1994, the U.S. Post Office is-
sued a Robert Johnson 29-cent commemorative postage [21] Guralnik, p. 28.
stamp.[105]
[22] Guralnik, p. 24.

[23] Gioia, p. 175.

2.8.7 Tribute albums
[24] Gioia, pp. 172–173.
Tribute albums to Robert Johnson include the following:
[25] Edwards, p. 100.

[26] Schroeder, p. 22.

2.9 See also [27] Guralnik, p. 29.

• List of unsolved deaths [28] Wald, p. 112.

• Robert Johnson (guitars) [29] Pearson and McCulloch, p. 111.

[30] Sisario, Ben (February 28, 2004). “Revisionists Sing New

Blues History”. New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
2.10 References
[31] Charters
[1] “The 50 Albums That Changed Music”. The Observer. July [32] Lomax 1993
16, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
[33] Charters 1959
[2] LaVere, Stephen (1990). Booklet accompanying Complete
Recordings. Sony Music Entertainment. p. 26. [34] “Blues Wizard’s S.A. Legacy”. San Antonio Express-News.
November 30, 1986. p. 1-J.
[3] “Robert Johnson Inducted at the 1986 Induction Ceremony”.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. [35] Ry Cooder quoted in Guitar Player magazine, September
1990, p69, in article “The Real Robert Johnson” by Jas
[4] “100 Greatest Guitarists”. Rolling Stone. December 10, Obrecht
2010. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
[36] Wald 2004, p. 131.
[5] Wardlow
[37] Wald 2004, pp. 132– 176.
[6] Guralnik, pp. 10–11.
[38] Wald 2004, p. 132.
[7] Guralnik, p. 11.
[39] Wald 2004, p. 167.
[8] Freeland 2000.
[40] Chistensen, Thor (November 19, 2011). “Dallas Church
[9] Wardlow 1998, p. 201. Preserving the Legacy of Robert Johnson”. New York Times.

[10] Mugge, Robert (2000). Hellhounds on My Trail: The After- [41] Eric Clapton – Sessions for Robert Johnson. Documentary,
life of Robert Johnson. Quoted in Wald 2004, p. 107. 2004. Worley’s Dallas City Directory, 1937.
20 CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON

[42] Wald 2004, p. 130. [68] Wald 2004, p. 177.

[43] Graves, Tom; LaVere, Steve (2008). Crossroads: The Life [69] Dylan, Bob (2004). Chronicles: Volume One. Simon &
and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson. Demers Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-2815-4.
Books. pp. 39–43. ISBN 978-0-9816002-0-8. The tale
most often told about how Johnson met his fate is that he [70] Buncombe, Andrew (July 26, 2006). “The Grandfather of
was poisoned by a jealous husband who put strychnine in Rock'n'Roll: The Devil’s Instrument”. The Independent.
his whiskey.
[71] Wald 2004, p. 139.
[44] “Handwritten note on the back of Johnson’s death certifi-
[72] Wald 2004, pp. 171–172.
cate” (JPG). Blues.Jfrewald.com. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
[73] Wald 2004, p. 183.
[45] Cheseborough, Steve (2008). Blues Traveling: The Holy
Sites of Delta Blues. University Press of Mississippi. pp. [74] Wald 2004, p. 184.
145–146. ISBN 1604733284.
[75] Wald 2004, pp. 170–171, 174.
[46] Wardlow, pp. 196–201.
[76] Wald 2004, p. 175.
[47] Wardlow, pp. 203–204.
[77] Wald 2004.
[48] Wald, pp. 265–276.
[78] “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”. Exhibit Highlights.
[49] Whelan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the orig-
[50] Marcus 1975. inal on 2007.

[51] Palmer 1981. [79] "Bo Diddley’s 'Before You Accuse Me' Influential as the
Master. Listen to the Story. KPLU 88.5. March 23, 2012.
[52] Wardlow 1998.
[80] “35 Guitar Gods”. Spin. August 1990.
[53] Evans 1971.
[81] “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time – 10 to 1”. Gibson.com.
[54] Guralnik 1982. Retrieved June 3, 2010.

[55] Wardlow 1998, p. 197. [82] Wald 2004, p. 136.

[56] Living Blues 39:1 (issue 194), February 2008. pp. 68–73.
[57] Wardlow 1998, p. 200.
[58] Cheseborough, Steve (2008). Blues Traveling: The Holy
Sites of Delta Blues (3rd ed.). University Press of Missis-
sippi. p. 83.
[59] Hyatt, Harry (1973). Hoodoo–Conjuration–Witchcraft–
Rootwork, Beliefs Accepted by Many Negroes and White Per-
sons. Western Publications.
[83] Knopper, Steve. "'Sweet Home Chicago' Leaves Sour Taste
for Some”. Chicago Tribune. 30 May 2002. pp. 1–2.
September 9, 2015.
[84] Rewald, Jason (October 9, 2009). “New Robert Johnson
Census Records”. tdblues.com. Retrieved 5 September
2013.
[85] Wardlow and Komara 1998, p. 87.
[86] Guralnick

[60] Ferris, Bill. The Story with Dick Gordon. American Public [87] “Robert Johnson – Bio”. www.deltahaze.com. Archived
Media. from the original on July 14, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
[61] Evans, David (October 22, 1999). “Demythologizing the [88] Digiacomo, Frank (2008). “Searching for Robert Johnson”.
Blues”. Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter. Vanity Fair. November 2008.
[62] Lomax, p. 365. [89] Thorpe, Jessica (2013-02-02). “Robert Johnson: Rare New
Photograph of Delta Blues King Authenticated After Eight
[63] Wald 2004, p. 127.
Years”. The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
[64] Wald 2004, p. 133.
[90] "'Robert Johnson' Photo Does Not Show the Blues Legend,
[65] Wald 2004, pp. 152–154. Music Experts Say”. The Guardian. 2014-09-19. Retrieved
2015-09-06.
[66] Myers, Marc (April 22, 2011). “Still Standing at the Cross-
roads”. Wall Street Journal. [91] Baddour, Dylan. “New Photo of Bluesman Robert Johnson
Unearthed; Only Third Photo in Existence”. Chron.com.
[67] Wald 2004, pp. 178–179. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
 2.11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
[92] Matheis, Frank; Conforth, Bruce. “Another Robert John-
son Photo Debunked”. TheCountryBlues.com. Retrieved
28 December 2015.
[93] “That New ‘Robert Johnson’ Photo That Went Viral? It’s a
Total Hoax”. HistoryBuff.com. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
[94] Wilde, Jon (May 27, 2010). “Robert Johnson Revelation
Tells Us to Put the Brakes on the Blues”. The Guardian.
Retrieved June 5, 2010.
[95] Wald, Elijah. “The Robert Johnson Recording Speed Con-
troversy”. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
[96] Bragg, Rick. “Court Rules Father of the Blues Has a Son”.
New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
[97] “Claud Johnson, Son of Blues Singer, Dies at 83”. New York
Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
[98] Komara 2007, pp. 63–68.
[99] Awards List for Robert Johnson. The Awards Insider. Los
Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
[100] LaVere, Stephen C. (2011). Liner notes for Robert Johnson:
The Centennial Collection. Legacy Recordings. pp. 20–21.
[101] Gordon, Keith A. (April 26, 2011). “Robert Johnson – The
Centennial Collection (2011)". About.com. Retrieved Au-
gust 15, 2011.
[102] The National Recording Registry 2003. Library of
Congress.
[103] “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll G-J”. The Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original
on August 22, 2008.
[104] “Awards Search”. The Blues Foundation. (Javascript re-
quired.)
[105] “Robert Johnson”. US Stamp Gallery. 1994-09-17. Re-
trieved 2015-09-06.
[106] “Mississippi Hall of Fame Inducts Trio of Famed Gibson
Artists” (Press release). Gibson Musical Instruments. April
4, 2000. Archived from the original on August 19, 2000.
2.11 Bibliography
• Blesh, Rudi (1946). “Jazz Begins”, quoted in Hamil-
ton, Marybeth (2007). In Search of the Blues: Black
Voices, White Visions. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-
06018-X.
• Blues World, booklet 1, “Robert Johnson”, four edi-
tions, first published 1967.
• Charters, Samuel B. (1959). The Country Blues. Rine-
hart.
21
• Charters, Samuel B. (1967). The Bluesman: The Story
of the Music of the Men Who Made the Blues. Oak
Publications.
• Charters, Samuel B. (1973). Robert Johnson. Oak
Publication. ISBN 0-8256-0059-6.
• Edwards, David Honeyboy (1997). The World Don't
Owe Me Nothing: The Life and Times of Delta Blues-
man Honeyboy Edwards. Chicago Review Press.
ISBN 1-55652-368-8.
• Evans, David (1971). Tommy Johnson. Studio Vista.
ISBN 978-0289701515.
• Freeland, Tom (2000). “Robert Johnson: Some Wit-
nesses to a Short Life”. Living Blues no. 150,
March/April 200. p. 49.
• Gioia, Ted (2008). Delta Blues: The Life and Times of
the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American
Music. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-33750-1.
• Graves, Tom (2008). Crossroads: The Life and After-
life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson. DeMers Books.
ISBN 978-0-9816002-1-5.
• Greenberg, Alan (1983). Love in Vain: The Life and
Legend of Robert Johnson. Doubleday Books. ISBN
0-385-15679-0. (Revised as Love in Vain: A Vision of
Robert Johnson, 1994. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-
80557-X.)
• Guralnick, Peter (1989). Searching for Robert John-
son. E. P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24801-3. (Paperback
edition, 1998, Plume. ISBN 0-452-27949-6.)
• Hamilton, Marybeth (2007). In Search of the Blues:
Black Voices, White Visions. Jonathan Cape. ISBN
0-224-06018-X.
• Komara, Edward (2007). The Road to Robert Johnson:
The Genesis and Evolution of Blues in the Delta from
the Late 1800s Through 1938. Hal Leonard. ISBN
0-634-00907-9.
• Lomax, Alan (1993). The Land Where the Blues Be-
gan. Methuen. ISBN 0-413-67850-4.
• Marcus, Greil (1975). Mystery Train. E. P. Dutton.
• Neff, Robert, and Connor, Anthony (1975). Blues.
David R Godine. Quoted in Pearson and McCulloch,
p. 114.
• Palmer, Robert (1982). Deep Blues. Macmillan.
ISBN 0-333-34039-6.
22 CHAPTER 2. ROBERT JOHNSON

• Pearson, Barry Lee; McCulloch, Bill (2003). Robert

Johnson: Lost and Found. University of Illinois Press.
ISBN 0-252-02835-X.

• Russell, Tony (2004). Country Music Records: A

Discography, 1921–1942. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-
513989-5.
• Schroeder, Patricia R. (2004). Robert Johnson, Myth-
making, and Contemporary American Culture. Uni-
versity of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02915-1.

• Townsend, Henry (1999). A Blues Life. As told to

Bill Greensmith. University of Illinois Press. ISBN
0-252-02526-1.

• Wald, Elijah (2004). Escaping the Delta: Robert

Johnson and the Invention of the Blues. Amis-
tad/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-052423-5.
• Wardlow, G., and Komara, E. M. (1998). Chasin' That
Devil Music: Searching for the Blues. San Francisco:
Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-652-1.

• Welding, Pete (1966). “Robert Johnson: Hell Hound

on His Trail”. Down Beat Music '66. pp. 73–76, 103.

• Wolf, Robert (2004). Hellhound on My Trail: The

Life of Robert Johnson, Bluesman Extraordinaire.
Mankato, Minnesota: Creative Editions. ISBN 1-
56846-146-1.

2.12 External links

• Robert Johnson Death Certificate. State of Missis-
sippi.

• Robert Johnson at Find a Grave

• Bluesman’s Son Gets His Due Ellen Barry, Los Ange-
les Times. June 2, 2004. Johnson Legal Battle.

• . Knopper, Steve. "'Sweet Home Chicago' leaves sour

taste for some”. Chicago Tribune. 30 May 2002.
Pages 1–2. 9 September 2015.
Chapter 3

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24,
1893 – December 19, 1929)[1] was an American blues and
gospel singer, songwriter, and musician. He was one of the
most popular blues singers of the 1920s and has been called
the “Father of the Texas Blues".[2]
Jefferson’s performances were distinctive because of his
high-pitched voice and the originality of his guitar
playing.[2] His recordings sold well, but he was not a strong
influence on younger blues singers of his generation, who
could not imitate him as easily as they could other com-
mercially successful artists.[3] Later blues and rock and roll
musicians, however, did attempt to imitate both his songs
and his musical style.[2]
3.1 Biography
of barbershops and on street corners.[2] According to his
cousin Alec Jefferson, quoted in the notes for Blind Lemon
Jefferson, Classic Sides:
In the early 1910s, Jefferson began traveling frequently to
Dallas, where he met and played with the blues musician
Lead Belly.[2] Jefferson was one of the earliest and most
prominent figures in the blues movement developing in the
Deep Ellum section of Dallas. It is likely that he moved
to Deep Ellum on a more permanent basis by 1917, where
he met Aaron Thibeaux Walker, also known as T-Bone
Walker. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of playing blues
guitar in exchange for Walker’s occasional services as a
guide. By the early 1920s, Jefferson was earning enough
money for his musical performances to support a wife and,
possibly, a child.[2] However, firm evidence of his marriage
and children has not been found.

