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Black History Month - Sensational Women of Music!
In celebration of Black History Month, let’s take a look at some of the remarkable women of colour who have made their mark on music history.
Historically, black women have been at the forefront of many fields including science, literature, politics and technology. They have also played a major role within the arts, including across all genres of music. We tend to hear more about influential men in the music world but there are many women who have made their own unique mark in music too. Here is a selection of a few of these truly inspirational women.
Empress of The Blues
In the 1920s and 1930s, Bessie Smith was the most admired female blues singer and continues to be cited as a major influence for blues and jazz vocalists. She worked for a period of time with Ma Rainey (known as the Mother of The Blues) before establishing herself as a solo performer.
In 1929 Bessie appeared and sang in the film “St Louis Blues”:
Let The Music Play - Support Your Local Venues and Musicians!
This blog was originally posted in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, but its themes of the downgrading of the arts and the threat to the survival of grassroots music venues remains equally relevant today.
Now I’m not normally one to rant. Actually, scratch that. I’m totally one to rant. It’s just not usually immortalised in print. This week, however, I read something that made me alternate between head-scratching incredulity and outright indignation.
Apparently, someone who likes surveys asked a lot of people to rank professions in order of usefulness during these “unprecedented times”. Unsurprisingly, frontline medics and other key workers topped the list, and rightly so. At the other end (the “not really very useful at all”, or “chocolate teapot” end?) artists, actors and musicians.
This struck me as rather unfair.
“Well, that’s rather unfair”, I said. I may have said some other words as well, but those I definitely do not want immortalised in print!
Having personally worked in two of these professions, I suppose accusations could be levelled that I would say that, wouldn’t I? Fair point, well made.
However, I challenge anyone to tell me that during lockdown they have listened to no music, watched no television, binged on zero boxsets and spent no hours chilling with Netflix - oh wait, that last one means something else, doesn’t it?
“Ode To Billy Joe”, The Twin Peaks Of Songs
February is Storytelling Month and, in honour of this, we are taking a look at the art of storytelling in song. “Ode to Billy Joe” was released as a single by Bobbie Gentry in 1967, and it is a spine-tingling example of mystery storytelling at its very best.
Bobbie Gentry matched her story writing with her vocal storytelling abilities - it is her performance of the song that really brings the story to life.
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A Cat’s Eye View
Mummy is a little bit stressed.
We know this because we are highly sensitive animals, completely attuned to her every mood; and because, this morning, she tried to put cherry tomatoes in her porridge.
This is because she has a ‘gig’. We’re not sure what that is exactly. Porshy thinks it might be a bit like a visit to the vet- kind of scary beforehand but you feel pretty pleased with yourself after - but I think it’s something to do with where she disappears to on a Saturday morning while we have a lie in with Daddy.
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(authors Portia and Pebbles)
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