[Announcer] Major funding for this program was provided by H-E-B.

Additional funding was provided by Joan and Herb Kelleher Foundation, Dominic Anderson, CFP, Muriel F. Siebert Foundation, The Plum Foundation, and by Fay L. And William L. Cowden Charitable Foundation.

(body slapping) (light piano jazz music) (light piano jazz music continues) (light piano jazz music continues) (light piano jazz music continues) Hi everyone, my name is Lauren.

And today we will be learning about the history of African American music.

And how music from the past connects to the music we listen to today.

I invited my aunt, who is a music history buff, to join us and help guide this discussion.

Let's give it up for Auntie Cynthia.

(children cheering) Hello, and thank you for the warm welcome!

Auntie, I have to be honest with you.

I love singing my favorite songs.

But I don't like having to learn the other stuff about music.

When you say, "Other stuff," are you referring to learning music history in your music class?

Ah, yes.

It is so boring.

And so much work.

I'd rather just listen and sing than have to read about music.

It's not as bad as you think.

There are a lot of connections between the music from the past and the music you listen to today.

I don't see how.

I like hip hop, R&B and pop.

My music teacher says that the music I listen to is a copycat of the works from back in the day.

He acts like the music me and my friends listen to isn't even real music.

But it is to me.

I'm sure your music teacher knows it's real music.

He just wants you to learn where it all came from.

Lauren, I want you to think about how African American music is like a quilt.

A quilt that goes on a bed?

A quilt that is a work of art.

(light piano music) Quilts are living history.

They contain layers with pieces of material stitched together.

Some quilters combine stories and culture from our rich history in this country.

And sew it all into one single quilt.

But what do quilts have to do with music?

Music does the same thing.

Where it connects the past to the present.

And blends various stories and cultures from history.

Studying history is too much to think about.

Come on, this will be fun.

We're going to cover the following music genres.

The music during the time of slavery.

Negro spirituals, the blues, ragtime, jazz, the Harlem Renaissance, gospel, the civil rights movement, soul and R&B, and hip hop.

You are going to have fun seeing how each genre is connected to the others just like a quilt.

Great!

Let's start with the hip hop and R&B genre!

I like it because they sing about real life stuff going on in the world.

I learned a lot about people like Ella Mai, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, and H.E.R.

Who?

H.E.R.

Her... Who?

No Auntie, it's H.E.R.

Spelled H, period, E, period, R, period.

H.E.R.

I didn't realize you were saying her name is H.E.R.

What does H.E.R.

even stand for?

Having Everything Revealed.

I don't know if I want to reveal everything.

(both chuckling) The hip hop and R&B genres are wonderful.

But why don't we start at the beginning with the music during the time of slavery.

(body slapping) It makes me sad to think about slavery.

I wish it never happened to our ancestors.

I understand.

It's hard to talk about.

But you must acknowledge all history.

No matter how bad it was.

Have you thought about the kind of music the slaves may have been playing and singing?

Hm... They probably sang a lot of sad songs.

(bongo music) Sometimes that was the case.

(bongo music) People who lived in various countries on the west coast on the continent of Africa were captured from their homeland and forced onto slave ships.

The slave traders brought some of them to the Southern states in the year 1619.

But the first enslaved Africans came to North America in 1526.

(bongo music) See, that's the part I don't like.

Can we move onto the next genre?

It's a tough subject to discuss because it wasn't a good time in history.

But it's our American history.

Fine.

(bongo music) [Cynthia] As a stolen race, their culture was stripped away from them.

Along with their families and languages.

(African cultural music) The slave owners even attempted to deprive them of their music.

Auntie, it's sad again!

I want you to focus on the music.

I'm going somewhere with this story, so keep on listening.

The culture from their homeland was not left behind.

(African cultural music) The slaves carried their traditions to America.

Music was a way to communicate with others.

[Lauren] How?

[Cynthia] The slaves came from different countries in Africa.

They didn't all speak the same language.

Singing was a way to find their family, or tribe members, on the slave ships.

Is music a language anyone can understand?

Music is something people can feel.

(gentle flute music) The slaves were able to share their sorrows with each other through songs on this long journey to America.

[Lauren] Did they play any instruments?

[Cynthia] Instruments such as their drums were forbidden by the slave owners for them to use.

Guess what they used instead?

[Lauren] What?

[Cynthia] Their main instrument was their voice.

They also used their whole bodies as a drum set to create music.

Oh, kind of like the "Hambone?"

