[Dixielandjazz] Re: Apology plus

[Stephen Barbone]

Dear Harold & List mates:

Appreciate your post and must own up to the fact that for years I assumed
that Black & Blue was about black/white relationships. Indeed, I think
that is what Louis intended. He was a much more complex man than most
people think. And he did more than his part on social issues. Here is a
quote from Arvell Shaw about Louis that shows a very different pictiure
of Louis then we've all heard about:

"Louis was the first man I heard to say, "You're black, be proud of it.
You're black, you're not white, you're not yellow, you're black - be
proud of it.' He was saying that when it was so very unpopular."

When some of the Armstrong archives are released from Queens College in
NYC, and Armstrong's house museum opens this October 15th, in Corona,
Queens, NYC perhaps we will gain some more insight into his mind.

We used to perform that song  (The Southampton Dixie Racing and Clambake
Society Jazz Band) in the 1950s the way we heard Louis do it. We felt we
were passing on the "message". It was not until the 1990s that I became
aware of the context of the song within the Broadway production of "Hot
Chocolates". (not the Ellington revue at the Cotton Club) Like you, I
thought the messenger was out of his mind till I checked it out.

Lo and behold, I found that "Hot Chocolates" was an all black show, I
checked the verse, etc and I became convinced. Much like my opinion that
"That's Why They Call Me Shine" 1910 version was the first "protest song"
in jazz. That was the subject of previous DJML discussions. In effect, as
I see it, when Louis did popularized it he was making a statement about
how foolish it was to "pipe The shine" for stupid reasons. And, again,
the true meaning of the song comes out in the verse. But by the 1940s,
the song was seen as a parody and Louis was falsely accused of "Uncle
Tomming" it.

I think we were both influenced by our own experiences and then hearing
Louis do it, we just made the natural assumption that he was sending a
message about blacl/white relationships. This is probably a common
occurance with all of us on the list. We relate to a performance,
statement, etc., within the boundaries of our own experiences and that
shapes our beliefs.

Cheers,
Steve

Harold Smith wrote:

> Yes, I WAS fooled by Louis' rendition of Black and  Blue, and I did
> think the song was really about the sorrows of beng black.  Well, it
> should have been, but it really wasn;t, thanks to David Littlefield's
> sendigme an email with the verse, which shows it was a woman's lament
> about being dark-skinned when all te guys wanted the those of lighter
> skin tone.
>
> I didn't think Louis would ever fool anyone, but he at least got me on
> that one.
>
> Apologies are extended to Mr. Barbone for disputing his factual
> assertion, and to all the rest of you for exhibiting my
> misinterpretation
> of fact.