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Musical Trends Since the 1940sHow Did African American Music Change after World War II?From the 1940s to the present, urban music has creatively changed during each decade. The artists managed to find innovative ways to update the music.
Music Genres of the 1940sAccording to Nelson George, a new genre of “black” music has emerged every decade beginning with the 1940s. He says that rhythm and blues started in the 40s, rock & roll in the 50s, soul in the 60s, funk and disco in the 70s and rap in the 80s (188). The author wrote his observations during the 1980s, so he predicted that new genres of music would appear in the 1990s and 2000s. What may be more accurate, however, is to trace the music lineage a bit more closely. Rhythm and blues and bebop began in the 1940s, while rock & roll and doo-wop started in the 50s. Soul, as stated above, began during the 60s, but so did funk. Disco and rap began in the 70s. New jack swing originated in the 80s, hip-hop soul in the 90s and neo-soul in the 2000s. Bebop and Rhythm and BluesFrom the 1920s to the 1940s swing dominated American popular music with its big bands. Bebop started as a reaction to the predictable beats and tight harmonic structures of swing. The bebop originators looked for freedom of expression (Fox 138). Although musicians such as Kenny Clarke, Nick Finton, Charlie Christian and Joe Guy were instrumental in helping to develop bebop, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker were its biggest stars. Rhythm and blues also started in the 1940s in southwestern cities where blues singers shouted over hard drumming and accompanying saxophones. The singers were much more “vulgar” than traditional blues crooners. The music spread quickly to other cities, and it, like bebop, did not attract a mainstream audience. Some of the pioneers of rhythm and blues were Joe Turner, Jimmy Rushing, BoDiddley, Bullmoose Jackson, Smokey Hogg and Muddy Waters (Jones 170, 171). Rock & Roll and Doo-WopRock & roll came into existence during the 1950s when the saxophone lead of the jump blues and fun-centered lyrics of musicians like Louis Jordan changed dramatically. The forerunner of this musical shift was Chuck Berry who changed the lead saxophone of the jump blues to a guitar. He kept jump blues’ upbeat tempo, but, unlike R & B, his lyrics addressed typical teenager issues and problems (George 68). Although rock & roll started out as upbeat blues, the sound became markedly different because of the lead guitar. Little Richard was also influential in the creation of rock & roll. Even though doo-wop, like rhythm & blues began in the urban areas, it was in contrast to the loud screams and vulgar lyrics of rhythm and blues. Doo-wop singers developed a soft, melodic and optimistic sound. Similar to its contemporary rock & roll, doo-wop focused on the youth culture, but it was more concerned with romance and love than issues of growing up (George 36). Some of the well-known doo-wop groups were the Chantels, El Doradoes, Cadillacs and Little Anthony and the Imperials. Soul MusicSoul is the child of doo-wop and gospel. The music developed when the genre’s pioneers merged gospel rhythms and its falsetto voice with the lyrical content of doo-wop’s love and romance (Fox 234). Therefore, soul is soft, mild and hopeful as much as it is emotionally charged, aggressive and touching. Soul singers generally believe that if one sings a soulful tune meaningfully, the spirit will come out and touch others similar to the way one catches the spirit in church. Ray Charles may have originated soul, but Aretha Franklin and James Brown embodied it. Sources:Fox, Ted. Showtime at the Apollo. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. George, Nelson. The Death of Rhythm & Blues. A Plume Book, 1988. Jones, LeRoi. Blues People. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1963.
The copyright of the article Musical Trends Since the 1940s in R&B/Soul Music is owned by William Cook. Permission to republish Musical Trends Since the 1940s in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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