♪ Hambone, hambone, have you heard ♪ (body tapping) ♪ Poppa's gonna buy me a mockingbird ♪ (body tapping) ♪ And if that mockingbird don't sing ♪ (body tapping) ♪ Poppa's gonna buy me a diamond ring ♪ (body tapping) ♪ And if that diamond ring don't shine ♪ (body tapping) ♪ Pappa's gonna bring it to the five and dime ♪ (body tapping) Hambone!

Hambone!

Oh, you got it!

Yes.

The same rhythms in Africa were created by slaves stamping feet, slapping legs, and patting on their bodies.

Eventually, they used the resources around them to make instruments with a West African heritage.

Like the banjo.

(banjo strumming) Think about how a drum has a skin stretched over wood.

In this case, a skin was stretched over a gourd, to the neck was strings was added.

And then ta-da!

Created the banjo.

(banjo strumming) Although enslaved, they kept their cultural traditions alive.

(banjo strumming) Isn't the banjo kind of like the guitar, but it sounds kind of twangy?

Twangy is a good word to describe the sound.

The banjo has fewer strings and sounds different because of the materials used in each instrument, as well as the shape.

Guess what else the slaves used as instruments?

Sticks on pots and pans to create the drums?

Oh, now you're thinking creatively.

Yes!

(musical tapping) They even used washboards to create rhythms.

[Lauren] I thought those were for washing clothes.

I saw them in a museum once.

They used those to play music?

They used what was available.

(bongo drum music) (flute music) Now I want you to realize, even though they had their music, the slaves had to keep the dancing, singing, and chanting all a secret from their slave owners.

(gentle cultural music) Some of the times when they found an opportunity to sing was during their long brutal days working from sunrise to sunset in cotton, tobacco, or sugar cane fields.

(African cultural music) [Lauren] What kinds of songs did they sing?

[Cynthia] They sang what was called work songs.

Which were sung in groups.

At times it helped to lift the spirits of those who were distraught.

(voices chanting) Call and response chants were used with the leader.

(voices chanting) Sometimes the songs were slow and sad.

(voices chanting) Other times they were joyful.

(voices chanting) (instrument clattering) I bet the music gave them lots of hope.

Exactly.

Do you have a different impression of the music during the time of slavery?

Yes.

I understand that even though it wasn't a good part of our history, the slaves created a way to work, communicate, and make it through the difficult days.

It really is a lot like how we use music today.

(gentle piano jazz) Auntie, I get so nervous in front of those cameras.

I hope my voice doesn't crack when the director says, "Lights, camera, action!"

It's okay to have some nervous energy.

Let's get your voice warmed up.

Sing, "Swing low, sweet chariot."

♪ Swing low ♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪ Coming for you to carry me home ♪ ♪ Sweet low, sweet chariot ♪ Coming for you to carry me home ♪ Your singing is excellent.

Did you know the song is called a Negro spiritual?

♪ Lord, help me Negro spirituals have survived for over 400 years.

These songs were an oral tradition.

Meaning they were passed from generation to generation without being written down.

[Lauren] Since they're called spirituals, does that make them religious songs?

[Cynthia] Yes.

Christianity spread throughout the slave population because it was the religion of their masters.

They sang to express their new faith as well as their suffering.

Slaves were not allowed to read the Bible.

What they did instead is memorize biblical stories they heard and translated them into songs.

The stories gave them hope about freedom from slavery.

And their lives getting better one day.

Just like it did for people held in bondage in the Bible.

The songs strengthened their spirits.

As Frederick Douglas said, "The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart."

Some spirituals were coded messages.

The slaves communicated through singing so their owners wouldn't know they were planning secret meetings, protesting slavery, or attempts to escape to freedom.

♪ I, looked over Jordan ♪ And what did I see [Cynthia] Are you familiar with the Underground Railroad?

[Lauren] The Underground Railroad was a way for slaves to escape to freedom.

[Cynthia] Sometimes they had to walk through swamp water full of snakes and alligators to keep those who pursued them with dogs from sniffing their scent.

There is no way I would get in the water where I could be eaten, or attacked, by an animal.

Remember they had to if they wanted to escape.

This is why one of the songs is called, "Wade in the Water."

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was also a coded message in which some people have said the slaves wanted the abolitionists who were up north to swing low into the Southern states and carry them to freedom.

It has also been said the song gave them hope they would eventually find comfort in heaven carried home by angels away from slavery.

Like being in a chariot.

♪ Sweet chariot ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ Swing low, low, low ♪ Sweet chariot ♪ Coming for to carry me home (gentle piano music) I didn't even know I was singing such an old song with those kinds of messages in them.

What's an abolitionist?

