I am reading Peter Blecha’s book, “Taboo Tunes (A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs)". I never realized the uproar that jazz caused in it’s lifetime. I am very accustomed to the greater public disliking (even hating) avant-garde music of all genres, and have heard it called “the devil’s music” more than once. Unfortunate.
In the modern day though, people seem exercise their dislike for a type of music by ignoring it. I am finding that hatred of music was much more active in the early 20th century.
I knew that Nat “King” Cole was beat at a concert in Alabama in the 1950s but I would have pinned that on racism. Quotes from some members of the White Citizens Council (the group that beat him) were enlightening:
“One proud member even ‘articulated’ their position with a remark that rock ’n’ roll, ‘the basic, heavy-beat music of the Negroes,’ was intended to appeal to the base in man, that it ‘brings out the animalism and vulgarity’ in people, and that it was the basis of a ‘plot to mongrelize America.’ Another attempted to justify the attack on Cole – whose music was far from rock ‘n’ role – by asserting that it was ‘only a short step… from the sly, nightclub technique vulgarity of Cole, to the openly animalistic obscenity of the horde of Negro rock ‘n’ rollers.’”
He outlines a myriad of examples of ridiculous attacks on jazz music: The BBC banned jazz music from the air in the mid-1930s. The archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa said in 1938 of Duke Ellington, “jam sessions, jitterbugs, and cannibalistic rhythm orgies are wooing our youth along the primrose path to hell”. And of course Rev. Mark Matthews assertion that “jazz is an evidence of intellectual and moral degradation”.
For the record the music I love is leading me to hell, evidence of my intellectual and moral degradation and bringing out the animalism and vulgarity in me. Fun.
2 comments:
hmm, quite interesting that now the Church thinks that most Rock is going to make us go to Hell...LOL
Might I remind you that The Alarmists, The Great Physician, The Cat Empire, Amos Lee, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, The Sweet Colleens, 2Wurds, Brandi Carlile, Johnny Lang and, G. Love + Special Sauce all played at The Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis this year.
That is a pretty good showing of music there. You have your soft, relaxing feminine voice, but also the invigorating sound of a 5-piece rock band. A little folk, a little Celtic, a little rock.
Seems to me the Catholic Church is pretty pro-rock, at least in Minneapolis. Or maybe it was all a conspiracy to extract money from parishioners. I have to wonder how The Plain White T's and Lifehouse made it into the list of performers though.
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