3.1.1 Early life 3.1.2 Beginning of recording career

Jefferson was born blind (or possibly partially blind), near Prior to Jefferson, few artists had recorded solo voice and
Coutchman, Texas. He was the youngest of seven[4] (or
blues guitar, the first of which were the vocalist Sara Martin
possibly eight) children born to Alex and Clarissa Jeffer- and the guitarist Sylvester Weaver, who recorded “Longing
son, who were sharecroppers.[2] Disputes regarding the date
for Daddy Blues”, probably on October 24, 1923.[9] The
of his birth derive from contradictory census records and first self-accompanied solo performer of a self-composed
draft registration records. By 1900, the family was farming blues song was Lee Morse, whose “Mail Man Blues” was
southeast of Streetman, Texas, and his birth date is indi- recorded on October 7, 1924.[10] Jefferson’s music is un-
cated as September 1893 in the 1900 census.[5] The 1910 inhibited and represented the classic sounds of everyday
census, taken in May, before his birthday, further confirms life, from a honky-tonk to a country picnic, to street cor-
his year of birth as 1893 and indicated that the family was ner blues, to work in the burgeoning oil fields (a reflection
farming northwest of Wortham, near his birthplace.[6] of his interest in mechanical objects and processes).[11]
In his 1917 draft registration, Jefferson gave his birth date Jefferson did what few had ever done before him – he be-
as October 26, 1894, further stating that he then lived in came a successful solo guitarist and male vocalist in the
Dallas, Texas, and had been blind since birth.[7] In the commercial recording world.[12] Unlike many artists who
1920 census, he is recorded as having returned to Freestone were “discovered” and recorded in their normal venues, Jef-
County and was living with his half-brother, Kit Banks, on ferson was taken to Chicago, Illinois, in December 1925
a farm between Wortham and Streetman.[8] or January 1926 to record his first tracks. Uncharacteristi-
Jefferson began playing the guitar in his early teens and soon cally, his first two recordings from this session were gospel
after he began performing at picnics and parties. He be- songs ("I Want to Be Like Jesus in My Heart" and “All
came a street musician, playing in East Texas towns in front I Want Is That Pure Religion”), released under the name

23
24
Deacon L. J. Bates. A second recording session was held
in March 1926.[13] His first releases under his own name,
“Booster Blues” and “Dry Southern Blues”, were hits. Their
popularity led to the release of the other two songs from
that session, “Got the Blues” and “Long Lonesome Blues”,
which became a runaway success, with sales in six figures.
He recorded about 100 tracks between 1926 and 1929; 43
records were issued, all but one for Paramount Records.
Paramount’s studio techniques and quality were poor, and
the recordings were released with poor sound quality. In
May 1926, Paramount re-recorded Jefferson performing
his hits “Got the Blues” and “Long Lonesome Blues” in the
superior facilities at Marsh Laboratories, and subsequent
releases used those versions. Both versions appear on com-
pilation albums.
3.1.3 Success with Paramount Records
Label of one of Jefferson’s Paramount records, 1926
Largely because of the popularity of artists such as Jeffer-
son and his contemporaries Blind Blake and Ma Rainey,
Paramount became the leading recording company for the
blues in the 1920s.[14] Jefferson’s earnings reputedly en-
abled him to buy a car and employ chauffeurs (this informa-
tion has been disputed); he was given a Ford car “worth over
$700” by Mayo Williams, Paramount’s connection with the
black community. This was a common compensation for
recording rights in that market. Jefferson is known to have
Jefferson was buried at Wortham Negro Cemetery (later
done an unusual amount of traveling for the time in the Wortham Black Cemetery). Far from being kept clean,
American South, which is reflected in the difficulty of plac-
his grave was unmarked until 1967, when a Texas histor-
ing his music in a single regional category. ical marker was erected in the general area of his plot, the
Jefferson’s “old-fashioned” sound and confident musician- precise location of which is unknown. By 1996, the ceme-
CHAPTER 3. BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON
ship made it easy to market him. His skillful guitar playing
and impressive vocal range opened the door for a new gen-
eration of male solo blues performers, such as Furry Lewis,
Charlie Patton, and Barbecue Bob.[12] He stuck to no mu-
sical conventions, varying his riffs and rhythm and singing
complex and expressive lyrics in a manner exceptional at
the time for a “simple country blues singer.” According to
the North Carolina musician Walter Davis, Jefferson played
on the streets in Johnson City, Tennessee, during the early
1920s, at which time Davis and the entertainer Clarence
Greene learned the art of blues guitar.[15]
Jefferson was reputedly unhappy with his royalties (al-
though Williams said that Jefferson had a bank account
containing as much as $1500). In 1927, when Williams
moved to Okeh Records, he took Jefferson with him, and
Okeh quickly recorded and released Jefferson’s “Match-
box Blues”, backed with "Black Snake Moan".[13] It was
his only Okeh recording, probably because of contrac-
tual obligations with Paramount. Jefferson’s two songs re-
leased on Okeh have considerably better sound quality than
his Paramount records at the time. When he returned to
Paramount a few months later, “Matchbox Blues” had al-
ready become such a hit that Paramount re-recorded and
released two new versions, with the producer Arthur Laibly.
In 1927, Jefferson recorded another of his classic songs, the
haunting "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (again using
the pseudonym Deacon L. J. Bates), and two other unchar-
acteristically spiritual songs, “He Arose from the Dead” and
“Where Shall I Be”. “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”
was so successful that it was re-recorded and re-released in
1928.
3.1.4 Death and grave
Jefferson died in Chicago at 10:00 a.m. on December 19,
1929, of what his death certificate said was “probably acute
myocarditis".[16] For many years, rumors circulated that a
jealous lover had poisoned his coffee, but a more likely ex-
planation is that he died of a heart attack after becoming
disoriented during a snowstorm. Some have said that he
died of a heart attack after being attacked by a dog in the
middle of the night. The book Tolbert’s Texas claimed that
he was killed while being robbed of a large royalty pay-
ment by a guide escorting him to Union Station to catch a
train home to Texas. Paramount Records paid for the return
of his body to Texas by train, accompanied by the pianist
William Ezell.
3.4. IN POPULAR CULTURE
tery and marker were in poor condition, and a new granite
headstone was erected in 1997. In 2007, the cemetery’s
name was changed to Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery,
and his gravesite is kept clean by a cemetery committee in
Wortham, Texas.[17]
3.2 Discography and awards
See also: Blind Lemon Jefferson discography
Jefferson had an intricate and fast style of guitar playing and
a particularly high-pitched voice. He was a founder of the
Texas blues sound and an important influence on other blues
singers and guitarists, including Lead Belly and Lightnin'
Hopkins.
He was the author of many songs covered by later musi-
cians, including the classic "See That My Grave Is Kept
Clean". Another of his songs, "Matchbox Blues", was
recorded more than 30 years later by the Beatles, in a
rockabilly version credited to Carl Perkins, who did not
credit Jefferson on his 1955 recording.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected Jefferson’s 1927
recording of "Matchbox Blues" as one of the 500 songs that
shaped rock and roll.[18] Jefferson was among the inaugu-
ral class of blues musicians inducted into the Blues Hall of
Fame in 1980.
3.3 Cover versions
• Bukka White, “Jack o' Diamonds”, on 1963 Isn't 1962,
released in the 1990s
• Bob Dylan, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean", on
Bob Dylan
• Grateful Dead, “One Kind Favor” (a version of “See
That My Grave Is Kept Clean”), on Birth of the Dead
• Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, Bil Vitt,
“One Kind Favor”, on Keystone Encores Volume I
• John Hammond, “One Kind Favor”, on John Ham-
mond Live
• B.B. King, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”, on
One Kind Favor
• Peter, Paul & Mary, “One Kind Favor”, on In Concert
• Kelly Joe Phelps, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”,
on Roll Away the Stone
25
• Counting Crows, “Mean Jumper Blues”. Counting
Crows lead singer Adam Duritz accidentally claimed
credit for “Mean Jumper Blues” in the liner notes of
the deluxe edition reissue of the album August and Ev-
erything After. The cover was featured as part of a
selection of early demo tracks. Immediately after the
error was brought to his attention, Duritz apologized
in his personal blog.[19]
• Laibach, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”, on
SPECTRE[20]
• Pat Donohue, “One Kind Favor”, live on Garrison
Keillor's radio program A Prairie Home Companion
and later released on the CD Radio Blues
• Corey Harris, “Jack o' Diamonds”, on Fish Ain't Bitin',
released 1997
• Diamanda Galás, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”,
on The Singer
• Phish, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”, live at
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, 08/04/2017
3.4 In popular culture
• In 2009, the Grammy-nominated R&B act Yarbrough
and Peoples were featured in the off-Broadway play
Blind Lemon Blues.
• A tribute song, “My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon”, was
recorded for Paramount Records in 1932 by King
Solomon Hill. The record was long considered lost,
but a copy was located by John Tefteller in 2002.
• Geoff Muldaur refers to Jefferson in the song “Got to
Find Blind Lemon” on the album The Secret Hand-
shake.
• Art Evans portrayed Jefferson in the 1976 film
Leadbelly, directed by Gordon Parks.
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded the song “Blind
Lemon Jefferson” on the album The Firstborn Is Dead.
• The 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas, in one of its
many downloadable add-ons (“Old World Blues”), fea-
tures an AI jukebox named Blind Diode Jefferson.[21]
The AI claims to have been a blues musician before
his music hard drives were stripped from him. The
voicing of the AI can be characterized as a Southern
drawl in homage to Jefferson.
• In the 2003 movie Masked and Anonymous, Bobby
Cupid (Luke Wilson) gives his friend Jack Fate (Bob
Dylan) Jefferson’s guitar, which he claims was used in
recording “Matchbox Blues”.
26 CHAPTER 3. BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON

• Cheech & Chong parodied Jefferson as “Blind Melon
Chitlin'" on their self-titled 1971 album Cheech and
Chong, on their 1985 album Get Out of My Room, and
in a stage routine that can be seen in their 1983 film
Still Smokin'.
• Chet Atkins called Jefferson “one of my first finger-
picking influences” in the song “Nine Pound Ham-
mer”, on the album The Atkins–Travis Traveling Show.
• A practical joke played on Down Beat magazine edi- [10] Nyback, Dennis W. “Miss Lee Morse: The First Recorded
tor Gene Lees in the late 1950s took on a life of its
own and became a long-running hoax when one of
his correspondents included a reference to the blues
legend “Blind Orange Adams” in an article published
in the magazine, an obvious parody of Jefferson’s
name. References to the nonexistent Adams appeared
in subsequent articles in Down Beat over the next few
years.[22]
• The American dramatic film Black Snake Moan was
named after one of his only songs recorded for Okeh
Records. [13] Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to
• Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup took the title of his classic
song "That’s All Right,” which launched the career of
Elvis Presley, from a lyric in Jefferson’s "Black Snake
Moan".[23]
[7] World War I Draft Registration records, Dallas County,
Texas. Roll 1952850. Draft board 2.
[8] 1920 US Census. Census place: Kirvin, Freestone, Texas.
Roll T625_1805, p. 3A. Enumeration district 24. Image
231.
[9] Gibbs, Craig Martin (2012). Black Recording Artists, 1877–
1926: An Annotated Discography. McFarland & Company.
p. 175.
Jazz Singer” (PDF). Washingtonhistory.org. Retrieved
2016-10-06.
[11] Specht, Joe W. (2010). “Oil Well Blues: African-American
Oil Patch Songs”. Paper presented at joint annual meeting of
East Texas Historical Association and West Texas Historical
Association, Fort Worth, February 27, 2010.
[12] Evans, David (2000). “Music Innovation in the Blues of
Blind Lemon Jefferson”. Black Music Research Journal. 20
(1): 83–116. JSTOR 779317.
Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 12. ISBN 1-85868-
255-X.
[14] Dixon, R. M. W.; Godrich, J. (1970). “Recording the
Blues”. Reprinted in Oliver, Paul; Russell, Tony; Dixon,
Robert M. W.; Godrich, John; Rye, Howard (2001). Yonder
Come the Blues. Cambridge. p. 288. ISBN 0-521-78777-7.

3.5 See also [15] Erbsen, Wayne (1981). “Walter Davis: Fist and Skull
Banjo”. Bluegrass Unlimited, March 1981. pp. 22–26.

• List of nicknames of blues musicians
3.6 References
[1] Some sources indicate Jefferson was born on October 26,
1894.
[2] Dicaire, David (1999). Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Leg-
endary Artists of the Early 20th Century. Jefferson, North
Carolina: McFarland and Company. pp. 140–144. ISBN
0-7864-0606-2.
[3] Charters, Samuel (1977). The Blues Makers. New York: Da
Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80438-7.
[4] “Blind Lemon Jefferson: American Musician”. Britan-
nica.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
[5] 1900 US Census. Census place: Justice precinct 5, Free-
stone, Texas. Roll T623 1636, p. 3A. Enumeration district
37.
[6] 1910 US Census. Census place: Justice precinct 6, Navarro,
Texas. Roll T624_1580, p. 17B. Enumeration district 98.
Image 982.
[16] The Frog Blues & Jazz Annual No. 1: The Musicians, the
Records & the Music of the 78 Era. Frog Records. 2010.
ISBN 0956471706.
[17] “Jefferson, Blind Lemon”. Handbook of Texas Online.
Texas State Historical Association. May 30, 2010. Texas
State Historical Association. “In 2007 the name of the
cemetery was changed to Blind Lemon Memorial Ceme-
tery.”
[18] “500 Songs That Shaped Rock”. Infoplease.com. Retrieved
2015-08-30.
[19] “Archived copy”. Archived from the original on November
6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
[20] “Laibach Spectre”. Spectre.laibach.org. Retrieved 2015-
08-30.
[21] “Blind Diode Jefferson”. Falloutwiki.com. Retrieved
November 10, 2011.
[22] Crow, Bill (1990). Jazz Anecdotes. Oxford University Press.
pp. 175–176, ISBN 9780195071337.
[23] “Big Boy’s “That’s All Right"". Scotty Moore. 2005-01-16.
Retrieved 2016-10-06.
3.9. EXTERNAL LINKS 27

3.7 Sources
• Govenar, Alan; Brakefield, Jay F. (1998). Deep El-
lum and Central Track: Where the Black and White
Worlds of Dallas Converged. Denton: University of
North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-051-2.

3.8 Further reading

• Evans, David (2000). “Musical Innovation in the
Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson”. Black Music Re-
search Journal. Vol. 20, no. 1, Blind Lemon Jefferson
(Spring 2000). pp. 83–116.

• Monge, Luigi (2000). “The Language of Blind Lemon

Jefferson: The Covert Theme of Blindness”. Black
Music Research Journal. Vol. 20, no. 1, Blind Lemon
Jefferson (Spring 2000). pp. 35–81.

• Monge, Luigi; Evans, David (2003). “New Songs of

Blind Lemon Jefferson”. Journal of Texas Music His-
tory. Vol. 3, no. 2 (Fall 2003).
• Pisigin, Valeriy (2013). The Coming of the Blues
(Пришествие блюза). Vol. 4. Country Blues. Blind
Lemon Jefferson. — M.: 2013. — C.320. ISBN 978-
5-9902482-7-4.
• Uzzel, Robert L. (2002). Blind Lemon Jefferson: His
Life, His Death, and His Legacy. Austin, Texas: Eakin
Press. ISBN 9781571686565.