[Cynthia] Abolitionists believed slavery was wrong and worked together to end it.

Famous abolitionists were Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, James Birney, Sajourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Angelina and Sarah Grimke.

♪ No more shall they in bondage toil ♪ ♪ Let my people go [Lauren] What about the song, "Go Down Moses?"

Is that a Negro spiritual, too?

[Cynthia] It was one of the codified songs referencing Pharaoh in the Bible.

And how God used Moses to set the Israelites free.

Harriet Tubman, also called Moses, used to sing it to identify herself to slaves wanting to flee North along the Underground Railroad.

Just like Moses helped Israelites escape.

♪ Tell old Pharaoh ♪ To let my people go ♪ Go down Moses [Lauren] Did slaves stop singing Negro spirituals after they were free?

At one point most former slaves wanted to distance themselves from the music associated with their captivity.

(gentle music) However, a rebirth of spirituals emerged in the 1870s.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers, an acapella choir of African American men and women at Fisk University in Tennessee, sang around the world to introduce negro spirituals to a wider audience and raise funds for their school, which was built to educate those who had been enslaved.

Collections of Negro spirituals and plantation songs were published.

(gentle piano music) Grandma went to Fisk.

Oh, Auntie, I'm learning so much from you.

It's so cool how Negro spirituals have messages in them that helped slaves escape to freedom.

There have been over 6,000 spirituals identified of which many are still sung today.

(gentle piano music) (upbeat bluesy guitar music) Are you familiar with the word emancipation?

(gentle piano music) Oh, I know all about emancipation.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free some slaves from certain states during the Civil War.

I learned that in history class.

(bluesy piano music) [Cynthia] Slavery was abolished in the United States forever in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

(church bells ringing) (twangy guitar strumming) This was the timeframe when new musical styles were developed.

Including the blues, ragtime, and jazz.

The blues genre was born in the South in the late 1800s.

This was the kind of music recognizing not only the pain of injustice, but also lost love.

The musicians wrote about tough times and overcoming a broken heart.

♪ Do you remember any natural feeling ♪ ♪ I'm getting back ♪ Lord, I'm just trying to get back ♪ ♪ I'm trying to get back, well it's really good ♪ ♪ Give me back my natural feeling ♪ Auntie, can I tell you something special?

You can talk to me about anything.

Well, I wrote a song.

You did?

What prompted you to write a song?

Well, there's this boy at school who I like.

I think about him a lot, so I wrote a song about him.

(arrowing whistling) Is that weird?

No, not at all.

People write songs about who they love all the time.

Auntie, I do not love him.

I just like him.

I have something else to tell you.

And what would that be?

Well, my ex-boyfriend made fun of me for being a dancing tree in my last musical.

So I broke up with him and then wrote a song about it.

Hmpf, what are you doing with a boyfriend?

You're growing up way too fast for me.

Not a boyfriend, boyfriend.

We just like ate lunch together in the cafeteria.

We didn't kiss or anything like that.

(Cynthia exhaling) Don't worry, Auntie.

So anyways, were the songs I wrote like the blues?

(trumpet wailing) It all depends on what they sound like.

(bluesy trumpet wailing) The blues are described by blue notes played or sung, flattened in relation to a major scale.

(bluesy trumpet wailing) A musical form of blues, which is the most common, is the 12-bar blues.

(bluesy trumpet wailing) What are blue notes?

(bluesy trumpet wailing) [Cynthia] It's when a note is played at a pitch different from standard.

Both a major scale and a minor scale are used.

And the note is bent in tone slightly.

It mimics certain instruments like the harmonica, guitar, or fiddle.

What did you mean by 12-bar blues?

(blues guitar strumming) [Cynthia] The 12-bar blues concept is a reference to the number of musical bars, or measures, in some blues songs.

The oral tradition of African music is tied into field hollers and work songs.

The blues is connected to this style of singing.

A field holler?

The foundation of field hollers comes from while slaves were working on plantations.

[Harden] This is a farm song made up between the boys plowing on two, or more, plantations.

Where one would holler "High-low," and the other one would answer with the second "High-low."

And that would be a signal for knocking off time for noon, for dinner.

♪ This old mule is cotton too full ♪ ♪ I can't get the saddle on this old mule ♪ ♪ High-low, high-low ♪ Fine, you're coming over ♪ Cotton needs plowing so bad [Cynthia] The music from the plantation culture even influenced the music sung by prisoners sentenced to hard labor on the railroad chain gangs, or industrial work.

[Lauren] I guess they sang some pretty sad songs like the blues, huh?

[Cynthia] The blues dealt with emotions, but mainly protests.

