Cuttin to the chase, here is an argument from Phil Jenkins in the recent volume Blues and Philosophy from Wiley-Blackwell: Co-edited by yours truly:)
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE:
DeJeana Burke & The Oakland Blues Divas:
QUESTION: Do you agree? Can white people BCE? If so, where exactly does the above argument to the contrary go wrong?
A little relevant music below.
I'll leave it to you to decide whether these clips confirm or refute Jenkins' argument. So, here is a little blues evidence!
an old blues playlist I made once upon a time.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL54E770A8819377A3
Memphis Slim: Born With The Blues
*don't learn it in school....just have to inherit the blues people!
Lightnin' Hopkins: Death Blues
*sounds like a lotta people I know, especially with our recent economic woes.
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE:
DeJeana Burke & The Oakland Blues Divas:
 |
| Phil Jenkins. Yes,he's white |
Conclusion: White people cannot BCE!
1.The term ‘blues’ is ambiguous in meaning as it may refer to a distinct ‘blues musical form’ (BMF) or to ‘blues cultural expression’ (BCE)
2. BMF is in principle accessible to all, and can actually be performed by anyone with sufficient training and motor skills.
3. White people can acquire the requisite training and motor skills.
4. Thus, white people CAN play BME.
 |
| Muddy Waters |
5. However, Blues as Cultural Expression (BCE) is only accessible to people that are members of the social group that created blues. Specifically, to people that share the history of oppression and injustice of Blacks in America going back to slavery times.
6.Defending (3) above, requires a clear account of what it means to be a member of a social group. Jenkins claims that some form of ‘learning and imitating’ the expressions of other group members’ lived experiences, internalizing these, and using them to express one’s own experiences of that general type, are necessary conditions for one’s expressive behavior to count as a specific form of cultural expression. You got to inherit the blues!
7. Thus, blues as cultural expression is only available to those that have the expressive options of Black
Americans suffering the indignities of oppression.
 |
| Son House |
8. No white person can have those expressive options. (it may also be true that some black people cannot
either, but that is fine for this argument.)
9. Thus, no white person can perform BCE.
10. Thus, that’s the fact jack!!
*To quote: "everybody dies, every livin' people dies...when that tick tock stops ticking....you ain't keepin' time no more."
The Land Where The Blues Began (so good!): Mix-Tape From Alan Lomax
Howlin' Wolf: What is the blues?
Parting Shot From Lightnin', my FAVORITE.
The Woman Named Mary
*we all suffer sure enough, but are we doing the same thing when we're all suffering?
The Woman Named Mary
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that white people can truly play the Blues. To play Blues type music, yes. The blues essentially "evolved" during the slave trades as a means to communicate and make the labor they were forced to do go by in a more upbeat atmosphere. Even after the emancipation proclamation, music remained a main vehicle to vent frustrations. The songs they sang were like mini diaries of their daily lives (railroad, work, saloons, women, prison...) short chronicles of what they have lived through and what they are/were still living through. White music could have been said it was similar in tone and harmony and was sang happily of life events while black music or the "Blues" was almost vicious and depressing and the vision of the way blacks lived. They sang about prison and slave work the love/lust of their many relationships with no real feeling involved or invested. Death was not so much sad but a fact of life. I feel the quality of Blues music then was so strong and deep. It was a state of mind and not just a song someone came up with because the beat sounded right. A lot of the Blues songs don't really have any specific beat per se, just wherever the singers hands seem to trail along the guitar at that moment. It didn't take months in any recording studio to be perfected because it came directly from he heart and soul of the singer. The music was about life and the misery they lived. They drank to numb the pain, they had sex to feel the companionship of another person but couldn't unnecessary give that person their whole heart and soul because most of these people were broken. From the lives they have lived and the repression they were dealing with. Now..... how can a lil ol white person come along and say that they can sing the BLUES!!!!! The stresses Americans deal with in this day in age can never compare to what the black people had to go through then. No comparison..... Technically, I believe the true blues can really only be sung by the people who have experienced living in this time period. The blues sung now is more what you could call modern day blues. I just dont personally see how any white person could justifiably legitimately play true Blues music.
ReplyDeleteartical: Race, Ethnicity, Expressive Authenticity-Can White People Sing the Blues?
I agree that "that's how it is!" Similar to Carley, I believe that the ability to fully understand the blues as cultural expression stems from experiencing structural and historical racism and watching your kin and your community suffer injustice and oppression. I further believe that the blues are a form of resilience that only those who have experienced true adversity are able to develop. Like Memphis Blue explains, "[you] don't learn it in school....just have to inherit the blues."
ReplyDelete