[Dixielandjazz] Protest Songs

[Steve Barbone]

Don Mopsick wrote (polite snip)

> The fact was that pre-WWII black performers such as
> Armstrong could never hope to express the reality of Jim Crow in song,
> successful "protest" songs were far in the future.
> 
> One exception: Andy Razaf cleverly disguised Jim Crow reality in "Black and
> Blue," which because of an Armstrong recording came to be known as the first
> "protest" song (the song has a very interesting genesis, see "Black and
> Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf" by Barry Singer, Foreword by Bobby
> Short, ISBN 0-02-872395-3). Only much later in 1940 could Billie Holiday
> address the "disconnect" problem directly with "Strange Fruit," a big hit at
> the liberal Caf? Society about lynching.

The first exception may well be "That's Why They Call Me Shine" written in
1910 for the black theater circuit, and made famous again by Armstrong in
the 1920s, before Black & Blue was written.

It will take some digging for interested parties to find out about
"signifying" and the full story behind the song, and its original lyrics but
is well worth the effort.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone