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How Did Country Music Become So White?

James_H

James_H

And I like to roam the land
Joined
May 18, 2002
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Apparently Henry Ford, the carmaker, detested black music, supposing it would bring about moral decay in society. In response, he deliberately promoted country and western music.

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Henry Ford, the auto maker, put more money into promoting country music in the 1920s than anyone else. Ford was frightened by what he saw as the urban decadence of couples jazz dancing. In response he organized fiddling contests and promoted square dances across the country to encourage what he saw as the older, more wholesome forms of entertainment.
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James_H said:
Apparently Henry Ford, the carmaker, detested black music, supposing it would bring about moral decay in society. In response, he deliberately promoted country and western music.

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Wasn't he also a terrible anti-Semite (not that there are any nice ones...)? And in fact, as I browse his Wikipedia entry, it turns out he gets a favourable write-up in Mein Kampf, which is not the kind of stain on one's reputation one could easily expunge. Also, natch, violently anti-union, and whilst I don't imagine for a second he ever got his own hands bloodied, that's not meant metaphorically.
 
Krepostnoi said:
Wasn't he also a terrible anti-Semite (not that there are any nice ones...)? And in fact, as I browse his Wikipedia entry, it turns out he gets a favourable write-up in Mein Kampf, which is not the kind of stain on one's reputation one could easily expunge. Also, natch, violently anti-union, and whilst I don't imagine for a second he ever got his own hands bloodied, that's not meant metaphorically.
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He was the author of 'The International Jew', a book with content that might be predicted from its title. He actually blamed the jews for promoting jazz, making this a conspiracy theory within an actual conspiracy.

Many people have wondered whence come the waves upon waves of musical slush that invade decent homes and set the young people of this generation imitating the drivel of morons. Popular music is a Jewish monopoly. Jazz is a Jewish creation. The mush, slush, the sly suggestion, the abandoned sensuousness of sliding notes, are of Jewish origin.

Monkey talk, jungle squeals, grunts and squeaks and gasps suggestive of calf love are camouflaged by a few feverish notes and admitted in homes where the thing itself, unaided by scanned music," would be stamped out in horror. The fluttering music sheets disclose expressions taken directly from the cesspools of modern capitals, to be made the daily slang, the thoughtlessly hummed remarks of school boys and girls.
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James_H said:
He was the author of 'The International Jew', a book with content that might be predicted from its title. He actually blamed the jews for promoting jazz, making this a conspiracy theory within an actual conspiracy.
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That puts me in mind of a conversation I once had with a highly respected figure in Russian traditional music (or a very academic version thereof), during which he expounded to me his theory that the spread of classical music conservatoires throughout 19th-century Europe was a Jewish conspiracy aimed at expunging "indigenous" musical traditions. In many respects, he was a very intelligent and talented individual, and I did have some admiration for the way he had managed to negotiate the machinations over the community of people whose music he flew the standard for as they became something of a political football, but clearly intelligence in some respects is, alas, no guarantee against stupidity in others...
 
There's little doubt Ford was anti-Semitic and racist. However, his promotion of old-fashioned music and dancing had a substantial basis in his own nostalgia as well. He'd been a big fan of fiddlers' music and square dances in his youth. He'd purchased a violin and taught himself some basic fiddling back then, and he first met his wife at a traditional dance.

Ford's success as a automotive developer and industrialist either induced or fostered his tendency to be a 'control freak' who thought everyone should adhere to his own ideals. It's not surprising that he picked reactionary cultural molding as his personal millionaire's folly.

My point is that Ford's probable motivations in promoting old-time music and dance weren't solely ascribable to his socio-cultural biases. Black / jazz / ostensibly 'Jewish' popular music and dancing may have been a trigger for him to actively promote throwback causes. On the other hand, vilifying such pop trends would have provided convenient (if hateful) marketing leverage for a retro-traditional campaign he may well have undertaken anyway.
 
Ford was an interesting character. I find him repulsive, on the whole, but studying some of the things he did can be very interesting. He had to occupy himself with pet projects in the '30s as the people actually running Ford Motor Company somehow managed to marginalize him in the operation, purely out of necessity. By then he was making some truly insane decisions so the corporate managers maneuvered him out of day to day decision making. He became something of a champion of the American farmer, and spent quite a bit of time touring around in a '36 Ford that featured a trunk lid made out of soybean based plastic. He loved to whack the trunk lid with a baseball bat or a crowbar or something to show off its resilience. He supposedly pushed the invention of soy milk, something I have on my cereal every morning because I don't like milk. Like LBJ, he accomplished some great things while being a flaming jackass.
 
To be fair to Ford, his views were hardly outliers during his lifetime (1863-1947). To judge his opinions from a 2018 viewpoint is easy but subjective.

I'm not a music aficionado: how many notable white rap and R&B acts are there?

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
To be fair to Ford, his views were hardly outliers during his lifetime (1863-1947). To judge his opinions from a 2018 viewpoint is easy but subjective.

I'm not a music aficionado: how many notable white rap and R&B acts are there?

maximus otter
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Eminem and the Beastie Boys for starters.
 
Clapton. Yeah, they are not rare.
 
EnolaGaia said:
One of his biggest 'pet projects', and arguably his biggest flaming failure, was the Fordlandia plantation settlement in Brazil:

Fordlandia: Henry Ford's Amazon Project
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/fordlandia-henry-fords-amazon-project.65140/
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Didn't know about that one. Thanks.