And the sorrows of ordinary people.

(bluesy piano music) Who was the first person to write a blues song?

People were singing the blues long before ever being recorded.

A songwriter named H. Franklin "Baby" Seals had the first published blues song.

Another songwriter by the name of W.C.

Handy, wrote a song called "St.

Louis Blues."

(bluesy piano music) It was recorded and popularized the blues into mainstream American music.

He was called the Father of the Blues.

Who were some of the famous women who sang the blues?

[Cynthia] Some of the early female blues singers to have recordings were Ma Rainey, who was known as the Mother of the Blues.

And Bessie Smith, who earned the title, Empress of the Blues.

I would love to be called an empress.

By the way, guess who was the Queen of Blues?

Who was that?

[Lauren] Her name was Koko Taylor.

And she had more of Chicago blues style.

[Cynthia] That's right.

And you can't talk about the blues without mentioning T-Bone Walker and B.B.

King from Mississippi with his guitar he named Lucille.

(bluesy piano music) The blues moved from the south up through St.

Louis, Detroit, Kansas City, and Chicago.

Then it spread all over the country.

The blues was the foundation for jazz.

As well as the main source for rock and roll.

Rhythm and blues, otherwise known as R&B, and country music.

The influence spread across cultures.

And had a major impact on the music you still hear today.

(ragtime piano music) (piano music playing) Guess what!

What?

My dad challenged me to play "The Entertainer."

The long version.

Oh, really?

What a great challenge.

He told me that if I could play the entire song without messing up, he's going to give me a crisp (cash registering dinging) $100 bill.

Whoa!

The stakes are high.

I can do it.

I just have to practice some more.

("The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin) [Cynthia] "The Entertainer" is a fun song to learn.

The composer was an African American man named Scott Joplin.

And is said to be born in Texas into a musical family.

He received formal music training from a German immigrant and learned from church hymns.

His sophisticated music combined the African American tradition with the European style.

Joplin was the king of ragtime.

And wrote over 100 original ragtime pieces.

He dreamed of conquering the opera stage.

And wrote an opera called "Treemonisha."

And another called "A Guest of Honor."

He even wrote a ballet.

[Lauren] Why do they call the music ragtime?

Ragtime has a unique syncopated sound.

Which is a bouncy, off-beat rhythm, giving it a ragged style.

Oh, it makes sense when I think about "The Entertainer."

My hands bounce when I play it.

(ragtime piano music) [Cynthia] Ragtime began in the 1890s in the African American communities of St.

Louis.

And was influenced by minstrel show songs, African American banjo styles, Euro American music, and cake walk dance rhythms from slavery days.

As well as marching band music.

Eventually it appealed to both white and Black audiences.

The piano was the main instrument played in ragtime music.

But there was also brass instruments and the banjo.

[Lauren] So why did ragtime go away?

[Cynthia] The syncopated ragtime style lost its popularity with the rise of improvised swing rhythm of jazz.

(ragtime piano music) (jazzy music) Hey, Auntie.

My teacher just played a song for my class called "Sticks."

What a great song to listen to.

It's by Cannonball Adderley.

He was a prominent and popular sax player during the bop era of jazz.

Why was his name Cannonball?

It had something to do with his large appetite, as well as the shape of his body.

Some musicians have the most unique nicknames.

With fascinating stories behind them.

For example, Louis Armstrong, also called Louie, had nicknames like Pops, and Satchmo.

Those are funny nicknames.

Who was Louis Armstrong?

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong was the first great influencer in jazz.

As a trumpet player and singer from New Orleans.

(jazz trumpet music) He joined a band in Chicago.

And eventually started his own band.

Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, which later became his Hot Seven.

And they made over 80 recordings together.

The way he improvised melodies changed the course of jazz when he transformed it to a soloist art from ensemble music.

He popularized wordless scat singing.

Not only that, he also had a role on Broadway in "Ain't Misbehavin.'"

What made him so important in African American music history, though?

(jazz trumpet music) Louis Armstrong broke down racial barriers for African Americans.

His music changed the concept of what was American popular music.

His influence had effects on singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Bing Crosby.

"Time Magazine" featured him as one of the 20 most influential Americans of all time.

Confession time.

Even though I'm in music class, I don't know a lot about how jazz started.

[Cynthia] Jazz started in New Orleans.

and was heavily influenced by African dance and drumming where it got its rhythm and expressive ways of playing instruments.

And Europe, where it got its harmony in instruments like the saxophone, trumpet and piano.

Jazz is a language where thoughts, ideas and emotions are all communicated.

It is the music of freedom.

