The Blues in American Culture Essay examples

Submitted By katiecosta
Words: 798
Pages: 4
Open Document
The culture of the blues and Stagger Lee reveal the contradictions between ideals and realities in American Culture. Any given culture contains a set of values and value systems that determine what is important to the society as a whole. Stagger Lee and the Blues are a true example of going against the normal expectations and challenging society to think outside the box.

The story of Stagger shooting Billy Lyons over a Stetson hat was first covered on December 29th, 1895. While the common interpretation of Stagger Lee’s actions would be nothing more than those of a cold blooded killer but, he was oddly enough viewed as a hero to some. When Billy Lyon’s removed Lee’s hat it was as if he was taking away Stagger’s freedom. When Stagger Lee stood up and shot Billy it symbolized Stagger fighting for his manhood and freedom. The explanation of his actions allowed African Americans to admire Stagger Lee as a hero instead of a heartless criminal. The symbolism justified his actions. The story Stagger Lee's has been retold and reinvented most noticeably in Blues music. The first musical form of freedom for black people was Blues. Oppression is the common theme of Blues music. African American’s used Blues music to sing about their lack of freedom, frustrations toward the law and day to day struggles. The fight over the hat between Billy and Stagger Lee represents the African American man's fight for freedom from white oppression. Lloyd Price’s song supports the killing of Billy Lyons. The background singers chant “Stagger Lee Go, Stagger Lee, go, Stagger Lee!” while expressing his version of the night’s events. The story of Stagger Lee helped Blues music evolve. Hundreds of songs have been recorded and even more records sold all because of that one night in 1895.

A major theme in Blues music was that of sexuality. Sexuality was a topic African American Jazz singer Bessie Smith sang freely about regardless of her listener’s opinions. “The blues women did not passively reflect the vast social changes of their time; they provided new ways of thinking about these changes, alternative conceptions of the physical and social world for their audience of migrating and urban women and men, and social models for women who aspired to escape from and now improve their conditions of existence. “(Hazel Carby 26) Bessie went against the social norms of her life. She addressed social problems with ease. She had a horrible temper and did not try to keep her sex life secret. She had multiple partners, some of the same sex. Often at shows Bessie would get angry when people didn’t give her the attention she believed she deserved. This was most likely because other’s frowned upon her lifestyle because it didn’t align with theirs or because she was so successful. Bessie inspired people to not be bothered by someone's opinion of you and to stay true to yourself. Further going against social norms, she eventually died because she refused to seek treatment at a “White’s Only” hospital. Bessie was a strong headed woman who helped pave the way for future African American musicians to follow her path.
Mary Ellen Pleasant was also a
Show More

Related Documents: The Blues in American Culture Essay examples

Blacks In The Harlem Renaissance

Although African Americans were free from slavery by the 20th century and had what is considered freedom, they still faced racism, Jim Crow disfranchisement tactics, and unequal obstacles in America. They had been struggling for equality, freedom, a heard voice, and a matter of simply being able to live their life just as everyone else (whites to be exact). The most affected area was southern America. During this time in southern America, African Americans- especially the offspring of those who had…

Words 1693 - Pages 7

Langston Hughes The Weary Blues

In his poem "The Weary Blues," Langston Hughes conforms to and deviates from the conventions of lyric poetry in order to publicly showcase jazz music ─ which had its origins in the African-American culture ─ all in the pursuit of proving African-American humanity and demanding equality in society during the Harlem Renaissance. To a certain degree, "The Weary Blues" adheres to the rules of lyric poetry because it incorporates several rhyming couplets, generating a musical tone. In the beginning…

Words 996 - Pages 4

Art Of The Folk: The Harlem Renaissance

The Art of the Folk: Jazz, Blues, Folktales, Dance: The Harlem Renaissance During the nineteenth- mid-twentieth century, folk became very popular and widely known within the nation. Folk is considered the ordinary citizens of a public or district considered as the agents of a conventional lifestyle and particularly as the originators or bearers of the traditions, convictions, and expressions that make up an unmistakable culture. When people started to realize, their potential and become open to…

Words 1699 - Pages 7

The Land Where The Blues Began Analysis

for me to truly put myself in the position of an oppressed woman or African American. When discussing the obstacles African Americans had to endure, I sincerely try to empathize. With humility, everyone including myself, must leave all judgement and past experiences behind in order to attempt to learn the culture of others. Embracing new culture was especially difficult when the blues was introduced. The African American blues singer, Odetta, sings “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child” as she expresses…

Words 679 - Pages 3

African-American Influence On African American Music

INTRODUCTION African-Americans have had a notable influence on American music. Since the days the slave trade began African slaves brought over, to this New World, their customs and tradition of music. They used music to give themselves some sort of cultural and ethnical identity in the New World. They also brought a rich African heritage, including songs. Adapted to reflect the experiences of life of hard labor on plantations, these slave work songs, laments, and shouts of protest evolve into…

Words 1159 - Pages 5

Black People and Great Migration Essay examples

to the ‘New Negro’ renaissance in much of his work, including ‘Bound No’th the Blues’. Hughes participated in the New negro renaissance by joining the African American expression of modernity. Although Hughes was not radically experimental in his form, like writer such as Pound and Eliot, there is something inherently modern about his text un that it couldn’t have been written before. Hughes adopts the American idiom in his poem using colloquial language such as ‘lawd’, The use of dialect…

Words 1048 - Pages 5

Myth Of A Polarized America Analysis

rural conflicting U.S American values became apparent regarding those who were considered conservative or traditionalist and those considered liberal or progressive. Culture shifts and modernizing trends began to culminate U.S American traditions and altered the social zeitgeist. But, is this necessarily true? The media became an outlet or a source that introduced an existence (or as I should say, falsification) of a moral divide in the nation. Not only is the American culture war is imperceptible…

Words 921 - Pages 4

Essay On Crossroads And Everyday Use

created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that recognizes the role and importance of African-Americans in our history, such as Thurgood Marshall, the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court and Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Academy Award. Crossroads and “Everyday Use” both have a major African-American influence, but are completely different. Although Crossroads and “Everyday Use” characters have a hunger for knowledge of a heritage…

Words 1013 - Pages 5

Ralph Ellison Jazz Influence

than Jazz and Blues music. Gaining popularity in the early 20th century, Jazz and Blues music was pioneered by African American musicians. The lyrical content of songs in this idiom usually spoke about issues that pertained to the African American experience at the time, such as racism and poverty. The melancholic yet defiant nature of Jazz and Blues music eventually found itself creeping into other idioms including poetry, art, and Literature. The musical stylings of Jazz and the Blues greatly influenced…

Words 1093 - Pages 5

Rhapsody In Blue Essay

Rhapsody In Blue George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of those timeless classics that is instantly recognizable to many people’s ears today, even ninety years after it was first introduced to the world. It is a piece that has found its way into contemporary movies and advertisements, making it likely as recognizable as Chopin’s Funeral March or Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But unlike these two pieces of iconic classical music, Rhapsody in Blue “resists classification.”1 In it are elements…

Words 1264 - Pages 6