3.9 External links

• Blues Foundation Hall of Fame induction

• Blind Lemon Jefferson at AllMusic

• Blind Lemon Jefferson on IMDb

• Illustrated Blind Lemon Jefferson discography

• The lyrics of his songs

• Blind Lemon Jefferson at Find a Grave

Chapter 4
American march music
“American march” redirects here. It is not to be confused age of these marches, the history it holds and its perfor-
with March for America.
American march music is march music written and/or of as “typical American march music”.
The cover of The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa.
performed in the United States.
4.1 History
The true “march music era" existed from 1850 to 1940s as
it slowly became shadowed by the coming of jazz. Earlier
marches, such as the ones from George Frideric Handel,
Wolfgang Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven tended to be
part of a symphony or a movement in a suite. Despite the
mance in the United States, they are generally not thought
4.1.1 Marches and the military band
The origins of European and American march music can be
traced to the military music of the Ottoman Empire. The
martial purpose of the music was to regulate the functioning
of armies in the field by communicating orders, and keeping
time during marching and maneuvers. The extensive use of
percussion, such as cymbals, was also used for psychologi-
cal effect as their use, especially in Western Europe, was un-
known and had the capacity to frighten opponents. Indeed,
the subsequent use of cymbals and other such percussive
instruments in European 'classical' music was a direct im-
portation from the Ottomans. In the early 18th century, Eu-
ropeans were first exposed to this type of music and interest
would continue to build into the early 19th century when a
vogue for Turkish marching bands swept through Europe.
Pieces displaying this Turkish influence can be found in the
works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven with a notable ex-
ample being “Turkish March” by Beethoven (part of Op.
113): Overture and incidental music for Die Ruinen von
Athen.
The origins of march music began before the Gunpowder
Age during which armies would maintain their troops’
morale by marching with music playing, whether that be
from the beat of a drum or fife. American march mu-
sic showed during the American Revolutionary and earlier
wartime conflicts, in which a fife and snare drum would play
while the troops marched to battle. This is why it can be said
that march music is a military’s music.
While the tradition of soldiers playing music while march-
ing into battle had ended soon after the American Civil War
(mid 19th century), military bands continued to perform
marches during related ceremonies and other events. This
actually spawned a whole new tradition of playing marches
as a source of entertainment.
28
4.3. COMMON MARCH COMPOSERS IN THE UNITED STATES
4.1.2 Marches and the concert band
Around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most towns,
organizations, theaters, and even companies would have
their own band. These bands, currently known today as
community bands, would perform their music at special
events much like the military band, but would often play
at simple scheduled concerts and tours (such as the tradi-
tional gazebo concerts). By this time, published marches
were plentiful due to prolific composers such as John Philip
Sousa, Karl L. King, and Henry Fillmore. Marches became
a staple in the repertoire of these concert bands and can
hence explain how the popularity of the march spread so
rapidly across the world.
4.1.3 Marches and the circus
Marches were further popularized with performances by
circus bands. During the same period of the community
band/concert band, circuses such as the Ringling Brothers
and Barnum & Bailey Circus would have live music being
performed by their own bands. The marches played were
often a special variety of the march known descriptively
as "Screamers", "Two-Steps", and "Cakewalks". These
marches served the purpose of exciting the crowd while
circus acts were taking place.
4.1.4 Marches and the marching band
Again, during the same period, college and high school
marching bands were also beginning to form. March com-
posers would often dedicate marches to university bands.
Marches were performed during half-time shows and pep-
rallies.
4.2 John Philip Sousa revolution
American composer John Philip Sousa revolutionized the
march. His prolific production of quality marches added to
the genre’s popularity. According to Sousa researcher Paul
Bierley, Sousa’s marches were known for simplicity and un-
derstatement, with rousing counterpoint and overall energy.
Sousa also is said to have standardized the traditional march
form (see below.) His Stars and Stripes Forever is the offi-
cial march of the United States.
29
4.3 Common march composers in
the United States
Most march composers come from the United States or Eu-
rope, and have some type of musical background. The most
popular march composers existed in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, mainly because modern march dedicators
are hard to come by. The following is a list of march music
composers whose marches are frequently performed in the
United States.
• Russell Alexander (1877–1915)
• Kenneth Alford (1881–1945) “The British March
King”
• Edwin Eugene Bagley (1857–1922)
• Hermann Louis Blankenburg (1876–1956)
• W. Paris Chambers (1854–1913)
• Charles E. Duble (1884–1960)
• Henry Fillmore (1881–1956) “The Trombone King”
• Julius Fucik (1872–1916) “The Czech March King”
• James M. Fulton (1873–1940) “Associated Press,”
“Waterbury American”
• Edwin Franko Goldman (1878–1956) “The American
Bandmaster”
• Robert B. Hall (1858–1907) “The New England March
King”
• George Dallas Sherman (1844–1927) Composer of
“Salute to Burlington”
• John Clifford Heed (1864–1908)
• Arthur W. Hughes (ca.1870-ca.1950)
• Fred Jewell (1875–1936) “The Indiana March King”
• Karl L. King (1891–1971) “Iowa’s Own Music Man,”
“The Circus Music King”
• John N. Klohr (1869–1956)
• Alex F. Lithgow (1870–1923) “Invercargill”
• Frank H. Losey (1872–1931) “The Pennsylvania
March King”
• J. J. Richards (1878–1956) “The Long Beach March
King”
• William Rimmer (1862–1936)
30
• Roland F. Seitz (1867–1946) “The Parade Music
Prince”
• John Philip Sousa (1854–1932) “The March King”
• Carl Albert Hermann Teike (1864–1922)
4.4 Famous marches
“Repasz Band March” by Chas. C. Sweeley.
The following is a list of popular marches from around the
world that are frequently performed in the United States.
They are in alphabetical order for easy reading.
• “All Sports March” – Robert Farnon
• "American Patrol" – W. Frank Meacham, copyrighted
March 30, 1885
• “Americans We” – Henry Fillmore, published in 1929
• "Amparito Roca" – Jaime Teixidor, published in 1925
• "Anchors Aweigh" – Charles A. Zimmerman
• “Band of America” – Paul Lavalle
• “Bandology” – Eric Osterling
• “Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite” – Karl L. King, com-
posed in 1913
CHAPTER 4. AMERICAN MARCH MUSIC
• “Belgian Paratroopers (Marche des Parachutistes
Belges)" – Pierre Leemans
• “The Big Cage” – Karl L. King, Copyright 1934
• "Black Jack March" – Fred K. Huffer
• “Blaze Away!" – Abe Holzmann
• “The Billboard” – John N. Klohr
• “Bombasto” – Orion R. Farrar
• “Boston Commandery March” – Thomas M. Carter
• “Bravura” – Charles Duble
• “Brighton Beach” – William Latham
• “Brooke’s Chicago Marine Band” – Roland F. Seitz
• "The Chicago Tribune" – W. Paris Chambers
• “The Chimes of Liberty” – Edwin F. Goldman
• “Coat of Arms” – George Kenny
• “Colossus of Columbia” – Russell Alexander
• "Colonel Bogey" – Kenneth J. Alford
• “Combination March” – Scott Joplin
• “Commando March” – Samuel Barber
• “Coronation March” from Le Prophète – Giacomo
Meyerbeer
• “Crusade for Freedom” – J.J. Richards
• “Children of the Shrine” – James Swearingen
• “E Pluribus Unum” – Fred Jewell
• “El Capitan” – John Philip Sousa
• “Emblem of Unity” – J.J. Richards
• "Entry of the Gladiators" (Thunder and Blazes) – Julius
Fucik, composed 1897
• “Fairest of the Fair” – John Philip Sousa
• “Father of Victory (Le père la victoire)" – Louis Ganne
• “The Footlifter” – Henry Fillmore
• “The Gallant Seventh” – John Philip Sousa
• “The Guadalcanal March” – Richard Rodgers
• "Hands Across the Sea" – John Philip Sousa, composed
1899
• “High School Cadets-March” – John Philip Sousa
4.5. MUSICALITY AND THE MARCH MUSIC FORM
• “In Storm and Sunshine” – John C. Heed
• “Independentia” – Robert B. Hall
• “Invincible Eagle” – John Philip Sousa
• "Invercargill March" from New Zealand- Alex F. Lith-
gow, composed in 1909
• “The Klaxon” – Henry Fillmore, composed in 1929
• "Königgrätzer Marsch" – Johann Gottfried Piefke
• "The Liberty Bell" – John Philip Sousa, composed
1893
• “March from A Little Suite” – Trevor Duncan
• “March Grandioso” – Roland F. Seitz
• "The Melody Shop" – Karl L. King
• “Men of Ohio” – Henry Fillmore
• "The National Emblem" – Edwin E. Bagley
• “Officer of the Day” – Robert B. Hall
• “Official West Point March” – Philip Egner
• “On Parade” – Edwin Franko Goldman
• "On the Mall" – Edwin Franko Goldman
• “Onward and Upward” – Edwin Franko Goldman
• “On the Square” – Frank Panella
• “On the Quarter Deck” – Kenneth J. Alford
• “Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden)" – Carl Teike, com-
posed around 1889
• “Our Director” – F.E. Bigelow
• "Pomp and Circumstance" no. 1 – Edward Elgar
• "Preußens Gloria" (“Prussia’s Glory”) – Johann Got-
tfried Piefke
• “The Purple Carnival” – Harry L. Alford
• “The Purple Pageant” – Karl L. King
• "Radetzky March" – Johann Strauss Sr.
• “Repasz Band” – Chas. C. Sweeley
• “Robinson’s Grand Entree” – Karl L. King
• “Salutation” – Roland F. Seitz
• “Semper Fidelis” – John Philip Sousa
• "Semper Paratus" – Francis Saltus Van Boskerck
31
• “The Screamer” – Fred Jewell
• “Second Connecticut Regiment " – D.W. Reeves
• "Seventy-six Trombones" – Meredith Willson
• “The Southerner” – Russell Alexander
• "Stars and Stripes Forever" – John Philip Sousa, com-
posed December 25, 1896
• "Strike Up the Band" – George Gershwin, composed
1927
• “The Tenth Regiment” – Robert B. Hall
• "The Thunderer" – John Philip Sousa
• “Under the Double Eagle (Unter dem Doppeladler)" –
Josef F. Wagner, composed 1902
• "The U.S. Air Force" – Robert Crawford
• “Up the Street” – Robert G. Morse
• "Washington Grays" – Claudio S. Grafulla, composed
in 1861
• "The Washington Post March" – John Philip Sousa,
composed 1889
• “The White Rose” – John Philip Sousa
4.5 Musicality and the march music
form
This section discusses the format and other musical aspects
of march music.
4.5.1 Meter
The majority of marches are written in duple meter, mean-
ing they have two beats per measure. Only a handful of
marches are written otherwise, usually in 4/4, but still us-
ing the same tempo (see below).
The following is a list of meters used in marches:
• 2/2 or cut-time (indicated by a letter “c” with a slash
through it. This literally represents common time be-
ing cut in half, hence the name “cut time”). Marches
written in cut-time have a clear upbeat/downbeat feel.
In layman’s terms, a cut-time march has a strong
“oom-pah” sound to it. Many cut-time marches uti-
lize heavy syncopation to create rhythmic interest. Be-
cause passing tones in most cases are shorter, cut-time
32 CHAPTER 4. AMERICAN MARCH MUSIC

marches tend to sound “faster” than other marches in 4.5.4 March music form
a different meter. The most famous cut-time march
would probably be Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa. Most marches follow a fairly strict structure. This structure
is known as the march music form. The march music form’s
• 6/8 marches are played in two, meaning the dotted- origins can be derived from the sonata form, as it shares
quarter note gets the beat and there are two of them in similar ideas of contrasting sections. The true march music
a measure. If the composer wants a triplet feel to the form was not utilized until the start of the march music era,
march, 6/8 is used. In other words, 6/8 marches have and was eventually standardized by none other than John
a more dance-like swing feel to them, which is more Philip Sousa. While the march music form varies tremen-
prominent and exaggerated than its cut-time cousin. A dously amongst different styles of the march, all marches
6/8 March can be distinguished immediately by recog- must have the following:
nizing its common “da-bah-da-bah” or “DA-da-DA-
da” sound. The most famous 6/8 March is probably
• Different sections, called strains.
"The Washington Post March", also by Sousa.
• Several separate melodies.
• 2/4 is much like cut-time, except that fewer notes ap-
pear in a measure, since the quarter note now gets the • A contrasting section known as the trio.
beat instead of the half note but there are still only
two beats per measure. Marches written in 2/4 tend to
be for the sake of the performer, as it is, for the most The following two march forms are the most popular and
part, easier to read at faster tempos. Many European frequently used by march music composers.
marches are written in 2/4, and almost all American
galops are as well. These galops are played at a very
Military march form
fast tempo, making it sound as if there was one beat to
a bar.
“Grandioso” redirects here. For the 1901 march, see
• 4/4 marches are rarely seen, as it is almost pointless to Roland F. Seitz.
use with a fast tempo. However, some slow marches, The military march can be heavily credited to John Philip
such as dirges, utilize 4/4. Robert Jager also uses 4/4
with his popular quick march, “Stars and Bars”.

4.5.2 Tempo

The tempo of marches varies significantly. While most

bands perform marches in their own tempo, most marches
are quick (faster than a waltz, as fast as or slower than a
polka). As alluded to before, most march composers did
not designate a specific tempo on their manuscripts. How-
ever, that is not to say the march music composer is random
with his/her tempo while conducting the march. For exam-
ple, John Philip Sousa conducted his marches using around
120 beats per minute. Most European march composers,
however, conducted their marches in a slower style, using
around 100 beats per minute. There are, however, many
and notable exceptions: see concert march and screamer.