Think about how when you have a conversation with your friends, you don't plan ahead of time what you will say.

So jazz is just like talking to each other?

I get the conversation part, but what about improvisation?

Improvisation is one of the most defining features of jazz.

It's where a musician makes up the music as they go along.

A group of musicians will have certain parts they play together.

Perhaps from printed music.

And then they improvise solos.

(jazz band music) (drum solo) [Lauren] I learned jazz musicians invented the drum set.

That is so cool.

And words like "Cool" and "Hip" are terms associated with jazz.

(drum solo) Oh wow!

Are there different styles of jazz?

Let's see.

You had swing music, which evolved naturally from the jazz and blues of New Orleans, Kansas City, and Chicago.

This style included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Sidney Bechet, who was the undisputed king of the soprano saxophone.

And I better mention big band jazz.

In which there was Count Basie.

Later in life he was the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award in 1958.

Here's an interesting fact for you.

One of the best all-female jazz bands during the big band era in the 1940s, was a group called the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

Lead by Anna Mae Winburn.

These women were the first integrated all-women's band in the United States and true pioneers of the music of their time.

Other styles included bebop, which blossomed in the 1940s, and was invented by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Some other styles included scatting, Latin and Afro Cuban jazz, cool jazz, and contemporary jazz.

As well as some other styles.

[Lauren] Who started jazz?

[Cynthia] The founding father of jazz was a man named Buddy Bolden who played the cornet.

I bet if I played the saxophone back in the day, I would've played at some pretty cool places in San Antonio.

You probably would've played at this venue on the east side of town called the Key Hole Club.

Everyone used to go to dance and listen to jazz bands who came into town for gigs.

The Key Hole Club became the first integrated night club in the South.

Venues like the Eastwood Country Club during the chitlin circuit era were considered safe for African American performers.

(trombone wailing) By the way, in 1946, a famous jazz singer named Ella Fitzgerald, along with Dizzy Gillespie performed here at the Carver Community Cultural Center.

It was the Library Auditorium at the time.

(gentle piano music) Several well-known singers from around the country performed here because other venues were segregated in the city.

This was a place where African Americans could come to see them.

That's really cool.

Who's Ella Fitzgerald?

[Cynthia] Ella Fitzgerald was the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella.

She was the first African American woman to receive a Grammy Award in 1958.

She had the unique ability to mimic certain instruments in the form of scatting.

Which became her signature technique.

What exactly is scatting?

You mentioned it when you were talking about Louis Armstrong.

Scatting is the improvisation of melodies and rhythms using their voices as instruments without really saying any words.

♪ Skiddle-Boop-Boop-Dah-De-Dah One day I'm gonna learn how to scat.

♪ Ba-Bop-Bop-Bada-Do-Dah ♪ Scooby-Dee-Dah-Dooby-De (Cynthia laughing) I sound like I'm singing "Scooby Do" when I try to scat.

Auntie, you sound silly.

Hey, let's try something.

Repeat after me.

Bah-bah-do-de-wha.

Bah-bah-do-de-wha.

♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Do ♪ Bah-Be-Do-Dah-Do ♪ Bah-Be-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Do ♪ Do-Do-do ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Bah-Do-De-Wha ♪ Bah-Be-Do-Dah-Wha (snare drum playing) Okay.

♪ Bah, bah, bah, do, wha ♪ Skiddle-Boop-Boop-Bah-Dah-Dah-Dl ♪ ♪ Oh, bah-bah-bah-do-op (snare drum playing) (Cynthia chuckling) I think we got it.

Call me Lady Lauren, I'm a scatter now.

(snare drum playing) (jazzy piano playing) Guess what kind of dancing I really wanna learn how to do?

What would that be?

Well, I saw this movie called "Hellzapoppin.'"

And they did this dance called The Lindy Hop.

(jazzy music playing) My partner would spin me around, turn me upside down, and pull me through their legs.

I would end the dance in the splits.

Oh wow, sounds like a lot of fun.

It's the kind of dancing they did during the Harlem Renaissance.

Do you remember how we talked about the ragtime period?

It was a precursor to a movement called the Harlem Renaissance during the early 1900s.

Renaissance sounds sophisticated.

I know it has something to do with the rebirth of culture and art.

[Cynthia] The Harlem Renaissance was the beginning of the flowering and celebration of African American culture in an artistic movement.

It began in Harlem, and bubbled over to spread throughout the country with the swing era.

(jazzy piano music) From the beginning of the 1900s, and through the 1970s, millions of African Americans migrated from the South to not only New York, but Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and other large cities in northern, mid-western, and western states.

