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2 pages/≈550 words
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Visual & Performing Arts
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:
Black Artist in 1950. Thinking About Rock and Roll as a Musical Melting Pot
Essay Instructions:
One of the dilemmas of popular music in general and rock and roll in particular is that many believed and have continued to believe that white artists merely absorbed black music and robbed black artists of the fame, recognition, and financial rewards that were rightfully theirs. Many black artists, especially in the 1950s, believed that they received “obscurity in exchange for their music.” Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup wrote three songs that were later recorded by Elvis Presley – “That's All Right,” “My Baby Left Me,” and “So Glad You're Mine ” – but Crudup received scant recognition for his songs and never received the royalties that should have been paid to him. Elvis went on to become one of the richest and most successful artists of all time and Arthur Crudup left the music business and finished his life as a bootlegger and farm laborer. Not surprisingly, Crudup believed that his only reward was to be that his songs “had made a white man famous.”
As recently as 2002, on the 25th anniversary of Elvis' death, Helen Kolawole, a black journalist and commentator on black issues, wrote in The Guardian, “As another celebration of a dead white hero winds up, in this hallowed Week of Elvis, shouldn't the entertainment industry hold its own truth and reconciliation commission? It needn't be a vehicle for retribution, just somewhere where tales of white appropriation of black culture, not to mention outright theft, can finally be laid to rest.” She went on to say, “The Elvis myth to this day clouds the true picture of rock‘n' roll and leaves its many originators without due recognition. So what is left for black people to celebrate? How he admirably borrowed our songs, attitude and dance moves?” (The complete article is available at http://www(dot)guardian(dot)co(dot)uk/music/2002/aug/15/elvis25yearson.elvispresley)
The question is “Did rock and roll unfairly rob black artists of their music, credit for their contribution, and their just due?” Is Helen Kolawole correct in claiming that Elvis — and by extension the other white rock and rollers of the 1950s — “cloud the true picture of rock'n'roll” at the expense of black artists? And is the claim that “rock and roll is black music” ultimately justifiable? -- A minimum 500 word Position Paper on “Thinking About Rock and Roll as a Musical Melting Pot” .
Please do these,
1) Assemble the evidence,
2) Examine the evidence
3)Carefully arrive to your opinion through reason.
4)Do not allow the writing of your opinion or argument to be random and unfocused.
5)Your papers must have shape and organization
Essay Sample Content Preview:
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Thinking About Rock and Roll as a Musical Melting Pot
Many people believe that rock ‘n` roll music was and still remain to be a genre of black people since 1950s. However, the white people learnt it, perfected on it and eventually made money from it. That`s why Elvis is much credited to be the pioneer of the black musicians. The history however argues that rock ‘n` roll music was initially known as rhythm and blues, and that it used to have a spiritual theme. Nonetheless, as Kolawole noted, the genre which was originally known to the blacks was later stolen by the whites who consequently gained out of it. This paper will seek to analyze how rock ‘n` roll eventually became a musical melting pot.
According to the black people the foul play in the musical arena, eventually shifted benefits and gains from them to the whites. This was worsened by the skewed media which crowned people like Elvis as the king of rock ‘n` roll and disregarded people like Crudup. Even after writing the songs such as "That`s All Right," "My Baby Left Me," and "So Glad You`re Mine," Elvis Presley who later recorded them received full benefits and recognitions for the songs. It is also unfortunate how the whites never minded of the black artists, and hence the huge gap in their social status. Elvis gained wealth and popularity in the world of music while Crudup eventually terminated his music career and ended up being a farm laborer and a bootlegger. For thi...
Tutor`s Name:
Course/Grade:
Date:
Thinking About Rock and Roll as a Musical Melting Pot
Many people believe that rock ‘n` roll music was and still remain to be a genre of black people since 1950s. However, the white people learnt it, perfected on it and eventually made money from it. That`s why Elvis is much credited to be the pioneer of the black musicians. The history however argues that rock ‘n` roll music was initially known as rhythm and blues, and that it used to have a spiritual theme. Nonetheless, as Kolawole noted, the genre which was originally known to the blacks was later stolen by the whites who consequently gained out of it. This paper will seek to analyze how rock ‘n` roll eventually became a musical melting pot.
According to the black people the foul play in the musical arena, eventually shifted benefits and gains from them to the whites. This was worsened by the skewed media which crowned people like Elvis as the king of rock ‘n` roll and disregarded people like Crudup. Even after writing the songs such as "That`s All Right," "My Baby Left Me," and "So Glad You`re Mine," Elvis Presley who later recorded them received full benefits and recognitions for the songs. It is also unfortunate how the whites never minded of the black artists, and hence the huge gap in their social status. Elvis gained wealth and popularity in the world of music while Crudup eventually terminated his music career and ended up being a farm laborer and a bootlegger. For thi...
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