4.5.3 Key

For the sake of band performers, especially altos, marches

are typically written in flat keys. The keys of Concert F, B♭,
E♭, and A♭ are the most frequently used. (NOTE: These
refer to the key the march begins in, not the modulated key “Blaze Away! March” by Abe Holzmann, written in military march
in the trio (see below)). format.
4.5. MUSICALITY AND THE MARCH MUSIC FORM
Sousa. He is said to have standardized the military march
form, and it is used in over half of his marches.
• The first section is called the Introduction (I) or
fanfare and is either 4, 8, or 16 bars long. The in-
troduction is typically played in marcato style, typi-
cally using forte dynamics and chromatic alterations
to catch the attention of the listener. The intro is al-
most never omitted from a march regardless of occa-
sion. Examples of marches without an intro include
Bugles and Drums and the Footlifter. Compared to the
other sections of a march, the introduction is usually
the shortest part. Introductions vary but some stan-
dard practices include: (a) tutti unison (Washington
Post), (b) tutti rhythmic unison but with contrary mo-
tion (The Thunderer), (c) tutti rhythm but in four-part
harmony (Semper Fi), and (d) Four-part independent
(The Klaxon). The introduction is commonly based
on the Dominant to create clarity of key center in the
first strain. (See Harmonic Progressions below). The
intro isn't generally repeated, but examples where it
is include Bravura, Rifle Regiment, and Washington
Grays. The introduction generally starts in major be-
cause many marches are in major keys but examples of
introductions in minor keys include the Gladiator, the
Picadore, the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and Rolling
Thunder.
• The next section is commonly called the first strain,
as it is the first prominent melody of the march. The
first strain is typically 8 or 16 bars long with 4-measure
phrases. The first strain can be in either major or mi-
nor mode and can use any variety of dynamics, in-
strumentation and modulations. Typically this strain
utilizes similar motifs in its phrases, and it sounds
more rhythmically straightforward than the next sec-
tion. After the first playing of the strain, it is repeated
once, sometimes with added parts such as counter-
melodies. Sometimes, the first strain is played again
once after the second strains have been played, partic-
ularly if the first strain is in minor. Karl King was the
main composer who did this, and Fillmore also did so
with his trombone smears. Examples include Peace-
maker March, New York Hippodrome, Caravan Club
March, Trombone King, Lassus Trombone, Royal De-
cree, and Price’s March of Youth
• The second strain is usually 16 bars long and is the
second primary melody of the march. However, in
marches like Solid Men to the Front, and also Sousa’s
Untitled March, the second strain is 32 bars in length.
Marches that commonly have the first playing of the
second strain quiet and the second loud include The
Stars and Stripes Forever, His Honor, The Washington
33
Post, Hands Across the Sea, On the Mall, and a load
of others, particularly by Sousa. This strain may use
somewhat different instrumentation or may alter the
relative dynamics of the different parts. The melody
of the second strain is normally played with the basses
(low brass and low woodwinds). In terms of phrasing,
it also uses 4-measure phrases, but with more varied
motifs. This makes the second strain’s melodies sound
more “stretched out”. For example, many second
strains utilize more whole notes than the first strain.
For a good example, listen to Stars and Stripes For-
ever. The second strain is usually repeated once like
the first, but some marches, for example, Emblem of
Freedom, Cyrus the Great, the Melody Shop, and a
few others, omit this repeat.
• In some marches, a short introduction to the trio is
heard. This introduction to the trio can be a repeat
of the first introduction, a whole new separate melody
played by the whole band, a fanfare by the brasses, or
a percussion soli (drum rolloff). “Semper Fidelis” by
Sousa, for example, has this. Another example of Trio
Introduction is found in Twin Eagle Strut by Zane Van
Auken.
• The third (or technically fourth or fifth) primary
melody in a march is called the trio. The trio is de-
scribed as the main melody of the march. It is often
played legato style in a softer dynamic, and features
woodwinds more than brass. Sousa often used clar-
inets and euphoniums in lower tenor register in his
trios. The trio is the most contrasting section, often
containing variations of motifs heard in the previous
two strains. The trio melody is often repeated once
at a softer dynamic, or not repeated at all and goes
right to the next section. Generally, it is played qui-
etly for the first (or second) playthrough, then the next
has a piccolo playing over the trio melody, and in the
final playthrough, it is loud. In almost all cases, the
trio modulates to the subdominant key of the march,
meaning one flat is added to the key signature. Again,
this is for the purpose of contrast and makes the trio
more memorable to the listener. The fact that the key
is now flatter also offers a more relaxing feel for those
trios with softer instrumentation. For marches starting
in minor keys, the trio usually modulates to the relative
major. This key is maintained to the end of the piece.
• Next comes the breakstrain or breakup strain
(sometimes called the dogfight or interlude), mak-
ing it the 4th main melody heard. This strain is loud,
intense, and marcato. The break strain’s purpose can
be found in its title. The breakstrain literally breaks
a gap between the trio sections. It offers contrast to
34
the usually softer trio melodies and generates excite-
ment for the listener. Most breakstrains resemble a
conversation between the upper woodwinds and the
low brass. The final measures of the breakstrain typi-
cally contain tension-building chords or chromatic mo-
tifs. The breakstrain is usually 16 bars long, as in the
case of Hands Across the Sea, but marches such as The
Washington Post and The Interlochen Bowl have 8 bar
breakstrains. On the Mall has a twelve bar breakstrain,
as does The Purple Pageant. The Thunderer has a 15
bar breakstrain. Marches with 20 bar breakstrains in-
clude Fairest of the Fair and Invincible Eagle. The
Stars and Stripes Forever in fact has a twenty-four bar
breakstrain.
• After the breakstrain, the trio is heard again, either for
one last time or and the 2nd (or third) time. If the trio
after the breakstrain is the last, it is usually played in • Because the regimental march is considerably shorter
the same style as the first trio. Sometimes this trio has
added counter-melodies or obbligatos. After this trio,
the breakstrain is played again, then moves on to the fi-
nal trio. The final trio is known as the grandioso. It is
typically much louder than the previous playing(s) of Therefore, the “regimental” march form is this: I-AA-BB-
the trio and utilizes all sections of the band, bringing CC-DD
everything to a close. The grandioso is considered the
most exciting section of the march and serves the pur-
pose of instilling the trio melody into the mind of the
listener. The grandioso sometimes adds yet another
counter-melody or obbligato, such as the one in Stars
and Stripes Forever. The last measure of the march
sometimes contains a stinger, a I chord played in uni-
son on the upbeat after a quarter rest. Most, but not
all, marches carry a stinger; the Semper Fidelis march
is a famous march not to have an ending stinger (when Other forms and styles
not recapitulated back to the beginning of the march
– see below). Most marches end at the volume forte
(loud), but an example that doesn't is Sousa’s Manhat-
tan Beach, which ends fading away.
• In some military marches, such as “U.S. Field Artillery”
by John Philip Sousa, there is only one playing of the
breakstrain, resulting in only two “playings” of the trio.
Apart from On the Mall, the Chimes of Liberty, and a
couple of others, Goldman’s marches in the military
form only had two playings of the trio.
Therefore, the military march form is this: I-AA-BB-C(C)-
Br-C-Br-C(Grandioso)
• Examples of military marches include Stars and Stripes
Forever by John Philip Sousa, Barnum and Bailey’s
Favorite by Karl L. King, and On the Mall by Edwin
F. Goldman
CHAPTER 4. AMERICAN MARCH MUSIC
“Regimental” march form
Another popular (and perhaps older) march style is the reg-
imental march, or review march. There are a few key dif-
ferences between a typical military march and a regimental
march.
• The introduction, first strain, and second strain
are typically that of a military march. However,
some utilize a much longer introduction.
• Instead of a breakstrain after the trio, a regimental
march has a completely new strain (D), which still
uses the modulated key. This strain has similar char-
acteristics of a second strain and is almost always re-
peated once.
than a military march (due to its lack of a third trio
repeat and breakstrain), it is often played by marching
bands in parades (hence the name “review march”).
• Examples of “regimental” marches include Semper Fi-
delis by John Philip Sousa (when not recapitulated
back to the beginning of the march – see below),
Men of Ohio by Henry Fillmore, Bugles and Drums
by Goldman, and Robinson’s Grand Entry by Karl L.
King.
• Some marches, typically those written specifically for
marching and/or youth bands, have no breakstrain
or 'D' section at all. They simply have one repeat
of the trio (typically in the grandioso style), and then
the march ends (Form: I-AA-BB-CC). Examples of
these marches include “Our Director” by F.E. Bigelow
and “Gallant Marines” by Karl L. King. Karl King and
Henry Fillmore often used this style in their marches.
John Philip Sousa rarely used this style.
• Sousa’s marches from the early 1890s, such as High
School Cadets (1890) and Manhattan Beach (1893)
have the form Introduction [:A:][:B:][:C:][:D:].
• Many earlier and European marches recapitulate
back to the beginning of the march. These marches
typically did not use the Military March Form, but
rather a shorter form such as the one directly above
or the regimental march form. In other words, after
either the final trio, or 'D' section, the march would
4.5. MUSICALITY AND THE MARCH MUSIC FORM
start over again. Once it has done that, repeats are
ignored, and ends after the second strain. Codas are
rare, but sometimes used as well, for example in “Rid-
ers for the Flag” by Sousa and “Children of the Shrine”
by James Swearingen. The tradition of recapitulating
marches ended at the start of the march music era. For
example, John Philip Sousa abandoned this technique
with all of his marches, except for “On Parade,” one
of Sousa’s few circus marches. In fact, only Victor
Herbert was one of the last American composers who
still used recapitulation during the march music era.
Examples of these marches include “Under the Dou-
ble Eagle” by Wagner and “The Serenade” by Victor
Herbert.
4.5.5 Phrasing
The basic (and vague) definition of a march is a piece of
music based upon a regular repeated drum/rhythmic pat-
tern. Therefore, what makes a march recognizable is its
phrases. Almost all quickstep marches consist of four-
measure phrases, typical ending with a whole note either
creating or resolving melodic tension (see Progressions)
followed by a pickup note (see Pickups). It can be said
that this rather “basic” framework is what makes marches
melodically “pleasing”. Some marches have more notice-
able phrases than others. Karl King’s marches, for example,
have very clear-cut phrases with said whole notes and pick-
ups. John Philip Sousa, however, tended to use practically
seamless phrasing.
4.5.6 Chords and harmonic progression
The harmonic progressions of American march music are march music composers is an inversion of a I chord with a
well-grounded in the archetypal harmonic techniques of the lowered third and raised fifth. For example, if there was an
times in which they were written.
Consider “Semper Fidelis” by John Philip Sousa. The fol-
lowing is the chord progression. Note, each barred section
represents one measure, for a total of 16 measures.
• |G7| |G7| |C| |C| |G7| |G7| |C| |C| |G7| |G7| |C| |C|G7/B|
|G| |G| |D7| |G7|
“Semper Fidelis"'s first strain begins with a very simple V-I
progression, creating a wave-like sense of tension and relief.
Note its use of dominant seven chords to make the V chord
stronger. This extension is used in many marches. Towards
the end, however, the progression gets more harmonically
interesting. In the middle of the measure before the trumpet
“fanfare,” the chord alters to C♯dim7 instead of remaining
on C as before. Because it leads to a G7 chord rather than a
35
D minor chord, this is an example of a common-tone dimin-
ished seventh chord. This chord “leads” into the V chord
(G), which is then followed by a D7 chord. A D chord in
the key of C would be the ii chord, and all ii chords must
be minor. However, the D chord in this case is not minor.
Rather, it is known as a secondary dominant, in which a
dominant chord is borrowed from another key, hence “sec-
ondary dominant”. A secondary dominant naturally leads
into a chord other than the first (I chord). In this case, it
leads into the V (G7).
The following is the chord progression of the second strain.
Note, each barred section represents one measure, for a to-
tal of 16 measures.
• |C| |F|G7| |C| |C| |G7| |G7| |C| |C|G7| |C| |F|E7| |Am|
|A♭7| |C| |C| |G| |C|
As with most second strains, this one features more rapidly
changing chords. Note the use of the IV chord, used in
marches to create a very “uplifting” and lyrical sound which
will tend to resolve back to the I chord or proceed into the V
chord, as it does here. At measure ten, where it restates the
main theme, Sousa uses a rather “deceptive” chord change.
Instead of using F to G7 to C as he did in measures two and
three, it goes from the IV (F) to the V7/VI (E7, secondary
dominant), to the VI (Am). The main melodic theme uses
the same notes, but revolves around a different harmonic
progression, resulting in greater chordal interest (less repet-
itive). Sousa then uses his trademark chromatic accented
chord (A♭7; note that it is a half-step below the previous
chord) to create a “wall of tension” that quickly resolves
into the I chord.
Another “accented” chromatic chord frequently used by
E♭ major chord (the I in the key of E♭), it would be followed
by a B major chord (because a B chord is an E♭ chord with a
lowered third and raised fifth). Unlike the aforementioned
secondary dominants, this chord really does not have logi-
cal harmonic functions to it (besides neighbor tone usage)
other than to add texture and interest.
In summary:
• Most marches use seemingly simple chord progres-
sions, for the sake of sounding melodically pleasing,
however...
• March composers will often complement their
marches with interesting chords and chord changes,
such as the use of chromatic harmonies, sevenths
extensions, and secondary dominants.
36 CHAPTER 4. AMERICAN MARCH MUSIC

4.6 Difficulty • Grade 6: A rare difficulty. Usually a Grade 6 is found

in a greater piece of work such as a symphony, where it
The actual difficulty of performance is considerably var- can contain mixed meters, intricate rhythms, and har-
ied amongst marches. Because marches were some of the monies.
first music to be written for grade school bands (which were
just becoming prominent throughout the country), many
marches are fairly modest in difficulty. However, given the 4.7 Instrumentation
fact that many composers wrote marches for their own band
(typically a professional community or circus band), some A general instrumentation setup used originally for Amer-
require almost virtuoso skill to perform. Many conductors ican marches would be very difficult to explain, as most
note that any march is difficult to play “perfectly,” with all bands were extremely varied in the late 19th and early 20th
correct expressions, articulation, and steady tempo. The centuries. As stated before, most of the standard march
following difficulty grading system is adapted from Norman music was written for the composer’s band. Whether that
Smith’s “March Music Notes”. be the Sousa, Ringling Bros., or Gilmore, every band typi-
cally had marches written by their conductor in repertoire.
• Grade 1: Minimum difficulty. Suited for beginner With that said, most marches were also written in a very
bands who are first approaching music. May even be specific instrumentation. For example, many composers
a simple etude or ditty from an instructional book. simply wrote a piano version of the march, and it was up
to the publisher to arrange separate parts for concert band,
• Grade 2: Also for beginner bands, but more devel- orchestra, etc.
oped, usually with different notes and rhythms. In- However, in modern repertoire and arrangements, the
strumental ranges are comfortable, and most require scores are typically written for:
minimal endurance. Some follow the standard march
form, but most are abbreviated, or in a more concert • C Piccolo
march form.
• C Flute
• Grade 3: The standard march difficulty. Usually in • Oboe
full march form, this difficulty requires moderate tech-
nique and endurance skills. Instrumental range is usu- • Bassoon
ally intermediate, and most likely will contain chro-
• B♭ Clarinet
matic notes, obbligatos, and counter-melodies. Many
Grade 3s are used in actual parade marching. Exam- • E♭ Alto Clarinet
ples of Grade 3 marches would be "The Thunderer"
and “The National Emblem”. • B♭ Bass Clarinet
• E♭ Alto Saxophone
• Grade 4: Moderately difficult. Typical high school
bands will find this grade requiring a considerable • B♭ Tenor Saxophone
amount of practice/rehearsal. Grade 4s will contain • E♭ Baritone Saxophone
many technically challenging parts and some synco-
pation. They also tend to require a strict, complete en- • Trumpet in B♭
semble for proper performance, as they may contain
• French horn (in F)
intricate harmonies and counter-melodies. Examples
of Grade 4 marches would be "The Stars and Stripes • Trombone
Forever" and "Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite".
• Euphonium
• Grade 5: Considerably difficult. Usually originally • Tuba
written for professional, virtuoso band members, such
as those in a circus band. Therefore, many Grade 5s • Timpani
are Screamers. They are guaranteed to contain wood- • Keyboard instrument (usually Glockenspiel)
wind obbligatos or chromatic runs and test the range
of any player. May have very quick tempos, as well as • Snare Drum
complicated rhythms and syncopation. Examples of
• Bass Drum
Grade 5 marches would be "Entry of the Gladiators",
"Washington Grays", and “Battle of Shiloh”. • Crash Cymbals
4.10. EXTERNAL LINKS 37

4.7.1 Assignments and roles of instrument 4.10 External links

sections
• Air Force Link – March Music, Downloadable record-
There are some generalities that can be made pertaining ings of marches performed by the US Air Force Bands
to what role a section of a concert band holds in a typical (page archived by the Wayback Machine)
march. Examples:
• ForgottenAmericanMusic.com, information and
• Trumpets/cornets almost always carry the melody. recordings of music by James M. Fulton
They also tend to be scored various “flourishes” and • KarlKing.us, including circus marches by one of
“calls” for effect. America’s March Kings
• Clarinets, piccolos, and flutes also tend to carry the
melody, but often are assigned obbligatos and other
various integral lines.
• French horns tend to always carry the rhythmic backup
of a march. For example, in cut-time marches, they
are typically assigned upbeats (the + of 1 and 2) to
provide the “pah” for the stylistic “oom-" sound. In
6/8 marches, French horns play on beat 1, the 'li' of 1,
beat 2, and the 'li' of 2 (1-la-li 2-la-li). In other words,
the measure would be one eighth note, then an eighth
rest, then two eighth notes, an eighth rest, then a final
eighth note.
• The euphonium will often carry the melody as well
(such as the trio section of The Stars and Stripes For-
ever). But a euphonium may also be assigned to other
roles.
• The tubas or the basses most often carry the bassline of
the march, providing the “oom” of the characteristic
“oom-pah” sound of cut-time marches and also pro-
viding the tonal foundation. Basses, to some extent,
also control volume and tempo of the march.