This is what is referred to as the Great Migration.

(dramatic piano music) [Lauren] Why did so many African Americans move from the South?

[Cynthia] They went after the promise of jobs and a better life.

(jazz band music) Is the Harlem Renaissance the time when singers and dancers would dress up in fancy clothes?

Exactly!

(jazz band music) A new image of performers emerged.

Highlighting education and affluence in an explosion of creativity as writers, scholars, musicians and dancers.

(jazz band music) Bands were playing brass instruments along with someone on the piano, bass and drums.

Those were all a part of the new sound of African American music.

Which also had an impact on all American culture.

Harlem was a place where there were big bands lead by people like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.

Some of the singers who were women included Sarah Vaughan, Billy Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, just to name a few.

The Cotton Club was one of the places in Harlem where the musicians performed.

People gathered for music, singing and dancing.

I would've loved being able to sing and dance in a musical during the Harlem Renaissance.

I wanna dress up and perform just like they did.

(old-timey music) [Cynthia] The first major production written and performed entirely by African Americans was named "Shuffle Along."

Composed by Eubie Blake with lyrics by Noble Sissle.

The production occurred during the Harlem Renaissance period.

It was a comedy that united Black and white audiences by introducing an all-Black cast, Black music, and entertainment.

This musical brought jazz to Broadway.

And contributed to the desegregation of theaters.

(old-timey music) (gospel piano music) Auntie, sometimes I feel sad.

Tell me more about what makes you sad?

Well, my best friend makes me wanna stop being her friend sometimes.

Whenever we try out or audition for a musical, she always gets to be the star.

I think it's because I'm not good enough and that she's prettier than me.

Niecey, thinking those kind of thoughts won't help you be your best self.

(gentle piano music) You are beautiful and talented.

Don't you let anyone make you think you are not.

So what do you do to cheer yourself up when you feel down?

(gentle piano music) Well, I play my favorite gospel songs.

It helps me get my mind right for the day.

And it makes me feel good.

Isn't gospel music the same as the Negro spirituals Both are religious songs.

But gospel has jazz rhythms and blues singing incorporated.

There may be a call and response interaction, group singing, musical instruments like the piano, organ, drums, tambourines, or guitar.

There are complex rhythms and lots of movement.

It's expressive and unique.

Which is different from spirituals or church hymns.

Many of the songs came from the Bible.

And focus on the first four books of the New Testament, which are the gospels.

Father of Gospel, Thomas Dorsey, was a key figure in the development of the gospel tradition beginning in 1932.

He was the one who came up with the phrase, "Gospel music."

His song, "Precious Lord," became a favorite of Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

♪ Take my hand ♪ Lead, lead me home ♪ Help me stand ♪ I am tired ♪ I am weak ♪ I'm worn ♪ Through the storm ♪ Through the night ♪ Lead me on ♪ To the light (lively music) [Cynthia] Modern gospel came during the civil rights era.

Reverend James Cleveland was revered as the King of Gospel.

And Mahalia Jackson was referred to as the Queen of Gospel.

The youth choir that I'm in at church sings a lot of songs by Kirk Franklin.

Do you see how gospel music extended beyond religious borders and blended into other types of music?

Yeah, sometimes because of the beat, I forget I'm even listening to gospel music until I listen to the lyrics.

♪ I tell the Lord, come on in ♪ Let my little 'ole soul oo-oo-oo yeah ♪ ♪ Let 'ole me ♪ I gotta have your spirit [Cynthia] The Black church left a major mark on mainstream music.

The rock and roll sound and emotion can be traced all the way back to gospel music.

Gospel music makes us feel good.

(upbeat gospel music) (gentle organ music) You know when I think about music, I like how it makes me feel inspired.

Even though there're so many bad things going on in the world.

Sometimes we need to be reminded through music to keep pushing forward, take the next step and not give up.

Have you heard the song "Rise Up" by Andra Day?

I tear up every time I hear this children's choir out of Baltimore sing it.

♪ Rise up ♪ High like the waves I'll rise up ♪ ♪ In spite of the ache I like it because it makes me feel like I can move mountains and get through anything.

It's the kind of music that carries on the message of the Civil Rights Movement.

Wasn't the Civil Rights Movement when Black people had to fight for equal rights?

I learned a lot about Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and John Lewis.

(gentle music) [Cynthia] There were a lot of different people who fought to outlaw racial discrimination against African Americans, gain voting rights and end racial segregation in the United States.

(gentle music) An expression of independence culturally, politically and socially was demonstrated in this quest for freedom through the way Black people dress with soul, and wore their hair naturally.

