Emma Philbin Paper #1: Appropriation 2-7-16
Rock History
In the 1940s and the 1950s, the music of African American people was the supporting block for the rise of Rock and Roll music. During this time period, racial integration began happening as African Americans began moving from the South to the Northen cities, and within this we began to see cultural integration. However society still greatly held African Americans and whites segregated; and as a result music was greatly segregated as well. It was deemed by society that African American artists had a specific sound to their music and had a genre of their own. Their genre was blues which later became R&B (Rhythm and Blues). While in fact some African American artists did see success …show more content…
By definition, appropriation is “the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission” ("Definition of Appropriation in English"). And that is exactly what the white Rock and Roll artists had done to the African American artists. As white artists began taking Rock and Roll music as their own and covering songs originally created and performed by African American artists, we saw the rise in popularity of rock and roll. Originally, African American’s rock and roll music was seen as scary and primitive. Firstly, African Americans had a specific sound to their music which white society would stereotype their music by; one example would be the “Backbeat” in which accents on the 2s and 4s were coded as “black”. As Tony Scherman describes Earl Palmer, the drummer of Little Richard (in the book Rock History Reader), he depicts the Backbeat which Earl Palmer started as “if he were using baseball bats and kicking a 30 feet base drum” (Cateforis 5). Their “shouting” and over the top performances were seen as “unrestrained sexuality”; as well as their “leer-ics” which were deemed as the incapability of “social responsibility…self-restraint…[and] garbage…” (Cateforis 9). The credence of the African American R&B artists was extremely rare; only those considered “safe” with their feminine appearance were able to get attention …show more content…
The Rock History Reader. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
"Definition of Appropriation in English:." Appropriation. Oxford Dictionary, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016
Ross, Alex. "Rock 101 - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. New York Times, 14 July 2003. Web. 08 Feb.
Rock History
In the 1940s and the 1950s, the music of African American people was the supporting block for the rise of Rock and Roll music. During this time period, racial integration began happening as African Americans began moving from the South to the Northen cities, and within this we began to see cultural integration. However society still greatly held African Americans and whites segregated; and as a result music was greatly segregated as well. It was deemed by society that African American artists had a specific sound to their music and had a genre of their own. Their genre was blues which later became R&B (Rhythm and Blues). While in fact some African American artists did see success …show more content…
By definition, appropriation is “the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission” ("Definition of Appropriation in English"). And that is exactly what the white Rock and Roll artists had done to the African American artists. As white artists began taking Rock and Roll music as their own and covering songs originally created and performed by African American artists, we saw the rise in popularity of rock and roll. Originally, African American’s rock and roll music was seen as scary and primitive. Firstly, African Americans had a specific sound to their music which white society would stereotype their music by; one example would be the “Backbeat” in which accents on the 2s and 4s were coded as “black”. As Tony Scherman describes Earl Palmer, the drummer of Little Richard (in the book Rock History Reader), he depicts the Backbeat which Earl Palmer started as “if he were using baseball bats and kicking a 30 feet base drum” (Cateforis 5). Their “shouting” and over the top performances were seen as “unrestrained sexuality”; as well as their “leer-ics” which were deemed as the incapability of “social responsibility…self-restraint…[and] garbage…” (Cateforis 9). The credence of the African American R&B artists was extremely rare; only those considered “safe” with their feminine appearance were able to get attention …show more content…
The Rock History Reader. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
"Definition of Appropriation in English:." Appropriation. Oxford Dictionary, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016
Ross, Alex. "Rock 101 - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. New York Times, 14 July 2003. Web. 08 Feb.