Roots on the Clyde

#blackouttuesday

To respond to the outcry for the black lives matter movements/protests happening around the World, and to bring awareness into a predominantly white community in the country music scene, we found an article written by Jordan-Marie Smith, Washington Post (Aug 2, 2019). This short article has many examples of racial oppression through country music history. And we can’t continue, not addressing how we got here to enjoy country music today, without recognizing some of the millio...n reasons why, the black community feels outrage, and not seen. . You do know the banjo is an African instrument, right? Valerie June (black singer song writer) questions. . Dr. Dina Bennett, senior curator at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, said country music can trace its roots back to 17th-century slave ships, where captors made Africans bring instruments from their homeland. The akonting, an early folk lute version of the American banjo, came from West Africa, for instance. They would have them perform and play the instruments ... to exercise them, Bennett said. That was called ‘dancing the slaves. Later, these instruments would be used to entertain in slave masters’ homes. Enslaved people also performed privately for each other. An archival recording from the 1920s shows Uncle John Scruggs, born into slavery in 1855, playing the banjo next to a sharecropper shack. . So how did country music become a genre associated with white people? They began to, if you will, segregate the listening audience, Bennett said. African Americans recorded music that marketers put a label on, they would call that race music. Blues, jazz, gospel were categorized as race records while hillbilly music was made by white people, who assumed the title of country music’s early stars. . One prominent black country singer, Charley Pride, was very popular in the 1970s, but was marketed in a very specific way. When he first started out, they did not reveal or print anything with his face on it, so most people didn't even know he was African American. . White people seem to have forgotten that the black experience is rooted in rural culture, where country music comes from. See more

Hey youYA YOU... . . Music is what keeps us all going during life’s ups and downs. From the sad times, to happy times, music is ALWAYS there for us. So we need to be there for the people behind the music. .... Musicians need our support more than ever right now. Touring, performing, playing is how they all make money of course. And now that most gigs are either postponed or completely cancelled, where does it leave these Artists? Something to think about. . Starting next week, we will be featuring all the musicians who were going to play at this years ROTC, as well as past performances over the years. You will get to know them, where to find them, and how you can support them . . @alexorasuk See more

Vicki Brittle was with us at ROTC two years ago now. Here She is again, enjoy

What an Angel walking among us. This Woman has the brightest spirit. Thankful to know you Arlene Quinn . Allan Brown