ABSTRACT

Some categories of Afro-American music have come to be regarded as established contributions to American entertainment. Since music has a developmental stage, most authors begin with a cursory mention of African roots, and some elementary discourse is given to blues and spirituals to give some authoritative urgency to these popular musical expressions. Out of this experience came a unitary ballad blues, which has lost some of its significance in world of black music. It was a short, twelve-measure song with the first strain of four measures presenting a sorrowful statement. It is difficult to place a beginning date on this fruitful era in black music. If we are to consider “the other side of black music,” we must take note of the nonreligious music created by blacks in an era of oppression. The scorching heat of the sun and the long dreary hours of work in the field produced songs created on the spot, sometimes intelligible only to the purveyor.