4.8 Media

4.9 References
• Norman E. Smith. March Music Notes. Copyright
1993 by Norman E. Smith, published by Program
Note Press.
• Norman E. Smith. March Music Melodies. Copy-
right 1993 by Norman E. Smith, published by Program
Note Press.
• Jeff Yaeger, Forgotten American Music
• Paul E. Bierley The Works of John Philip Sousa. Copy-
right 1984 by Paul E. Bierly, published by Integrity
Press.
• Music.vt.edu Virginia Tech Online Music Dictionary
Chapter 5

Spiritual (music)

“Spirituals” redirects here. For the David Murray album, Africa with music and religion of European origin. Further,
see Spirituals (album). For the medieval Franciscan sect, this interaction occurred only in the United States. Africans
see Fraticelli. who converted to Christianity in other parts of the world,
even in the Caribbean and Latin America, did not evolve
[8]
Spirituals (or Negro spirituals) [1][2]
are generally this form.
Christian songs that were created by African slaves in the
United States.[3] Spirituals were originally an oral tradition
that imparted Christian values while also describing the 5.2 Religious significance
hardships of slavery.[4] Although spirituals were originally
unaccompanied monophonic (unison) songs, they are African American spirituals were primarily expressions of
best known today in harmonized choral arrangements. religious faith. Some may also have served as socio-political
This historic group of uniquely American songs is now protests veiled as assimilation to white American culture.
recognized as a distinct genre of music.[5] They originated among enslaved Africans in the United
States. Slavery was introduced to the British colonies in
the early 17th century, and enslaved people largely replaced
5.1 Terminology and origin indentured servants as an economic labor force during the
17th century. In the United States, these people would re-
main in bondage for the entire 18th century and much of
The term “spiritual” is derived from “spiritual song”, from
the 19th century. Most were not fully emancipated until
the King James Bible's translation of Ephesians 5:19, which
the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Con-
says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spir-
stitution in 1865.
itual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
[6]
Lord.” Slave Songs of the United States, the first major
collection of African American spirituals, was published in 5.2.1 Suppression of indigenous religion
1867.[7]
Musicologist George Pullen Jackson extended the term See also: Traditional African religion
“spiritual” to a wider range of folk hymnody, as in his
1938 book, White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, but Slaves were forbidden from speaking their native languages,
this does not appear to have been widespread usage pre- and were generally converted to Christianity. With nar-
viously. The term, however, has often been broadened row vocabularies, slaves would use the words they did know
to include subsequent arrangements into more standard to translate biblical information and facts from their other
European-American hymnodic styles, and to include post- sources into song.[3] While some slave owners believed
emancipation songs with stylistic similarities to the original that Christian slaves would be more docile, others came
African American spirituals. to feel that stories of Moses leading the Israelites out of
Although numerous rhythmical and sonic elements of bondage were counterproductive. Forced conversion only
African American spirituals can be traced to African worked to a point since church attendance might be re-
sources, African American spirituals are a musical form quired, but control could not extend to thoughts and feel-
that is indigenous and specific to the religious experience in ings. Some slaves became Christians voluntarily, either be-
the United States of Africans and their descendants. They cause it helped them endure hardships or because member-
are a result of the interaction of music and religion from ship may have offered other benefits.[9] Many of the Slaves

38
5.3. ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS 39

turned towards the Baptist or Methodist churches. 5.2.2 Christianity’s influence

In some places enslaved Africans were permitted, or even
encouraged, to hold their own prayer meetings.[10] Because Christian hymns and songs were very influential on the writ-
they were unable to express themselves freely in ways that ing of African-American spirituals, especially those from
were spiritually meaningful to them, religious services were, the “Great Awakening” of the 1730s. As Africans were
at times, the only place slaves could legitimately congregate, exposed to stories from the Bible, they began to see par-
socialize, and safely express feelings.[11] During these meet- allels to their own experiences. The story of the exile of
ings, worshipers would sing, chant, dance and sometimes the Jews and their captivity in Babylon, resonated with their
enter ecstatic trances.[6] Along with spirituals, shouts also own captivity.[10]
emerged in the Praise Houses. Shouts begin slowly with the From 1800 to 1825 slaves were exposed to the religious
shuffling of feet and clapping of hands (but the feet never music of camp meetings on the ever-expanding frontier.[7]
cross because that was seen as dancing, which was forbid- Spirituals were based on Christian psalms and hymns and
den within the church). merged with African music styles and secular American
Drums were used as they had been in Africa, for communi- music forms.[4] Spirituals were not simply different versions
cation. When the connection between drumming, commu- of hymns or Bible stories, but rather a creative altering of
nication, and resistance was eventually made drums were the material; new melodies and music, refashioned text, and
forbidden. Slaves introduced a number of new instruments stylistic differences helped to set apart the music as dis-
to America: the bones, body percussion, and an instrument tinctly African-American.[16] However, spirituals were not
variously called the bania, banju, or banjar, a precursor to composed at first by the blacks. Because of the spontaneity
the banjo but without frets. They drew on native rhythms of the music, whites could never accurately note take what
and their African heritage.[12] They brought with them from was occurring.
Africa long-standing religious traditions that highlighted theThe lyrics of Christian spirituals reference symbolic aspects
importance of storytelling.[13] Music was an essential ele- of Biblical images such as Moses and Israel’s Exodus from
ment in communicating identity, shared social mores, tra- Egypt in songs such as "Michael Row the Boat Ashore".
ditional customs, and ethnic history. The primary function There is also a duality in the lyrics of spirituals. They com-
of the spirituals was as communal songs sung in a religious municated many Christian ideals while also communicating
gathering, performed in a call-response pattern reminiscent the hardship that was a result of being an African-American
of West African traditional religions.[14] slave. The spiritual was often directly tied to the composer’s
[17]
African American spirituals may also have served as socio- life. It was a way of sharing religious, emotional, and
political protests veiled as assimilation to the white Ameri- physical experience through song.
[15]
can culture. The river Jordan in traditional African American religious
Several traditions rooted in Africa continue to the present song became a symbolic borderland not only between this
day in African-American spiritual practices. Examples in- world and the next. It could also symbolize travel to the
clude the “call and response” style of preaching in which north and freedom or could signify[18] a proverbial border from
the speaker speaks for an interval and the congregation re- the status of slavery to living free.
sponds in unison in a continual pattern throughout the ser- Syncopation, or ragged time, was a natural part of spiri-
mon. Speaking in tongues is also a persistent practice, as is tual music. The rhythms of Protestant hymns were trans-
“getting happy.” Getting happy involves achieving a trance- formed and the songs were played on African-inspired
like state and can be characterized by anything from jump- instruments.[11] During the Civil War, Colonel Thomas
ing in one place repeatedly, running through the sanctuary, Wentworth Higginson wrote down some of the spirituals
raising hands and arms in the air, shouting traditional praise he heard in camp. “Almost all their songs were thoroughly
phrases, or being “slain in the spirit” (fainting). In spiritu- religious in their tone, ...and were in a minor key, both as
als, there also rose what is known as the “straining preacher” to words and music.”[19]
sound where the preacher, during song, literally strains the
voice to produce a unique tone. This is used throughout
recorded spirituals, blues, and jazz music. The locations 5.3 Alternative interpretations
and the era may be different; but the same emphasis on
combining sound, movement, emotion, and communal in-
teraction into one focus on faith and its role in overcoming Some sources claim that songs such as "Wade in the Wa-
struggles, whether as an individual or a people group, re- ter" contained explicit instructions to fugitive slaves on how
main the same. to avoid capture, and on which routes to take to success-
fully make their way to freedom.[20] “Wade in the Wa-
ter” allegedly recommends leaving dry land and taking to
40
the water as a strategy to throw pursuing bloodhounds off
one’s trail.[21] "The Gospel Train", "Song of the Free", and
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" are likewise supposed to con-
tain veiled references to the Underground Railroad, and
many sources assert that "Follow the Drinking Gourd" con-
tained a coded map to the Underground Railroad.[22] The
authenticity of such claims has been challenged as specula-
tive, and critics like James Kelley have pointed to the lack
of corroborating sources and the implausibility of popular
accounts, such as the 1928 essay by H.B. Parks.[23][24]
However, there is a firmer consensus that the recurring
theme of “freedom” in the Biblical references was under-
stood as a reference to the slaves’ own desire for escape from
bondage. Frederick Douglass, himself a former slave who
became one of the leading 19th century African-American
literary and cultural figures, emphasized the dual nature of
the lyrics of spirituals when he recalled in Chapter VI of his
My Bondage and My Freedom:
I did not, when a slave, understand the deep
meanings of those rude, and apparently incoher-
ent songs. I was myself within the circle, so that
I neither saw or heard as those without might see
and hear. They told a tale which was then al-
together beyond my feeble comprehension; they
were tones, loud, long and deep, breathing the
prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with
the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony
More recently, black music critic Thomas Barker has cri-
against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliv-
tiqued definitions of freedom that separate its spiritual and
erance from chains. The hearing of those wild
material elements:
notes always depressed my spirits, and filled my
heart with ineffable sadness. The mere recur-
rence, even now, afflicts my spirit, and while I
am writing these lines, my tears are falling. To
those songs I trace my first glimmering concep-
tions of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I
can never get rid of that conception. Those songs
still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery,
and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in
bonds.[25]
Noted African American literary critic Sterling Allen
Brown, who had interviewed former slaves and their chil-
dren, was firm in his assertion in a 1953 article in Phylon
that
Some scholars who have found parallels be-
tween the words of Negro and white spiritu-
als would have us believe that when the Negro
sang of freedom, he meant only what the whites
meant, namely freedom from sin. Free, individ-
ualistic whites on the make in a prospering civi-
lization, nursing the American dream, could well
CHAPTER 5. SPIRITUAL (MUSIC)
have felt their only bondage to be that of sin, and
freedom to be religious salvation. But with the
drudgery, the hardships, the auction-block, the
slave-mart, the shackles, and the lash so literally
present in the Negro’s experience, it is hard to
imagine why for the Negro they would remain
figurative. The scholars certainly do not make it
clear, but rather take refuge in such dicta as: “The
slave did not contemplate his low condition.” Are
we to believe that the slave singing “I been re-
buked, I been scorned; done had a hard time
sho’s you bawn,” referred to his being outside of
the true religion? Ex-slaves, of course, inform
us differently. The spirituals speak up strongly
for freedom not only from sin (dear as that free-
dom was to the true believer) but from physical
bondage. Those attacking slavery as such had to
be as rare as anti-Hitler marching songs in occu-
pied France. But there were oblique references.
Frederick Douglass has told us of the double-
talk of the spirituals: Canaan, for instance, stood
for Canada; and over and beyond hidden satire
the songs also were grapevines for communica-
tions. Harriet Tubman, herself called the Moses
of her people, has told us that Go Down Moses
was tabu in the slave states, but the people sang
it nonetheless.[26]
Following George P. Rawick’s 1968 arti-
cle on “The Historical Roots of Black Libera-
tion,” academic studies on the antebellum south
have developed a more nuanced outlook on slave
psychology. “Unless the slave is simultane-
ously Sambo and revolutionary,” Rawick (2010)
writes, “[h]e can only be a wooden man, a
theoretical abstraction” (pp. 31-32). Within
the liberal academy, this dialectical understand-
ing of slave consciousness effectively broke the
back of the simplistic Sambo-Revolutionary di-
chotomy, giving way to a plethora of treatises
that examine the ways that slaves mediated the
tension between passivity and insurrection (see
Blassingame, 1979; Genovese, 1974; Levine,
1977; Stuckey, 1987). However, studies that ex-
amine the role played by music in articulating
the concept of freedom have frequently repro-
duced this problematic binary. With those who
see slave song as teaching freedom in the afterlife
in one camp, and those who see it as a material
call to arms in the other, this dichotomy ill befits
5.5. COLLECTIONS
Rawick’s multifaceted analysis.[27]
Consistent with the beliefs of slave religion, which saw the University.
material and the spiritual as part of an intrinsic unity, “free- The Jubilee Singers put on their first performance singing
dom”, it is argued, should be seen as simultaneously spiri- the old captives’ songs at a religious conference in 1871.
tual and material. This broadly Hegelian-Marxist approach The songs were first published in 1872 in a book entitled
argues that the concrete experience of freedom (no mat- Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk Univer-
ter how limited) was only possible because of the existence sity, by Theodore F. Seward. Wallace Willis died in 1883
freedom as an idea, and, conversely, that freedom as an or 1884.
idea was only possible because it was available as concrete
experience: “the ability of slaves to imagine freedom ('le
conçu') was contingent upon their being able to experience
freedom, and... the slave’s capacity to experience freedom
('le vecu') was conditional upon their being able to imagine
it.”[28]
5.4 Influence
“The African American spiritual (also called the Negro
Spiritual) constitutes one of the largest and most signifi-
cant forms of American folksong.”[6] James Weldon John-
son and J. Rosamond Johnson presented Spirituals as the
only type of folk music that America has.[3] Spirituals were
sung as lullabies and play songs. Some spirituals were
adapted as work songs.[10] Antonin Dvorak chose spiritual
music to represent America in his Symphony From the New
World.[11]
Spirituals remain a mainstay particularly in small black
churches, often Baptist or Pentecostal, in the deep South.[29]
5.5 Collections
5.5.1 Jubilee Singers of Fisk University
See also: Fisk Jubilee Singers
In the 1850s, Reverend Alexander Reid, superintendent of
the Spencer Academy in the old Choctaw Nation, hired
some enslaved Africans from the Choctaws for some work
around the school. He heard two of them, "Uncle Wal-
lace" and “Aunt Minerva” Willis, singing religious songs
that they had apparently composed. Among these were
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, "Steal Away to Jesus", “The
Angels are Coming”, “I'm a Rolling”, and "Roll, Jordan,
Roll". Later, Reid, who left Indian Territory at the begin-
ning of the Civil War, attended a musical program put on by
a group of African American singers from Fisk University
in Nashville, Tennessee. They were singing mostly popular
music of the day, and Reid thought the songs he remem-
bered from his time in the Choctaw Nation would be at least
41
as appropriate. He and his wife transcribed the songs of the
Willises as they remembered them and sent them to Fisk
In an attempt to raise money for Fisk University in
Nashville, Tennessee, the Fisk Jubilee Singers gave con-
certs in Europe and America and helped make African
American spirituals become extremely popular.[7] It sent
some of its students from the choir program to perform.
Ultimately, this became a fad and caused spiritual music to
become mainstream. However, these groups sang spirituals
in the white, European style.
Over time, the pieces the Jubilee Singers performed came to
be arranged and performed by trained musicians. In 1873,
Mark Twain, whose father had owned slaves, found Fisk
singing to be “in the genuine old way” he remembered from
childhood. By contrast an anonymous 1881 review in the
Peoria Journal said: “they have lost the wild rhythms, the
barbaric melody, the passion ... [T]hey smack of the North
...” Some fifty years later, Zora Neale Hurston in her 1938
book The Sanctified Church criticized Fisk singers, and sim-
ilar groups at Tuskegee and Hampton, as using a “Glee Club
style” that was “full of musicians’ tricks” not to be found in
the original African American spirituals, urging readers to
visit an “unfashionable Negro church” to experience real
African American spirituals.
5.5.2 Other collections
A second important early collection of lyrics is Slave Songs
of the United States by William Francis Allen, Charles
Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison (1867).
A group of lyrics to African American spirituals was pub-
lished by Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who com-
manded a regiment of former slaves during the Civil War,
in an article in The Atlantic Monthly[19] and subsequently in-
cluded in his 1869 memoir Army Life in a Black Regiment
(1869).[30]
The latter half of the 20th century saw a resurgence of the
Spiritual. This trend was impacted strongly by composers
and musical directors such as Moses Hogan and Brazeal
Dennard.
Dr. Arthur Jones founded “The Spirituals Project” at the
University of Denver in 1999 to help keep alive the message
and meaning of the songs that have moved from the fields
of the South to the concert halls of the North.[29]
42
5.6 See also
• History of slavery in the United States
• Deep River Boys
• Religious music
• African-American music
• Gospel music
5.7 Footnotes
[1] “Negro Spiritual Singers”. New Deal Network. Retrieved
21 March 2015.
[2] “5th Annual Negro Spirituals Heritage Day”. All About
Jazz. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
[3] Johnson, James Weldon; Johnson, J. Rosamond (2009). The
Books of American Negro Spirituals. Da Capo Press. pp. 13,
17 – via Google Scholar. The Spirituals are purely and solely
the creation of the American Negro...” “When it came to the
use of words, the maker of the song was struggling as best
he could under his limitations in language and, perhaps, also
under a misconstruction or misapprehension of the facts in
his source of material, generally the Bible.” "...this music
which is America’s only folk music...
[4] “Celebrating Black Music Month”, National Museum of
African American History and Culture
[5] “Why “Negro Spiritual"… A Note About Negro Spirituals”.
The “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation. Retrieved
21 March 2015. In the United States we cannot seem to
get enough of Negro spirituals; contemporary composers,
arrangers and vocalists continue to explore and enliven this
unique genre.
[6] “African American Spirituals”, Library of Congress
[7] Faigin, Tom. “Negro Spirituals: Songs of Survival”
[8] Murray, Albert (1976). Stomping the Blues. New York: Da
Capo. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-306-80362-3.
[9] Maffly-Kipp, Laurie. “African-American Slaves and Chris-
tianity”, National Humanities Center
[10] “African American Spirituals”, Spotlight on Music,
McGraw-Hill
[11] Pershey, Monica Gordon. “African American spiritual mu-
sic: A historical perspective”, The Dragon Lode, Vol. 18 •
No. 2 • Spring, 2000
[12] Faw, Bob. “African-American Spirituals”, Religion & Ethics
Newsweekly, PBS, May 4, 2012
CHAPTER 5. SPIRITUAL (MUSIC)
[13] Abernethy, Bob. “African-American Spirituals”, Religion &
Ethics Newsweekly, PBS, August 26, 2005
[14] Van Leeuwen, David. “African-American Spirituals in the
Slave Community”, National Humaniies Center
[15] “About the African-American Spiritual”, CSO Spiritual En-
semble
[16] Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans. New
York: W.W. Norton and Company. pp. 172–177. ISBN
0-393-95279-7.
[17] “History”. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
[18] Smith-Christopher, Daniel L. “River Jordan in Early African
American Spirituals”, Bible Odyssey, National Endowment
for the Humanities
[19] Negro Spirituals by Thomas Wentworth Higginson, The At-
lantic, June 1867.
[20] Coded Slave Songs
[21] negrospirituals.com
[22] "'Follow the Drinking Gourd'—African American Spiri-
tual”, Houghton Mifflin
[23] Kelley, James. Song, Story, or History: Resisting Claims of
a Coded Message in the African American Spiritual “Follow
the Drinking Gourd”. The Journal of Popular Culture 41.2
(April 2008): 262-80.
[24] Bresler, Joel. “Follow the Drinking Gourd: A Cultural His-
tory”. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
[25] Frederick Douglass (1855). “My Bondage and My Free-
dom”. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
[26] Brown, Sterling Allen (Winter 1953). “Negro Folk Expres-
sion: Spirituals, Seculars, Ballads and Work Songs”. Uni-
versity of Illinois, Department of English. Retrieved June 6,
2013.
[27] Barker, Thomas. “Spatial Dialectics: Intimations of Free-
dom in Antebellum Slave Song.” Journal of Black Studies
46, no. 4 (2015) pp.363-364
[28] Barker, Thomas. “Spatial Dialectics: Intimations of Free-
dom in Antebellum Slave Song.” Journal of Black Studies
46, no. 4 (2015)
[29] Banks, Adelle M., “Arthur Jones shares spirituals with kids
to teach history and heritage”, Religious News Service, Au-
gust 6, 2005
[30] Higginson, Thomas Wentworth (2001-04-01). Army Life
in a Black Regiment. ISBN 978-1-58218-359-6. Retrieved
2008-03-03.
5.9. EXTERNAL LINKS 43

