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Lawd Ha Mercy (on the White Boy's Soul)
--a song, and an apology, to the foundersPosted by RMG on 2/28/2005
"The blues had a baby, and they named it rock and roll"…Muddy Waters
It's coming to the end of Black History Month, and I just have to get this out, because I became inspired.
In February, we usually learn of many contributions that African-Americans have made to our nation. The areas of endeavor have included science, civil rights, business, art, charities, religion, community development, and entertainment, just to name a few.
Personally--being a rock-and-roller--I always feel a little cheated by the coverage of the entertainment area. We can point to so many current and recent performers, from Jay-Z to Sammy Davis, Jr., that have wonderfully entertained us over the years. But there are some very deep roots to the popular music that we listen to, and they would never have sprouted if it weren't for some rather obscure personalities.
If you've ever enjoyed music from Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, REO Speedwagon, Boston, The Ramones, The Clash…oh, good grief, I don't have enough space to cover them all. Anyway, at the core of many of their songs is the "blue note," a flatted note that is often the third and seventh (sometimes the sixth) note imposed on our standard European major scale. To think of how it sounds, imagine Jimmy Page's rockin' electric guitar lead at the end of Stairway to Heaven--he uses a lot of blue notes.
Today's popular music heavily employs the blue note. It comes straight out of the tonalities developed in Africa, and was brought to the United States primarily by slaves. These sounds dominated the songs sung by the slaves, and ended up imbedded in the blues, a tradition developed by African-Americans in the early to mid 1900s.
There is a little more to it, because the blues gave rise to more than just the musical scale modification. It also used chords built primarily on the first, fourth, and fifth notes of the scale, and a moving bass line that we called "boogey-woogey," back in the 50s. The history of these inventions is a little murky, and it is still up to argument who wrote the first rock-and-roll song. One thing for certain, it wasn't Elvis.
Robert Johnson, a somewhat mysterious black blues musician (Dallas connection: he recorded a number of songs here), was certainly in the mix-along with Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, and many others. Every heard of 'em? Probably not.
That's why I get a little disappointed this time of year. And it's for this reason I wrote a song, an apology of sorts, to the obscure-but-great founders of my favorite music genre.
On a personal note, in the song I did mention one musician who was not exactly part of our pure blues roots; he was more St. Louis Jazz than Memphis blues and southward. I mentioned Louis "Satchamo" Armstrong because he specifically influenced me. When I was seven, he was the first live entertainer I ever saw, appearing in Missoula, Montana, where I lived. He made an indelible impression.
Please enjoy my offering, "Lawd Ha Mercy (on the white boy's soul)," by clicking the link.
If you can't play it, let me know. I'll send a copy directly to you.
