This weeks topic focused on the connection between migrations throughout the US and the development of musical genres which followed. The primary migration discussed was the movement of Black and White Americans from rural areas to urban cities, typically after the Great Depression for industrial jobs (provided by the ever growing industrial complex). This migration led to another reactive migration known as “white flight” when White families fled to areas surrounding cities leading to the development of the commonly known suburban neighborhood. The nostalgia of those who left rural areas fed into the development of country music, which provided an over exaggerated depiction of life in the South. Causing a mixing of cultures, the music scene became increasingly integrated while the political and social dynamics of American life were not. Musicians such as Bob Wills transcended genres and songs and genres began to transcend race, such as Buck Owens and the Buckaroos which presented themselves as a white country band but their style indicated a Mexican influence. The integration within the music industry was hindered but the genre marketing, particularly the labeling of “race records”. A point that was brought up was whether or not Elvis Presley is a culprit of cultural appropriation for the songs he utilized without the original artists permission. Given the time period he was actively benefiting from the color of his skin and distributing this music to an audience the original musician couldn’t reach. Given that he continuously exploited songs by Black musicians and made little to no efforts regarding the civil rights movement at the time (indicating consideration for the culture he is actively exploiting) I would liken his action to cultural appropriation.

In the following class we discussed Miller’s book “Segregating Sound: Inventing Folk and Pop Music in the Age of Jim Crow” in which the author argues that we, the American public, have inherited the ways we think about and categorize Southern music due to the racial identities forced upon popular music. Genres such as the blues were identified as African American and music played by white Southerners became known as country music. By categorizing music by racial and ethnic identity, the music industry in America paralleled the social divided amongst different races perpetuating segregation. Miller argues that throughout this time period, someone’s musical understanding was categorized by who they were and what music they were able to access with this identity, “people’s music worlds were less defined by who they were—in terms of racial, class, or regional identity—than by what music they had the opportunity to hear” (p. 7). In the fourth chapter Miller discusses how many musicians recognized the benefit in encouraging stereotypes within the music industry. This was reflected by Muddy Waters, a musician we discussed in a previous lecture, who began to sing songs which exaggerated Southern living to cater to the nostalgia of the listening audience. Another artist which was mentioned in “Segregating Sound” was the artist “Lead Belly”, who was in prison for murder and was hired by the famous folklorist John Lomax as a driver and to play music at their college tour of folklore programs. John Lomax recognized him as a folk musician, with music untouched by commercial industry, and encouraged him to play into this idea by wearing “folk clothes” and performing barefoot, although he wanted to wear a suit.

While I understand the primary argument of “Segregated Sound” I believe that people were exposed to various kinds of music as a result of societal pressures and dynamics which was influenced by their race. If you were expected to like or listen to a certain kind of music this was a result of what your race was expected to or even allowed to purchase. Which is why the cultural appropriation of Black made songs by White artists allowed for the diverse exposure of different genres such as blues.