Chapters 5 &6 -Listening Journal #3

 

                This week’s Listening Journal focuses on Chapters 5 and 6 in the book American Popular Music. The Chapters focused on the Race Records and development of the Blues during the 1920’s and 1930’s as well as the swing era from 1935-1945. During the course of my readings, I also listened to several different songs that were written around the same period. I learned about several musicians from these eras such as W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith, Blind Lemmon Jefferson as well as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Bassie from the swing era.

                One of the first recordings I listened to was “That Black Snake Moan” by Blind Lemmon Jefferson. This song was first recorded in 1926. This song has a pretty straight tempo from start to finish. You hear a guitar riff in the beginning before Jefferson starts to sing. It is the only instrument heard on this recording. Jefferson seems to be strumming chords on the guitar throughout this song. Jefferson starts each phrase of his first few lyrics with a type of moan that is punctuated at the beginning of each phrase. The lyrics seem like a brief repeated ideas. His voice seems to have a lot of timbre and versatility in pitch as well. Like many race/blues songs, the lyrics seem to tell a story about a black snake being in the room and some pretty woman better come and get the black snake soon. Hhhhhmmmm, seems like a sexual innuendo. This kind of innuendo with lyrics is a common theme that we will see in lyrics of popular music in the coming years.

                “In the Mood” was recorded by Glen Miller and his orchestra in 1939. To many musicians and historians, this song is considered the most popular song of the swing era. The song starts with a 16^th note sax riff to start before the trumpets and rhythm section start up. The main melody of the song is the Saxophones with the trumpets doing some short responses of an eight note followed by a half note. There is also a saxophone and trumpet solo during the course of the song as well. The tempo of the song is straight forward in a moderate tempo and the band uses dynamics as well. “In the Mood” was also a popular dance tune of the 1940’s at many proms and social dances throughout the United States. Listening to this song takes me back to my high school jazz band days when we played this song. It was always one of my favorites to play. Comparing “That Black Snake Moan” to “In the Mood” is like comparing apples to oranges. I was much more into listening to the swing era music than the blues.

                                During the course of my readings and other listening, I learned that many of the popular songs of the swing era are still the standards played by big bands today. There also were recordings of country music as well as Latin music in swing. “Brazil” was one of the most popular Latin jazz songs of the swing era. There still seems that there were no racial mixed bands yet. It would be several decades before this would become a reality.