The Black and White of American Popular Music, from Slavery to World War II

The Black and White of American Popular Music describes the interrelationships between African-American and white musicians and their music from 1900 to the end of World War II. It analyzes these relationships in a wide variety of fields, including musical comedy, radio, recording, songwriting and vocalists, business, dance and jazz. Throughout the study the author proves by illustration that jazz sprang from the music of African slaves in America. She demonstrates how black music evolved as a continuum, while reacting to and interacting with white music and while undergoing metamorphoses from pre-ragtime music to be-bop. Above all, the relationships between black and white music are seen as symbiotic. On the one hand, black musicians were influenced by white music and benefited from the promotion and opportunities provided by white entrepreneurs. On the other, white musicians were (and still are) quick to adopt and adapt every form of black music they discovered. And white entrepreneurs made fortunes on the backs of black musicians. Although this symbiotic relationship has often been exploitative, to the disadvantage of blacks, it may also be seen as mutually beneficial. Wynton Marsalis describes the black and white connections in music as "this strange dance that we've been doing with each other since the beginning of our relationship in America." This book focuses precisely on that dance, analyzing what each of the two partners, black and white, brings to the dance and discovering how each meshes or remains out of step with the music and each other.