Long before the days of album rollouts, copyright infringement, and squabbling over writing credits, songs functioned more like stories passed along from friends, family, and acquaintances. These pieces essentially became living compositions, reflective of the cultures and communities through which they traveled.
Evolving over time through various adaptations, reinterpretations, and even misinterpretations, the works were reshaped much in the same way as that of the original message in a round of the popular children’s game, telephone,
This tradition far predates the concept of recorded music, and serves as the etymological origin of folk music – though folk music as it is known today is a much more structured format. To adequately assess this music, one must remove themselves from the modern age entirely, and seek the perspective from which the songs were born. The attainment of this perspective itself requires further analysis of what the function of music even is, specifically, as it pertains to America at the turn of the 19th century.
The origins of blues and jazz music, perhaps the greatest artistic achievements to which America can lay claim, predate the establishment of the country altogether. While works in the Western classical tradition adhered to rigid, established structures, blues and jazz standards have their origins in informal, communal improvisations among folks who failed to adhere to the “proper” structuring of music, due either to a lack of necessity or lack of access to musical education – often both. As such, these musical forms were a statement on class division even before their respective technical establishments.
The function of this music as entertainment differed greatly from that of music today, as well as that of the orchestral music enjoyed by those of means during the day. Much of what would become jazz and blues first saw life as improvisations among laborers, and served to ease the burden of the work and to help pass the time throughout the day. Certain rhythmic structures are even said to have been developed as a means of regulating tasks which required particular timing in their implementation.
Due to the circumstances of its development, the music heavily incorporated specific idiosyncrasies of individual performers. Elements contributed and removed by great-great-grandparents, friends, strangers, and various adapters through generations manifested unique representations of communities and cultures over centuries, resulting in the deep sense of humanity and undercurrent of the human spirit which still permeates jazz and blues to this day.
Much of this music was developed during the days of slavery, and had its roots in African hymms and spirituals. The distinctive rhythms and harmonic proclivities of this historic culture became the lifeblood of the music, which would become rock & roll much later down the road. There was an inclusiveness to the development of these forms which allowed it to absorb such a breadth of the human experience that the two would eventually become intrinsically linked.
Near the end of the 19th century, blues as we now know it began to take shape. Performers would travel from state to state – by foot, train, or other means – playing and forming performance pieces. This tradition would continue with performers such as Robert Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton, who have since become recognized as the Father of the Blues and Father of Jazz, respectively.
Johnson, in particular, is renowned for authoring several standard compositions which would shape popular music for decades to come. While the origins of the tunes cannot be reasonably traced any further back than Johnson, it is widely accepted that Johnson himself likely picked up the bulk of his material piece by piece from various acquaintances and fellow performers, as was customary of the time. Jelly Roll Morton, likewise, is more or less considered the very first jazz composer, despite logic dictating that form goes much further back. Buddy Bolden, for example, is regarded by many as the first jazz musician, despite no recordings or compositions of his being known to exist.
These elements would eventually amalgamate and take the shape of various forms such as pop and rock music. The advent or recorded music, the monetization of the art form, and advances in technology would begin to create significant dividing lines throughout the medium.
These would serve to distinguish intellectual property and grease the gears in the feasibility of money changing hands in the developing industry. It was at this point which the abstract was harnessed and melded into something tangible, with part of the magic arguably being snuffed out in the process.
Over time, the creation of music became more a means of personal expression than of functional application. But as evidenced by the continued prevalence of reinterpretations in popular music, it is arguably the humanity and community embedded within musical forms which speak more to our own personal experience than that of elements specific to our own lives. It is here that the universal nature of music is perhaps most evident, providing a certain solace in the knowledge that, on a certain level, we are all more connected than we are divided.