5.8 Further reading 5.9.1 Audio samples

• Ball, Edward, Slaves In The Family, Ballantine Books,
New York 1998. See chapter 17 which references the
Society for Preservation of Spirituals.
• Baraka, Amiri (1999). Blues People: Negro Music
in White America. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-
0688184742.
• Barker, Thomas (2015). “Spatial Dialectics: Intima-
tions of Freedom in Antebellum Slave Song.” Journal
of Black Studies 46, no. 4 (2015).
• Listen to “Pharaoh’s Army Got Drowned,” artists un-
known (765 KB)
• Gordon Collection; performed by unknown persons in
the Bay Area of California in the early 1920s
• Download recording of “Deep Down in My Heart”,
from the Library of Congress’ Gordon Collection; per-
formed by W. M. Givens in Darien, Georgia, on about
March 19, 1926

• Barton, William Eleazar (1899/1972), Old Plantation

Hymns: A Collection of Hitherto Unpublished Melodies
of the Slave and the Freeman, with Historical and De-
scriptive Notes, reprint, New York: AMS Press.

• Bauch, Marc A.: Extending the Canon: Thomas

Wentworth Higginson and African-American Spirituals
(Munich, Germany, 2013).

• Nash, Elizabeth (2007). “Autobiographical Reminis-

cences of African-American Classical Singers, 1853-
Present”. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-
7734-5250-8

• Work, John W., compiler (1940), American Negro

Songs and Spirituals: a Comprehensive Collection of
230 Folk Songs, Religious and Secular, with a Fore-
word. New York: Bonanza Books. N.B.: Includes
commentary on the repertory and the words with the
music (harmonized) of the spirituals and other songs
anthologized.

5.9 External links

• The Spirituals Project

• Sweet Chariot: the story of the spirituals

• Fisk Jubilee Singers

• Marian Anderson: A Life in Song

• Historical Notes on African American melodies, in-

cluding 75 African American spirituals with down-
loadable arrangements for solo instrument

• Free Gospel scores

• The Spirituals Database, searchable discography of

Spirituals for solo voice
Chapter 6
Ragtime
This article is about ragtime music. For other uses, see credited for coining the term ragtime. The term is actually
Ragtime (disambiguation).
Ragtime – also spelled rag-time or rag time[1] – is a mu- Kentucky. Ben Harney, another Kentucky native, has of-
Second edition cover of Maple Leaf Rag, one of the most famous
rags
sical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895
and 1918.[2] Its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or “ragged”,
rhythm.[2] The style has its origins in African-American
communities in cities such as St. Louis[3][4] years before
being composed and published as popular sheet music for
piano. Ernest Hogan (1865–1909) was a pioneer of ragtime
and was the first composer to have his ragtime pieces (or
“rags”) published as sheet music, beginning with the song
“LA Pas Ma LA,” published in 1895. Hogan has also been
derived from his hometown “Shake Rag” in Bowling Green,
ten been credited for introducing the music to the main-
stream public. His first ragtime composition, “You've Been
a Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke”, helped popular-
ize the style. The composition was published in 1895, a few
months after Ernest Hogan’s “LA Pas Ma LA.”[5][6] Rag-
time was also a modification of the march style popularized
by John Philip Sousa, with additional polyrhythms coming
from African music.[7] Ragtime composer Scott Joplin (ca.
1868–1917) became famous through the publication of the
"Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) and a string of ragtime hits such
as "The Entertainer" (1902), although he was later forgotten
by all but a small, dedicated community of ragtime aficiona-
dos until the major ragtime revival in the early 1970s.[8][9]
For at least 12 years after its publication, “Maple Leaf Rag”
heavily influenced subsequent ragtime composers with its
melody lines, harmonic progressions or metric patterns.[10]
Ragtime fell out of favor as jazz claimed the public’s
imagination after 1917, but there have been numerous re-
vivals since the music has been re-discovered. First in the
early 1940s, many jazz bands began to include ragtime in
their repertoire and put out ragtime recordings on 78 rpm
records. A more significant revival occurred in the 1950s
as a wider variety of ragtime genres of the past were made
available on records, and new rags were composed, pub-
lished, and recorded. In 1971 Joshua Rifkin brought out
a compilation of Joplin’s work which was nominated for
a Grammy Award.[11] In 1973 The New England Ragtime
Ensemble (then a student group called The New England
Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble) recorded The Red Back
Book, a compilation of some of Joplin’s rags in period
orchestrations edited by conservatory president Gunther
Schuller. This also won a Grammy for Best Chamber Mu-
sic Performance of the year and was named Billboard's Top
Classical Album of 1974. Subsequently, the motion pic-
ture The Sting (1973) brought ragtime to a wide audience
with its soundtrack of Joplin tunes. The film’s rendering
of “The Entertainer”, adapted and orchestrated by Marvin
44
6.1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT 45

Hamlisch, was a Top 5 hit in 1974. The heyday of ragtime occurred before sound recording
Ragtime – with Joplin’s work at the forefront – has been was widely available. Like classical music, and unlike jazz,
cited as an American equivalent of the minuets of Mozart, classical ragtime had and has primarily a written tradition,
the mazurkas of Chopin, or the waltzes of Brahms.[12] being distributed in sheet music rather than through record-
Ragtime also influenced classical composers including Erik ings or by imitation of live performances. Ragtime music
Satie, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.[13][14] was also distributed via piano rolls for player pianos. A
folk ragtime tradition also existed before and during the
period of classical ragtime (a designation largely created by
Scott Joplin’s publisher John Stillwell Stark), manifesting it-
6.1 Historical context self mostly through string bands, banjo and mandolin clubs
(which experienced a burst of popularity during the early
20th century) and the like.
Ragtime originated in African American music in the late
19th century and descended from the jigs and march mu-
sic played by African American bands, referred to as “jig
piano” or “piano thumping”.[15][16] By the start of the 20th
century, it became widely popular throughout North Amer-
ica and was listened and danced to, performed, and writ-
ten by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly
American musical style, ragtime may be considered a syn-
thesis of African syncopation and European classical music,
especially the marches made popular by John Philip Sousa.
Some early piano rags are entitled marches, and “jig” and
“rag” were used interchangeably in the mid-1890s.[15] Rag-
time was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk. In
1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan composed two of the
earliest sheet music rags, one of which (“All Coons Look
Alike to Me”) eventually sold a million copies. The other
composition was called La Pas Ma La which was also a
hit.[17] As fellow black musician Tom Fletcher said, Hogan
was the “first to put on paper the kind of rhythm that was be-
ing played by non-reading musicians.”[18] While the song’s
success helped introduce the country to ragtime rhythms, its
use of racial slurs created a number of derogatory imitation
tunes, known as "coon songs" because of their use of racist
and stereotypical images of blacks. In Hogan’s later years
he admitted shame and a sense of “race betrayal” for the
song while also expressing pride in helping bring ragtime to Joseph Lamb's 1916 “The Top Liner Rag”, a classic rag
a larger audience.[19]
The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, A form known as novelty piano (or novelty ragtime)
the year in which several important early rags were pub- emerged as the traditional rag was fading in popular-
lished. In 1899, Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was pub- ity. Where traditional ragtime depended on amateur pi-
lished and became a great hit and demonstrated more depth anists and sheet music sales, the novelty rag took advan-
and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of tage of new advances in piano-roll technology and the
the main influences on the early development of jazz (along phonograph record to permit a more complex, pyrotech-
with the blues). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton, nic, performance-oriented style of rag to be heard. Chief
were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles among the novelty rag composers is Zez Confrey, whose
during the period the two styles overlapped. He also incor- "Kitten on the Keys" popularized the style in 1921.
porated the Spanish Tinge in his performances, which gave Ragtime also served as the roots for stride piano, a more im-
a habanera or tango rhythm to his music.[20] Jazz largely sur- provisational piano style popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
passed ragtime in mainstream popularity in the early 1920s, Elements of ragtime found their way into much of the
although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to American popular music of the early 20th century. It also
the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in rag- played a central role in the development of the musical style
time occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s. later referred to as Piedmont blues; indeed, much of the
46 CHAPTER 6. RAGTIME

music played by such artists of the style as Reverend Gary The rag was a modification of the march made popular
Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, Elizabeth Cotten, and Etta Baker by John Philip Sousa, with additional polyrhythms coming
could be referred to as “ragtime guitar.”[21] from African music.[7] It was usually written in 2/4 or 4/4
Although most ragtime was composed for piano, transcrip- time with a predominant left-hand pattern of bass notes on
tions for other instruments and ensembles are common, no- strong beats (beats 1 and 3) and chords on weak beats (beat
tably including Gunther Schuller's arrangements of Joplin’s 2 and 4) accompanying a syncopated melody in the right
rags. Ragtime guitar continued to be popular into the hand. According to some sources the name “ragtime” may
1930s, usually in the form of songs accompanied by skilled come[2] from the “ragged or syncopated rhythm” of the right
hand. A rag written in 3/4 time is a “ragtime waltz.”
guitar work. Numerous records emanated from several la-
bels, performed by Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Lemon Ragtime is not a “time” (meter) in the same sense that
Jefferson, and others. Occasionally ragtime was scored for march time is 2/4 meter and waltz time is 3/4 meter; it is
ensembles (particularly dance bands and brass bands) sim- rather a musical style that uses an effect that can be ap-
ilar to those of James Reese Europe, or as songs like those plied to any meter. The defining characteristic of ragtime
written by Irving Berlin. Joplin had long-standing ambi- music is a specific type of syncopation in which melodic ac-
tions of synthesizing the worlds of ragtime and opera, to cents occur between metrical beats. This results in a melody
which end the opera Treemonisha was written. However that seems to be avoiding some metrical beats of the ac-
its first performance, poorly staged with Joplin accompa- companiment by emphasizing notes that either anticipate
nying on the piano, was “disastrous” and it was never to or follow the beat (“a rhythmic base of metric affirmation,
be fully performed again in Joplin’s lifetime.[22] In fact the and a melody of metric denial”[25] ). The ultimate (and in-
score was lost for decades, then rediscovered in 1970, and tended) effect on the listener is actually to accentuate the
a fully orchestrated and staged performance took place in beat, thereby inducing the listener to move to the music.
1972.[23] An earlier opera by Joplin, A Guest of Honor, has Scott Joplin, the composer/pianist known as the “King of
been lost.[24] Ragtime”, called the effect “weird and intoxicating.” He
also used the term “swing” in describing how to play ragtime
music: “Play slowly until you catch the swing...”.[26] The
name swing later came to be applied to an early style of jazz
6.2 Musical form that developed from ragtime. Converting a non-ragtime
piece of music into ragtime by changing the time values
of melody notes is known as “ragging” the piece. Original
ragtime pieces usually contain several distinct themes, four
being the most common number. These themes were typi-
cally 16 bars, each theme divided into periods of four four-
bar phrases and arranged in patterns of repeats and reprises.
Typical patterns were AABBACCC′, AABBACCDD and
AABBCCA, with the first two strains in the tonic key and
the following strains in the subdominant. Sometimes rags
would include introductions of four bars or bridges, be-
tween themes, of anywhere between four and 24 bars.[2]

