Week 23/2 American Folk Traditions n Final essay end of term. n Test. n Final Workshop – Folk.

North American Folk Music

n  Long tradition of folk music of the European populations of North America. Field Holler.

n  Seen as often purer in form due to isolation than European traditions. Thus Cecil Sharpe went to the Appalachians (1916-18) to hear traditional English ballads as they might have been performed in pre-industrial Britain.

n  Published his English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1919). E.g Streets of Laredo and The unfortunate Rake

Early 20th century American Revival n  In response to what was happening in

Britain under Cecil Sharp. n National organisations for preserving

song and dance traditions – overwhelming white to begin with and about saving songs.

n By 1920s lots of competing organisations.

n Library of Congress archive.

Music of Appalachian Mountains

n  Dance tunes of early settlers. n  Family harmony singing n  A musical fossil. n  Dialect, speech and song all relate to

pre-19th century Britain. n  Instruments - fiddle, dulcimer, guitar and

mandolin. E.g Jenny Lind Polka - from Virginia 1851/Jonny Get Your Hair Cut

n  Artists - Doc Watson, Jean Ritchie

Jenny Lind Polka

Vaudeville and Music Hall Entertainment n  Minstrel Shows the most common factor. n  Spirituals. n  Development of banjo and later guitar styles. n  All developed in imitation of black genres. n  Eg 1843 De Boatmen’s n  Dance

Cowboy Songs

n  Both aurally transmitted and manufactured by songwriters.

n  Songs of the trials and troubles of the frontiers folk of the 19th century.

n  Developed into parlour music traditions n  Archive collection of Folk Song at the Library

of Congress - gave rise to famous anthology Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads by John Lomax 1910.

Marching Bands

n A great 19th century tradition across white America.

n Belonging to societies and clubs that would field a marching band.

n On gala days the bands would march though town in costume.

n Philip Souza’s Marches a world wide phenomena.

Black Traditions

n Culminated in the Blues. Across black America in many forms.

n Best known through early recordings of Delta Blues artists.

n Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt.

n Alternative tradition of Leadbelly.

White Folk Traditions

n  With the development of radio and recording the regional styles cohered around the Country Style and country music centred on Nashville, Tennesse.

n  Huge national following after its live broadcasts from the Grand ole’ Opre every Saturday night.

n  Arguable the distinctive style of American popular music – and the correlate of Blues and Jazz.

n  Characterised by ballads of great sadness and personal misery and dance music.

n  While the blues style is at the root of Global popular music today – country music does not export so easily.

1930s and 40s

n Experience of the depression produced a generation of folk singers with a political edge and strong social message.

n Pete Seger, Woody Guthrie,

Woody Guthrie

Iconic Figure for America Folk

Clancy Brothers – Irish American influence.

New Lost City Ramblers – Early professional popular folk group – many recordings.

With Pete Seeger

Bob Dylan

Skifle – Lonnie Donnegan

Revivalist Traditions

n  Urban songs with politically and socially relevant messages in the 1930s and 40s.

n  Pete Seeger in 1940 formed the Almanac Singers -

n  Woodie Guthrie - commited communist and activitist.

n  The Weavers a 1950s phenomena - hit by McCarthyism and investigated.

n  Lead to 60s singer songwriters - Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie.

Bluegrass

n  A style of banjo playing developed in the 30s and 40s involving very fast finger picking and exploting the re-entrant tuning of the 5-string banjo.

n  Associated with Earl Scruggs. Become associated with a style of playing that involved influence of blues in bent notes but also fast fingerplucking on guitar and banjo.

Earl Scruggs

Honky Tonk

n A more aggressive style of urban ‘country’music.

n With amlification and use of electric guitars and hawayan guitars.

n Up tempo and influenced by early rhythm and blues.

summary

n  Many regional styles – e.g. Cajun in Louisianna;Tex Mex along Southern border; Eastern European dance forms in prairie states; etc

n  National popular styles dominated by influence of Blues (including Gospel) and Country – which came together to cross ethnic/cultural divides in the 50s and 60s and provide bases for Global pop style that developed out Rhythm and Blues and then Rock.

Impact on British Folk Music

n Huge – the influx of American traditions in the years up to and after 1960 is great.

n Guitar song writing tradition – epitomised by Dylan still going to today.

n 1960s folk club movement across Britain.

n Big cross over with rock - genre of folk rock.

Sources

n New Grove under Americas and Amerindian

n Charles Hamm, Music in the New World (Norton, 1983)

n Sarah Lifton, The Listener’s Guide to Folk Music (1983)