With my observant eyes and sensitive ears, I've noticed when it comes to genres of American popular music, blacks and whites sing the same stuff. If a teeny white boy band/singer and a teeny black boy band/singer sing the same type of music, the white group is called "pop" and the black group is called "R&B". If it's a 50's black singer/group that sings the same stuff as a 50's white/singer group, the black band is called "R&B" and the white band is called "rock n' roll" or "rockabilly". If a country black man and a country white man sing the same type of music, the black man is called "blues" and the white man is called "country". And yeah, I know sometimes blues is just blues, but many so-called black "blues" singers are really just black guys singing country.
2006-12-13 05:17:43 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music
Thumbs down? Whoa...looks like someone's offended by the truth!
2006-12-13 05:27:03 · update #1
in the case of "pop" vs "r&b", you are probably right. chris brown, usher are called r&b while what justin timberlake does is "pop". i have listened to the new justin timberlake album in its entirety. Now if you know anything about black music then you will know what im talking about when i say that j.t. is basically a white guy singing in the style of prince and micheal jackson. If you dont belive me, play princes' last cd and play micheal jackson's invincible cd, then play timberlake's new stuff. The influence is overwhelming.
As for the country vs blues thing. All American music whether it be country, blues, jazz, rock, gospel, r&b, has the same common roots. I learned this when i took a college class on the history of jazz. This is why country sounds so much like blues and vice versa. Blues singers like to sing about hard times and life's trials and tribulations. Country singers like to sing about hardtimes and heartbreak-- same stuff as blues guys.
The reason why society keeps applying different names to the same basic music is because both black people and white people like to claim something as thier own when really all artists, both black and white are guilty of "borrowing" from artists of the other. As an example run a search for an old song called
"People get ready". See how many claim credit for the song.
2006-12-13 05:48:06 · answer #1 · answered by southca49er 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably because race is a huge part of American culture. You have to remember the fact that jazz, the first truly American classical music, is the product of black culture is a source of pride for many blacks. At a time when the races were segregated and blacks as a class had no rights, here was the triumph of the underdog: A genre of music through which they could excel. That's at least one part of it.
The other part is in how records are marketed (the music industry isn't immune to history either). In the 60's the music industry marketed Wilson Pickett and the Rolling Stones to different audiences even though they aren't too far from each other musically. That particular business practice is still happening today, even though more white people buy hip-hop records than blacks and rock n' roll has always had (and always will have) black musicians.
Not to mention, you have tons of music critics who aren't blind to race. If a white artist makes black music, they get criticized for it by both black and white music critics. If a black artist makes rock n' roll they get (depending on the critic) either criticized for it (i.e. Lenny Kravitz) or praised for their genius (i.e. Prince).
2006-12-13 13:56:30 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. Rock 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Art forms are often an expression of the culture they take place in. Since this segregation / classification is taking place in American culture presently, one must wonder if we do not STILL live in an unspoken, segregated culture in this "modern" age.
Thanks for bringing light to this... the blues / country comparison was very thought-provoking. Perhaps "country" music should be reclassified as "white blues music" or "white blues".
A great "jazz" singer from my hometown once responded to me telling her I want to play "jazzier" music...
Jazz.. JAZZ! .... RazzamaTAZZ... It's all BLACK.
Jazz was just a BLACK label of me performing EVERYONE's music. -Mary Alice Brown (Erie, PA)
2006-12-13 13:59:10 · answer #3 · answered by Jape Coyote 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ah .. have you Not heard of Cowboy Troy ? black cowboy Country Singer !! He is Classified as Country.
2006-12-13 13:27:39 · answer #4 · answered by lilredhead 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because people are ignorant.
2006-12-13 13:26:56 · answer #5 · answered by jeaecynota 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
i do not see it as classified by race
2006-12-13 13:37:15 · answer #6 · answered by cead 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think you're paranoid
2006-12-13 13:29:36 · answer #7 · answered by Allen 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