6.3 Related forms and styles

The first page of “The Easy Winners” by Scott Joplin, showing rag- the moment rather than the true style of the composition.
time rhythms and syncopated melodies.
Ragtime pieces came in a number of different styles during
the years of its popularity and appeared under a number
of different descriptive names. It is related to several ear-
lier styles of music, has close ties with later styles of music,
and was associated with a few musical "fads" of the period
such as the foxtrot. Many of the terms associated with rag-
time have inexact definitions, and are defined differently
by different experts; the definitions are muddled further by
the fact that publishers often labelled pieces for the fad of
There is even disagreement about the term “ragtime” itself;
6.4. AMERICAN, PRE-1940, RAGTIME COMPOSERS
Shoe Tickler Rag, cover of the music sheet for a song from 1911 by
Wilbur Campbell
experts such as David Jasen and Trebor Tichenor choose to
exclude ragtime songs from the definition but include nov-
elty piano and stride piano (a modern perspective), while
Edward A. Berlin includes ragtime songs and excludes the
later styles (which is closer to how ragtime was viewed origi-
nally). The terms below should not be considered exact, but
merely an attempt to pin down the general meaning of the
concept.
• Cakewalk – a pre-ragtime dance form popular until
about 1904. The music is intended to be represen-
tative of an African-American dance contest in which
the prize is a cake. Many early rags are cakewalks.
• Characteristic march – a march incorporating id-
iomatic touches (such as syncopation) supposedly
characteristic of the race of their subject, which is usu-
ally African-Americans. Many early rags are charac-
teristic marches.
• Two-step – a pre-ragtime dance form popular until
about 1911. A large number of rags are two-steps.
• Slow drag – another dance form associated with early
ragtime. A modest number of rags are slow drags.
• Coon song – a pre-ragtime vocal form popular until By far the most famous ragtime composer[note 1] was Scott
about 1901. A song with crude, racist lyrics often sung Joplin. Joseph Lamb, James Scott, and Joplin are, together,
47
by white performers in blackface. Gradually died out
in favor of the ragtime song. It was strongly associated
with ragtime in its day.
• Ragtime song – the vocal form of ragtime, more
generic in theme than the coon song. Though this was
the form of music most commonly considered “rag-
time” in its day, many people today prefer to put it in
the “popular music” category. Irving Berlin was the
most commercially successful composer of ragtime
songs, and his "Alexander’s Ragtime Band" (1911)
was the single most widely performed and recorded
piece of this sort, even though it contains virtually
no ragtime syncopation. Gene Greene was a famous
singer in this style.
• Folk ragtime – ragtime that originated from small
towns or assembled from folk strains, or at least
sounded as if they did. Folk rags often have unusual
chromatic features typical of composers with non-
standard training.
• Classic rag – the Missouri-style ragtime popularized
by Scott Joplin, James Scott, and others.
• Fox-trot – a dance fad that began in 1913. Fox-trots
contain a dotted-note rhythm different from that of
ragtime, but which nonetheless was incorporated into
many late rags.
• Novelty piano – a piano composition emphasizing
speed and complexity, which emerged after World
War I. It is almost exclusively the domain of white
composers.
• Stride piano – a style of piano that emerged after
World War I, developed by and dominated by black
East-coast pianists (James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and
Willie 'The Lion' Smith). Together with novelty piano,
it may be considered a successor to ragtime, but is not
considered by all to be “genuine” ragtime. Johnson
composed the song that is arguably most associated
with the Roaring Twenties, "Charleston.” A record-
ing of Johnson playing the song appears on the com-
pact disc James P. Johnson: Harlem Stride Piano (Jazz
Archives No. 111, EPM, Paris, 1997). Johnson’s
recorded version has a ragtime flavor.
6.4 American, pre-1940, ragtime
composers
48
Scott Joplin
acknowledged as the three most sophisticated ragtime com-
posers. Other leading ragtime composers include Jelly Roll
Morton, Eubie Blake, Charles L. Johnson, Tom Turpin,
May Aufderheide, Mike Bernard, George Botsford, Zez
Confrey, Ben Harney, Luckey Roberts, Irving Jones,James
P. Johnson, Paul Sarebresole, Joe Jordan, Fred S. Stone and
Wilbur Sweatman.
6.5 Influence on European com-
posers
Main article: List of ragtime composers
European Classical composers were influenced by the form.
The first contact with ragtime was probably at the Paris Ex-
position in 1900, one of the stages of the European tour of
John Philip Sousa. The first notable classical composer to
take a serious interest in ragtime was Antonín Dvořák.[27]
French composer Claude Debussy emulated ragtime in
three pieces for piano. The best-known remains the Gol-
liwog’s Cake Walk (from the 1908 Piano Suite Children’s
Corner). He later returned to the style with two preludes
for piano: Minstrels, (1910) and General Lavine-excentric
(from his 1913 Preludes),[13] which was inspired by a Mé-
CHAPTER 6. RAGTIME
drano circus clown.
James Scott's 1904 “On the Pike”, which refers to the midway of the
St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904
Erik Satie, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and the other
members of The Group of Six in Paris never made any se-
cret of their sympathy for ragtime, which is sometimes ev-
ident in their works. Consider, in particular, the ballet of
Satie, Parade (Ragtime du Paquebot), (1917) and La Mort
de Monsieur Mouche, an overture for piano for a drama in
three acts, composed in the early 1900s in memory of his
friend J.P. Contamine de Latour. In 1902 the American
cakewalk was very popular in Paris and Satie two years later
wrote two rags, La Diva de l'empire and Piccadilly. Despite
the two Anglo-Saxon settings, the tracks appear American-
inspired. La Diva de l'empire, a march for piano soloist,
was written for Paulette Darty and initially bore the title
Stand-Walk Marche; it was later subtitled Intermezzo Amer-
icain when Rouarts-Lerolle reprinted it in 1919. Piccadilly,
another march, was initially titled The Transatlantique; it
presented a stereotypical wealthy American heir sailing on
an ocean liner on the New York–Europe route, going to
trade his fortune for an aristocratic title in Europe.[28] There
is a similar influence in Milhaud’s ballets Le boeuf sur le
toite and Creation du Monde, which he wrote after a trip to
Harlem during his trip in 1922. Even the Swiss composer
Honegger wrote works in which the influence of African
American music is pretty obvious. Examples include Pa-
cific 231, Prélude et Blues and especially the Concertino for
6.7. SEE ALSO
piano and orchestra.
Igor Stravinsky wrote a solo piano work called Piano-Rag-
Music in 1919 and also included a rag in his theater piece
L'histoire du soldat (1918).[29]
Maurice Ravel is said to have heard Jimmie Noone and his
group perform in Chicago. Despite the imprecise anecdote,
Ravel’s involvement with jazz is unquestionable, as it influ-
enced many of his important works, for example the fox-
trot of L'enfant et les sortilèges, the blues of the Sonata for
violin and piano, Concerto in G and the Concerto for the left Significant ragtime composers of the mid- to late-20th
hand, both composed for piano in 1931.
From the 1960s on, composers from Sweden are pro-
ducing ragtime, chief among them are Peter Lundberg, In 1998, an adaption of E. L. Doctorow's historical novel
Sune “Sumpen” Borg, Peter Andersson, Ragnar Hellspong, Ragtime was produced on Broadway. With music by
Oscar Janner, Oleg Mezjuev, Joakim Stenshäll, Kimo Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, the show fea-
Viklund, and Kjell Waltman.
6.6 Revivals
In the early 1940s, many jazz bands began to include rag-
time in their repertoire, and as early as 1936 78 rpm records
of Joplin’s compositions were produced.[30] Old numbers
written for piano were rescored for jazz instruments by jazz
musicians, which gave the old style a new sound. The most
famous recording of this period is Pee Wee Hunt's version
of Euday L. Bowman's "Twelfth Street Rag.”
A more significant revival occurred in the 1950s. A wider
variety of ragtime styles of the past were made available
on records, and new rags were composed, published, and
recorded. Much of the ragtime recorded in this period is
presented in a light-hearted novelty style, looked to with
nostalgia as the product of a supposedly more innocent
time. A number of popular recordings featured "prepared
pianos,” playing rags on pianos with tacks on the hammers
and the instrument deliberately somewhat out of tune, sup-
posedly to simulate the sound of a piano in an old honky
tonk.
Three events brought forward a different kind of ragtime
revival in the 1970s. First, pianist Joshua Rifkin brought
out a compilation of Scott Joplin’s work, Scott Joplin: Pi-
ano Rags, on Nonesuch Records, which was nominated for
a Grammy Award in the “Best Classical Performance –
Instrumental Soloist(s) without Orchestra” category[11] in
1971. This recording reintroduced Joplin’s music to the
public in the manner the composer had intended, not as a
nostalgic stereotype but as serious, respectable music. Sec-
ond, the New York Public Library released a two-volume
set of “The Collected Works of Scott Joplin,” which re-
newed interest in Joplin among musicians and prompted
new stagings of Joplin’s opera Treemonisha.[23][31] Next
49
came the release and Grammy Award for The New Eng-
land Ragtime Ensemble's recording of Joplin’s Red Back
Book. Finally, with the release of the motion picture The
Sting in 1973, which had a Marvin Hamlisch soundtrack
of Joplin tunes originally edited by Gunther Schuller, rag-
time was brought to a wide audience. Hamlisch’s rendering
of Joplin’s 1902 rag “The Entertainer” won an Academy
Award,[32] and was an American Top 40 hit in 1974, reach-
ing #3 on 18 May.[33]
century include Max Morath, William Bolcom, Trebor
Tichenor, David Thomas Roberts, and Reginald Robinson.
tured several rags as well as songs in other musical styles.
Many modern musicians have again begun to find ragtime
and incorporate it into their musical repertoires. Such acts
include Jay Chou, Curtains for You, Baby Gramps and Bob
Milne.[34]
6.7 See also
6.8 Notes
[1] Specifically, the composer whose worldwide reputation
rested exclusively on ragtime works. Certain famous com-
posers such as Irving Berlin and Claude Debussy dabbled
in the style of ragtime but largely made their reputations in
other repertoires.
6.9 References
[1] Perlman, Itzhak. “THE EASY WINNERS and other rag-
time music of Scott Joplin”. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
[2] Berlin, Edward. “Ragtime”. The Grove Music Dictionary.
Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
[3] The Globalization of Music in History by Richard Wetzel,
Routledge, 2013, page 58.
[4] Jazz: A Regional Exploration by Scott Yanow, Greenwood
Publishing Group, 2005, page 2
[5] Blesh, Rudi. Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, In-
troduction to Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works, New York
Public Library, 1981, p. xvii.
[6] Brogan, Hugh. The Penguin History of the USA, 2nd Edition,
1999, ISBN 978-0-14-025255-2, p.415.
[7] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, pp. xv–xvi.
50 CHAPTER 6. RAGTIME

[8] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xiii
[9] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xviii
[10] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xxiii.
[11] Past Winner Database, “1971 14th Grammy Awards.” Ac-
cessed Feb. 19, 2007.
[12] Hitchcock, H. Wiley. “Stereo Review”, 1971, p.84, cited in
Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xiv.
[13] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xiii.
[14] Dickinson, Peter (1 January 1987). “Reviews of Books”.
Music and Letters. 68 (1): 78–79. doi:10.1093/ml/68.1.78.
[15] van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style:
The Antecedents of nineteenth-Century Popular Music. Ox-
ford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4, p.63
[16] “From Piano Thumping to the Concert Stage: The Rise of
Ragtime”. Music Educators Journal. 59 (8): 53. April 1973.
JSTOR 3394278. doi:10.2307/3394278.
[17] White, Loring. Ragging It: Getting Ragtime into History (and
Some History into Ragtime), iUniverse, 2005. xiv, 419 pp.
ISBN 0-595-34042-3, p.99.
[18] Ragging It, p.100.
[19] Peress, Maurice (2003). Dvorak to Duke Ellington: A Con-
ductor Explores America’s Music and Its African American
Roots. Oxford University Press. p. 39.
[20] Garrett 2004, p. 94.
[21] Bastin, Bruce. “Truckin' My Blues Away: East Coast Pied-
mont Styles” in Nothing But the Blues: The Music and the Mu-
sicians. Ed. Lawrence Cohn. New York: Abbeville Press,
1993.
[22] Scott, William B., and Rutkoff, Peter M. New York Modern:
The Arts and the City Johns Hopkins Univ. Press (2001),
p37
[23] Peterson, Bernard L. (1993). A century of musicals in black
and white. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p.
357. ISBN 0-313-26657-3. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
[29] “L'HISTOIRE DU SOLDAT (THE SOLDIER'S TALE) A
BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW”. Retrieved January
31, 2012.
[30] Jasen, David A. Discography of 78 rpm Records of Joplin
Works, Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works, New York Public
Library, (1981), pp. 319–320
[31] Ping-Robbins, Nancy R. (1998). Scott Joplin: a guide to re-
search. p. 289. ISBN 0-8240-8399-7. Retrieved 2009-03-
20.
[32] “Entertainment Awards Database”. The Los Angeles Times.
Retrieved 2009-03-14.
[33] “Charis Music Group, compilation of cue sheets from the
American Top 40 radio Show” (PDF). Retrieved 2009-09-
05.
[34] 88 notes pour piano solo, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Neva Ed.,
2015.p.267. ISBN 978 2 3505 5192 0
6.10 Further reading
• Berlin, E.A. (1980). Ragtime: a musical and cultural
history. California: University of California Press.
• Blesh, R.; Janis, H. (1971). They all played ragtime,
4th ed. Oak Publications.
• De Stefano, Gildo; Baraka, Amiri (2007). Ragtime,
jazz & dintorni. Milan: SUGARCO Editions. ISBN
978-88-7198-532-9.
• Jasen, D.A.; Tichenor, T.J. (1980). Rags and ragtime.
Dover.
• Schafer, W.J.; Riedel, J. (1973). The art of ragtime:
form and meaning of an original black American art.
Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press.
• Waldo, Terry (2009). This is Ragtime. Jazz at Lincoln
Center Library Editions.