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is a wonderful place. I've only been there once, but hope to return some day. When I was there in the early 90s, it was full of amazing things.
 
One might (speculatively; jokingly) wonder if Ford's animosity toward 'jazz' had anything to do with the fact another - black - Henry Ford was a well-known string bass player in the early days of New Orleans jazz.

The jazz string bassist Henry Ford launched his own band in 1908 - the same year as industrialist Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T that launched his rise to stellar status.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_(musician)
 
EnolaGaia said:
One might (speculatively; jokingly) wonder if Ford's animosity toward 'jazz' had anything to do with the fact another - black - Henry Ford was a well-known string bass player in the early days of New Orleans jazz.

The jazz string bassist Henry Ford launched his own band in 1908 - the same year as industrialist Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T that launched his rise to stellar status.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_(musician)
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Damn. You can't make this stuff up!
 
James_H said:
Apparently Henry Ford, the carmaker, detested black music, supposing it would bring about moral decay in society. In response, he deliberately promoted country and western music.
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or conversely promoted his products to affluent/white folks who were his target market using their homegrown musical forms ?
 
Maximus otter,

....how many notable white rap and R&B acts are there?...


Austin Popper,

..Clapton. Yeah, they are not rare. ..

Eric Clapton ?

How does he fit in to this ?

He started out with John Mayall in 'The Bluesbreakers'.

INT21.
 
INT21 said:
Maximus otter,

....how many notable white rap and R&B acts are there?...


Austin Popper,

..Clapton. Yeah, they are not rare. ..

Eric Clapton ?

How does he fit in to this ?

He started out with John Mayall in 'The Bluesbreakers'.

INT21.
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Same way the Stones fit in to this. Where do you think "Little Red Rooster" came from? It's a blues song. As in rhythm & blues. As in R&B. Black music. "Little Red Rooster" was written by Willie Dixon, a black man. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf, another black man. And so on.

Here's a good Clapton album. Well, they're all good, at least as far as I know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_with_the_King_(B.B._King_and_Eric_Clapton_album)
 
So you don't differentiate 'blues' from 'rhythm and blues'..

Elvis did do a lot for the black bluesmen by making that form of music more accessible to white audiences

Little Red Rooster is possibly my favorite Rolling Stones track. I prefer it to some of the earlier versions.. Though it isn't often played these days.

Clapton's version of Crossroads is particularly good, but a lot of it is down to his virtuosity on the guitar. And, of course, it has a history.

INT21
 
No, not a trick.

I do see a difference.

If you take ' That's all right, momma' by Elvis then that is R&B.

Where as 'House of the Rising Sun' is Blues.

No one wants to dance to a blues song.

INT21

An aside. The above songs were the first two I learned to play on guitar. The most recent is 'Jolene'.
 
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James_H said:
In response, he deliberately promoted country and western music.
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Commerce has always wanted a bland product to suit factory methods. Ford's personal tastes fit the profile well enough but I doubt if he fixed things. Much more influential was the symbiosis of radio, sound-film and record-companies in the thirties. America's commercial carve-up into radio regions led to a lot of competition between singers, who could find themselves promoted by sponsors. It was the era of the singing cowboy and hardly a black face to be seen. The major film companies always made sure that black performers, aside from servant rôles, could be snipped from prints intended for the South! The ground was well-prepared, long before Elvis supposedly stole their clothes! :rolleyes:
 
JamesWhitehead said:
Commerce has always wanted a bland product to suit factory methods. Ford's personal tastes fit the profile well enough but I doubt if he fixed things. Much more influential was the symbiosis of radio, sound-film and record-companies in the thirties. America's commercial carve-up into radio regions led to a lot of competition between singers, who could find themselves promoted by sponsors. It was the era of the singing cowboy and hardly a black face to be seen. The major film companies always made sure that black performers, aside from servant rôles, could be snipped from prints intended for the South! The ground was well-prepared, long before Elvis supposedly stole their clothes! :rolleyes:
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Your talking about Western Swing, etc? Rather than Bluegrass, and other types of Country music?

The early years were white-washed but that doesn't mean that black artists were not vital in collecting and promoting early country music which was a huge mix of different styles of regional folk and blues.

Agree by the 1920's - the 1930's the height of the Singing Cowboy and Western Swing was pretty much 100% white. This was due to the fledgling entertainment and advertising industries wanting to appeal to average white American's with their disposable income rather any plan to Ford's to segregate.

The whole era from the late 19th century to middle of the 20th century is just one big massive period of change.
 
Jimmie Rodgers was heavily influenced by blues music.
 
James_H said:
Jimmie Rodgers was heavily influenced by blues music.
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I also never realized the Carter Family, (who had played with Rodgers), owed a lot of their songs and style of play to Lesley Riddle, a black musician. It was suggested that he didn't make any money from his collaboration with AP Carter, (Carter copyrighted everything for himself), and Riddle retired from music in the 40's to get a job.
 
“Arnold Schultz (left) is but one of many nearly forgotten African-American musicians who heavily influenced the history of southern traditional and popular music. Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe credits Schultz with having a major effect on Monroe’s musical development and outlook.
Photographer unknown”
3ED88233-4772-4E2D-996D-31DA56826405.jpeg

Bluegrass music is infused through and through with flat 3rds and Dominant 7ths.
 
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