The Black is Beautiful Movement was a pivotal moment that embraced heritage and self-pride.

(gentle music) This expression of empowerment along with the music, propelled the community forward to endure in the pursuit of liberation.

(upbeat music) Music was spiritual support and a way to express how African Americans were feeling.

♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪ I do believe ♪ That we shall overcome ♪ Someday ♪ We shall live in peace ♪ We shall live in peace ♪ We shall live in peace ♪ Someday "We Shall Overcome" became a key anthem during the Civil Rights Movement.

It was a song of promise which became a song of protest.

What about the song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing?"

♪ Lift every voice and sing ♪ Till earth and heaven ring ♪ Ring with the harmony of [Lauren] It was originally written as a poem by James Walden Johnson.

And then set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, in 1899.

[Cynthia] This song speaks to both the difficulties African Americans faced, as well as affirms our rightful place in the United States.

♪ is one ♪ Let us march until [Cynthia] It is often called "The Black National Anthem."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, otherwise known as the NAACP, adopted it as its official song.

Who were some of the singers during the Civil Rights Movement?

Nina Simone was a folk singer and pianist during this time who left quite an impression on the world of activism through her music.

Others who expressed their feelings about race relations through gospel, spiritual, and soul music included the Freedom Singers, Mavis Staples, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and many other talented musicians.

What about people like Andra Day, John Legend and Common, who sing about freedom in my generation?

Even to this day musicians create music to capture the pursuit of freedom.

The music is still relevant and gives us hope.

The music from the Civil Rights era makes me feel strong and proud.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) What music genre comes next?

The soul music genre.

Perfect.

Soul music originated from the sound of gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz.

Everything we've already discussed.

How so?

Soul music incorporated its free-flowing style.

Like gospel music where the songs are up-tempo and joyful.

Other songs are slow and express a yearning for God's love.

Ray Charles was an architect of soul music.

And James Brown was the Godfather of Soul.

There was also Sam Cooke, who some say, was the man who invented soul.

All of these singers were instrumental in changing gospel songs into secular music.

In 1959, Barry Gordy started Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan.

Which was the first label with the focus on African American performers.

Mom and dad had a "Soul Train" 70s party where they dressed up and danced in the "Soul Train" line.

Oh, you have to say it like this.

The "Soul Train!"

The "Soul Train!"

(both laughing) We used to watch "Soul Train" to learn the dance moves.

I think I've still got it from back in the day.

Hey!

(Lauren chuckling) Go, Auntie!

(upbeat music) Let's do "The Bump."

All right, come on.

Mm, mm.

Whoa!

(both laughing) Woo!

Soul music and the dancing never gets old for people of all ethnicities and ages.

Mom and dad have The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and The Jackson 5 in their album collection.

(upbeat music) Talk about ancient!

Hey, I'm older than your mom.

We are not ancient.

I still have my albums, too.

We stream music now, Auntie.

I know, smarty pants.

Do you know that Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul?

She most certainly was.

♪ I'm just a link in your chain ♪ ♪ You got me where you want me ♪ I ain't nothing but your fool ♪ ♪ You treated me mean ♪ And oh, you treated me cruel ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ Chain, chain, chain ♪ Chain, chain, chain ♪ Chain, chain, chain ♪ Chain, chain, chain When we went on vacation to Memphis, we visited the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Stax Records produced deep soul with singers like Otis Redding, Issac Hayes, and The Staple Singers.

Another famous singer from Tennessee is Tina Turner.

She moved from R&B, soul and the blues, to building the foundation of the rock genre.

Becoming the Queen of Rock and Roll.

(lively music) [Lauren] I like Whitney Houston because she was the Queen of Pop.

[Cynthia] And Michael Jackson was the King of Pop.

And Prince, he was a musical genius.

Who not only could sing and dance, but he was phenomenal on the piano and guitar.

Oh, and I better mention Jimi Hendrix.

Who was the greatest instrumentalist in the history of pop and rock.

And was influenced by R&B, the blues, and jazz.

We would be here all day trying to name all of the talented performers.

So how does soul music compare to R&B?

In the 1940s, rhythm and blues, R&B, replaced the term "Race music."

Which was how radio stations referred to records marketed to African Americans.

Musicians didn't use R&B to describe their music.

I see.

I thought there was a difference.

The music overlaps.

R&B combined gospel, jazz and the blues.

There are parts of soul, funk and hip hop all in what is contemporary R&B.

Funk?

That's a funny name.

Funk is slightly different because of the more distinctive sound with the heavy beat and a strong electric baseline.