[24] “Classical Net”. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 6.11 External links

[25] Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist, p. xv. • Classic Ragtime Piano by Ted Tjaden
[26] “School of Ragtime” (1908) in Scott Joplin Collected Piano
Works, Edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence, The New York
Public Library, 1971, ISBN 0-87104-242-8, page 284.

[27] “Antonin Dvorak – Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

In Nature’s Realm – Carnival”. Retrieved April 21, 2013.

[28] Gildo De Stefano, “Ragtime, jazz & dintorni”, Preface by

Amiri Baraka. SUGARCO Editions, Milan 2007. ISBN
978-88-7198-532-9
6.12. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 51

6.12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Yobot, 2D, Gongshow, AnomieBOT, Killiondude, Jim1138, Materialscientist, Thebobmaster, 4twenty42o, Jmundo, GrouchoBot, Evandelong1,
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Colchester121891, Lotje, Bob 32 116, RjwilmsiBot, Fwchapman, Qdiderot, Hollycochran, Hookway.5, GoingBatty, BootleggerWill, Dolovis,
LWG, AxleGrind, Peter Karlsen, ClueBot NG, CactusBot, Wdchk, Toxicchili, Frietjes, Lashuto, Helpful Pixie Bot, Wpttn, BG19bot, Neptune’s
Trident, Xjengvyen, StrangeAesculapian, ScientificBuccaneer, Gwickwire, Justincheng12345-bot, Antarctic96, Cyberbot II, Webclient101, Sea-
cactus 13, Thomas.M.Evans, Epicgenius, Chrismorey, WoodlandDance, Jim Carter, Dennis william nyback, Pignose12345, TheGracefulSlick,
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Avery, Zoe, Camembert, Dominus, Stan Shebs, TUF-KAT, Salsa Shark, Pladask, Furrykef, Hyacinth, JonathanDP81, Raul654, Nightsky, Dol-
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YurikBot, Sceptre, RussBot, Tresckow, Gaius Cornelius, EnakoNosaj, Bloodofox, SigPig, Irishguy, Tim Goodwyn, SoberEmu, Elliskev, Wal-
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6.12. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 53

Musicalantonio, TonyTheTiger, Gerry Ashton, AntiVandalBot, Aafrophone, Animum, Upholder, Rowy, CommonsDelinker, Thomasolson, Fu-
nandtrvl, Tavix, Bunnyhugger, Skipatronic, PeterCanthropus, Stanning, Doungnuts, Icedragon520, Flyer22 Reborn, Antonio Lopez, Fratrep,
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AnomieBOT, PorchPostPapa, Purplebackpack89, Trgld43, Kwiki, JOHANNSTRAUSS, Serols, Mabeenot, Innotata, GoingBatty, The Nut,
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drod, Ixfd64, Sannse, Tregoweth, Jptwo, TUF-KAT, RodC, Dfeuer, Furrykef, Robbot, RedWolf, Nurg, CompUTOSer~enwiki, Guanaco, Bovlb,
Mboverload, Andycjp, Antandrus, Herschelkrustofsky, Deeceevoice, Gazpacho, Wise mike, Bender235, CanisRufus, MPS, Smalljim, Poweroid,
Alansohn, Dave.Dunford, Grace Note, Cbustapeck, Graham87, Taestell, BD2412, Wahoofive, Koavf, MZMcBride, Pasky, FuriousFreddy,
FlaBot, Nihiltres, Elmer Clark, Redwolf24, EamonnPKeane, YurikBot, RobotE, RussBot, Conscious, TimNelson, CambridgeBayWeather,
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cent, Twas Now, Thecrunch001, Rambam rashi, Wikibad~enwiki, Leujohn, Cydebot, Synergy, Mattisse, Thijs!bot, TonyTheTiger, Tellyad-
dict, Maxwalsh92, AntiVandalBot, Kbthompson, Modernist, North Shoreman, JAnDbot, KConWiki, Adrian J. Hunter, Absolon, DaisyPetal,
R'n'B, J.delanoy, Uncle Dick, Reguis, Slowhand934, Sensei48, Sparafucil, Funandtrvl, Montchav, TXiKiBoT, Jk180, Clark Kimberling, One
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Jim1138, Materialscientist, Citation bot, Xqbot, Critic11, Intello.man, Jmundo, GrouchoBot, Sabrebd, D'ohBot, Inscription, InspectorSands, I
dream of horses, RjwilmsiBot, MShabazz, EmausBot, Jbrowning23, Dcirovic, BootleggerWill, Evanh2008, Abergabe, Brandmeister, Donner60,
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formation, Lamfort, BattyBot, Several Pending, William Hitchens, CJKAllstar, Cherubinirules, Tleaver, Kuyi123w, Rissa23ja, JaconaFrere,
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nus~enwiki, Heron, Camembert, Infrogmation, Paul Barlow, Jahsonic, G~enwiki, TUF-KAT, Plop, Angela, Dlo1986, RodC, Pladask, Hyacinth,
UninvitedCompany, Bearcat, Fredrik, Jredmond, RedWolf, Altenmann, Hadal, David Gerard, Dave6, Smjg, Alan W, Nunh-huh, Gyrofrog,
Stevietheman, Quadell, Antandrus, Kaldari, Bumm13, Deeceevoice, Jimaginator, Discospinster, Guanabot, Spundun, Mani1, Kaisershatner,
CanisRufus, Keron Cyst, DCEdwards1966, Haham hanuka, Alansohn, Albrecht Conz, SidP, Fordan, Remes, Dave.Dunford, Alai, Ringbang,
Fbv65edel, Zzyzx11, Gimboid13, Skylax, Anarchy Insane, Ashmoo, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Missmarple, Nneonneo, Crazynas, Ligulem, FlaBot,
Emarsee, Dan Guan, Margosbot~enwiki, SouthernNights, TheDJ, David H Braun (1964), AllyD, Design, Melodia, Ben Tibbetts, YurikBot,
AVM, TimNelson, NawlinWiki, Robertvan1, RazorICE, RL0919, Tony1, Slicing, Wknight94, Cwiltshire, Zargulon, SMcCandlish, Ray Chason,
Chrishmt0423, That Guy, From That Show!, Sardanaphalus, PKtm, SmackBot, Roger Davies, Cubs Fan, F, KnowledgeOfSelf, Pgk, Eaglizard,
Rouenpucelle, Evanreyes, ERcheck, Durova, Thumperward, Cralize, RoysonBobson, Kemperb, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Trash80, Johnc-
mullen1960, RandomP, Lpgeffen, Derek R Bullamore, ILike2BeAnonymous, TheKid, Bic1313, Akendall, Gobonobo, JohnI, Verklempt, Mr
Stephen, Oscar O Oscar, Big Smooth, Bal00, BranStark, Iridescent, Arexon, Twas Now, Igoldste, Mostlyautumn, Tawkerbot2, Pithecanthropus,
Zwart, Watkino, Ale jrb, Dgw, Jackburns, Lookingforgroup, Cydebot, Abeg92, Cyhawk, Gogo Dodo, Jstone52, Mind flux, 17767, SteveMcBill,
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Matthew Fennell, Albany NY, Rag-time4, Samboha, TAnthony, PhilKnight, MegX, Thescreamingdwarf, Kibiusa, VoABot II, Catgut, Cathal-
woods, Classicragger, A3nm, MartinBot, Major Bloodnok, J.delanoy, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Euku, 72Dino, WFinch, Lordprice, TJAD123,
TheScotch, Robertgreer, KylieTastic, Cometstyles, Equazcion, Bonadea, Funandtrvl, McNoddy~enwiki, VolkovBot, Murderbike, Philip True-
man, TXiKiBoT, Razormania, Mercurywoodrose, Rei-bot, INXS-Girl, LeaveSleaves, Figureskatingfan, Wiae, Alex.gosselin, IL7Soulhunter,
Meters, Ostrom, Synthebot, Enviroboy, Freebiegrabber, Byrurside9191, SieBot, TJRC, Calliopejen1, Scarian, Winchelsea, Skidelb, MKeenly-
side, Nite-Sirk, Toddst1, Oda Mari, Simmosa, OKBot, Videmus Omnia, Jandris, Capitalismojo, Dekudude, Richard David Ramsey, Kittykoo,
Rmaclachlan, ClueBot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Awesomebitch, Drawn66, TheOldJacobite, Trivialist, Ashleyadiano, PixelBot, Ar-
jayay, Iohannes Animosus, Lizmarie, Audaciter, Kakofonous, Stepheng3, Nhyty, Markjmarkj, Betty kerner, DumZiBoT, OsvátA, XLinkBot,
Portland2face, Koro Neil, Evergreengal, Little Mountain 5, MystBot, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Riadismet, Mattberes1, Friend of the Facts, Mus-
dan77, Cwdirect, Download, Chamal N, Redheylin, Friend457, Figmalt, Treehugger54321, Tassedethe, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Krano, Legobot,
Luckas-bot, Yobot, Palladmial, AnomieBOT, Morahman7vn, Ojorojo, Jim1138, Kiba3030, Materialscientist, Frankenpuppy, ArthurBot, Dtoli-
aferro, Timmehehe, GenQuest, Chrishatch1973, Peppepop, Molokaicreeper, Jack Rummel, Mexro09, Sabrebd, Vlastimil Svoboda, FrescoBot,
Pepper, Pinethicket, Jonesey95, Poorgent, Pikiwyn, Gingermint, Cheshirecat575, Jauhienij, Mago266, Kgrad, Etincelles, ‫אומנות‬, Diannaa,
Weedwhacker128, RjwilmsiBot, Bossanoven, DASHBot, Thomasmoss, WikitanvirBot, Ajraddatz, GoingBatty, Ebe123, Klbrain, Slightsmile,
ZéroBot, CoffeeColossus, Illegitimate Barrister, Catdav, Ὁ οἶστρος, AManWithNoPlan, Dohn joe, HammerFilmFan, RaptureBot, Donner60,
DASHBotAV, Spicemix, Will Beback Auto, ClueBot NG, This lousy T-shirt, Ragnar Hg, Macquipeyna, Widr, Pbs11o1, Electriccatfish2,
BelloWello, Kailash29792, BG19bot, Canamets, Aranea Mortem, Yomommasawall9, Klilidiplomus, Plmnji, Justincheng12345-bot, Pauper-
oooonnndkj, Pgbrown, Myxomatosis57, Siuenti, Kdwinooski, Stellarag, Mexican103.1345, Wikiguardpatrol, PhantomTech, Ilovetopaint, Gin-
suloft, Tempytemp1234, Quenhitran, AddWittyNameHere, Maineartists, Suelru, Fruitloop11, KTCPeterson, Zachary.fed, Kondog9999999,
Hedley Lemur, Leeantsant, Busta1990, Kalope, Bekamancer, Kkendall0, Meluvswiki, DanJazzy, SwingSister, Vmavanti, LeonRimbaudee, Bar-
bara (WVS), CLCStudent, Kentucky Mouse, Bender the Bot, Magic links bot, Moomoocowpie and Anonymous: 449
54 CHAPTER 6. RAGTIME

6.12.2 Images
• File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work based on: Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat, penubag
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• File:Audio_a.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Audio_a.svg License: Public domain Contributors:

• 'A'_(PSF).png Original artist: 'A'_(PSF).png: Pearson Scott Foresman
• File:Blaze_away.jpeg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Blaze_away.jpeg License: PD-US Contributors: ? Original
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tributors: Library of Congress[1] Original artist: Scott Joplin
• File:Edit-clear.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The Tango!
Desktop Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the file, specifically: “Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).”
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• File:Henry_Ossawa_Tanner_-_The_Banjo_Lesson.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Henry_Ossawa_
Tanner_-_The_Banjo_Lesson.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: 1893 painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, via http://www.artchive.com/
artchive/T/tanner.html Original artist: Henry Ossawa Tanner
• File:IBelieveI'llDustMyBroom.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/IBelieveI%27llDustMyBroom.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: de.wikipedia - original description page is/was here - see there for source Original artist: uploaded by
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• File:Maple_Leaf_Rag.PNG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Maple_Leaf_Rag.PNG License: Public domain
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• File:Milkcow’{}sCalfBlues.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Milkcow%27sCalfBlues.jpg License: Public
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• File:On_the_Pike_1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/On_the_Pike_1.jpg License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: Classic Ragtime Piano[1] Original artist: Scott, James, 1885-1938
• File:P_vip.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/P_vip.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:ParamountLabelBLJefferson.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/ParamountLabelBLJefferson.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Original Paramount gramophone disc scanned from own collection by Infrogmation. Original artist:
Paramount Records
• File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Orig-
inal artist: ?
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tributors:
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• File:Repasz_band.jpeg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Repasz_band.jpeg License: Public domain Contribu-
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• File:Robert-Johnson-Gibson_L1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Robert-Johnson-Gibson_L1.jpg Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sebby 123
6.12. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 55

• File:Saxo_Boca1.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Saxo_Boca1.JPG License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-

tors: ? Original artist: ?
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lic domain Contributors: Library of Congress[1] Original artist: Unknown<a href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
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• File:SlaytonJubileeSingersNeb.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/SlaytonJubileeSingersNeb.jpg License:
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Digital/Mechanical reproduction of original cover.
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2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Profil by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Profil
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• File:The_Top_Liner_Rag.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/The_Top_Liner_Rag.jpg License: Public do-
main Contributors: Sheet music published by Stark Music Co., St. Louis, 1916. Previously uploaded to en:Wikipedia under the same name
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• File:TombstoneRobert_Johnson.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/TombstoneRobert_Johnson.jpg Li-
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• File:Wiki_letter_w.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0 Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
• File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain Contrib-
utors: Own work Original artist: Rei-artur
• File:Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg License: CC-
BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Young_Alan_Lomax,_playing_the_guitar.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Young_Alan_
Lomax%2C_playing_the_guitar.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/apr04/leadbelly.html Orig-
inal artist: Unknown<a href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20'
height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050'
data-file-height='590' /></a>

6.12.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0