We wanted the bass players to make it funky.

I'm sure you've heard music by George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, right?

Yeah, my dad likes the song "Atomic Dog" by them.

That song is funky.

(chuckling) Wonderful bands incorporated funk, soul, R&B and pop into their sound.

Like my favorite, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sister Sledge, The Commodores, The Isley Brothers, and many other talented groups.

I still have my cassettes of all of their music.

Aren't cassettes those little plastic things that you wind up with a pencil if they get all tangled up?

(chuckling) Thank goodness we don't have those anymore.

By the way, thank you for taking me to see that New Edition concert.

People both in your generation and mine like their music.

Music is a timeless art.

Another one of my favorites is Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds.

He's won 12 Grammys.

I love Alicia Keys because she can play the piano and sing.

Remember how we talked about the layers in a quilt?

There are many sub-genres of soul in R&B music.

You can do some research on disco, neo soul, new jack swing, pop and house music.

We haven't even mentioned all the R&B singers I listen to today.

There's so much music out there.

(upbeat music) (hip hop music) Okay, Auntie.

Now it's my turn to tell you all in know about hip hop music.

You can teach me this time.

(air whoosh) [Lauren] Hip hop started in the 1970s in New York.

The rappers came up with lyrics about what was going on in their reality and neighborhood.

(hip hop music) Instead of singing, rappers rapped over music played by DJs who created beats.

They told poetic stories about their struggles in a way that people could relate to.

Break dancing became popular during this time.

And hip hop even affects the way people dress.

Hip hop is a lifestyle loved all around the world.

The Father of Rap was Gil Scott-Heron.

Who was a spoken word performer.

And the first rap album was created by The Sugarhill Gang, called "Rappers Delight."

Which was 15 minutes long.

Mom and dad always play that song when they're trying to go down memory lane and trying to connect with me.

It is so long.

♪ I say a hip hop Stop!

Stop, please!

Sorry.

Please continue.

(hip hop music) [Lauren] There used to be rap battles in which rappers would compete freestyle against each other.

They would rap with rhymes in front of an audience.

♪ Avant-garde be my brush stroke ♪ ♪ Tertiary metaphor ♪ Slather on your canvas ♪ You're loving how my paint force ♪ ♪ Primary secondary the mind sees prisms ♪ ♪ Illuminate the Tell me, who were some of the first female rappers who shaped hip hop?

The first female solo rapper to release an album was M.C.

Lyte.

She followed in the footsteps of Sha-Rock, the first female M.C.

to record on vinyl.

There are also others like Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and Salt-N-Pepa.

I prefer more of an alternative style of hip hop and neo soul, with singers such as Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu.

I like them, too, because they're poetic.

That's why I like Tupac.

Because he was a rapper and a poet.

The common thread is deep, insightful messages.

Fused by beats, rhythms and rhymes.

♪ And I talked to the river ♪ She answered me in waves Why is it whenever I hear a new hip hop song, mom and dad say that they stole that beat from back in the day?

What you're referring to is called Sampling.

Many hip hop artists sample music from the past to help people connect.

Oh, I get it.

Sampling helps connect young people with older people around music.

What a great way to look at it.

As a lifestyle, hip hop has extended through multiple generations.

[Lauren] Hip hop and African American music have influenced people of all races.

I'll have to listen to the music on your playlist if you listen to the music on mine.

Hm... Deal.

(upbeat music) Well Niecey, I hope you and your audience have learned something new about African American music.

Boy, did I. I never knew that music from back then connects to the music I listen to.

The origination of beats and rhythms make sense to me now.

I now understand how the music that we talked about is like a quilt.

(upbeat music) The music during slavery times, Negro spirituals, the blues, ragtime, jazz, Harlem Renaissance, gospel, civil rights, soul, R&B and hip hop all come together.

(upbeat music) Auntie, learning about my ancestors through music makes me feel connected to all of them.

You are a part of the quilt.

I'm glad you've made the connection between the past and the present, which includes yourself.

What a musical journey we've had.

If I'm a part of the quilt, then so is everyone in my audience.

We are all making history together.

(poetic piano music) (snare drums) (blues band music) ♪ Oh when the saints ♪ Go marching in ♪ Oh when the saints go marching in ♪ ♪ Oh how I want to be in that number ♪ [Announcer] Major funding for this program was provided by H-E-B.

Additional funding was provided by Joan and Herb Kelleher Foundation, Dominic Anderson, CFP, Muriel F. Siebert Foundation, the Plum Foundation, and by Fay L. And William L. Cowden Charitable Foundation.

(bright piano music) (upbeat music)