CHAPTER 4 TRACING THE BLUES METAPHOR IN ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF MUSIC INTRODUCTION Since their inception, the blues have powerfully influenced and shaped the direction of music in our country, and, it could be argued, in other countries as well. The following sections will highlight musical forms/genres through which I sense elements of the blues run strongly. These themes are part of the blues metaphor, which I will more fully describe and develop in the following sections of this chapter. I acknowledge that it may be argued that blues elements are most likely present in musical forms that I have not mentioned; I am focusing on genres wherein I perceive the blues themes and the blues metaphor as clearly resonating. THE BLUES METAPHOR IN COUNTRY MUSIC Every time I see that lonesome railroad train, It makes me wish I was going home again. (Rodgers, 1930, track 5) At the height of the popularity of the blues, a phenomenon was occurring in the field of music especially among poor White in the South, which could be described as the beginning of the musical genre I will refer to as country music. Issues concerning class were being openly brought forth with the emergence of country yodelers, such as Jimmy Rodgers. While recorded musical history tends to frame this almost exclusively as a White form of musical expression, there are indications that yodeling as a form of music was not exclusive to White Southerners in our country, but reached a universal core of humanity. Plantanga (2004) comments about yodeling as a broad musical genre, suggesting its ability to assist the yodeler in transcendence from the concerns of his life. He describes its universality in reaching the spiritual side of yodelers regardless of their geographical location, allowing the yodelers to find a sense of their geographical location, and allowing the yodelers to attain inner harmony through the musical expression of harmony through the yodel. Yodeling has precedents in not only in European mountainous regions, but also in Africa. Indeed, yodeling is incorporated into performance of the Baka in present day Africa (Bundo, 2001). The connections between yodeling and its popularity as a White form of music and connection with Black forms of music can be exemplified by examining the works of popular White country singers in the early twentieth century. 61 CHAPTER 4 Jimmie Rodgers was well known for his blue yodels and country songs, but he also sang blues songs as well. Despite an early death from tuberculosis, a disease from which he suffered throughout most of his career, he was prolific with regards to the number of songs and recordings that he produced. In addition, he was the first country singer to make a recording with a Black instrumentalist as a backup; these were extremely segregated times, yet his work includes Louis Armstrong playing cornet on Rodger’s song “Blue Yodel Number 9,” and the Black Mississippi bluesman, Clifford Gibson (Mcwhiney & Mills, 1983). Even the popular representation in images and photographs of Jimmie Rodgers crossed between those of popular Black male blues singers to the railway man that he was in his twenties. In the one popular photograph, he was dressed quite sharply, as were the Black bluesmen so often in their publicity photographs. However, in other shots, he is dressed in a railway worker’s uniform, matching the subject matter of many of his songs. Still others show him in a broad brimmed cowboy hat, matching another description of him as the singing cowboy. Black singers who were known for their blues singing were also known to yodel. Tommy Johnson, a well-known Delta bluesmen, made a test pressing for Paramount records that consisted of two versions of a cowboy yodeling song, complete with the flat picking style typified by Jimmie Rodgers (Wald, 2004). While recording studios generally reserved recording these Black artists as blues singers only (Wald, 2004), some White artists were advertised as yodelers in the Black newspaper, The Chicago Defender. Interestingly, the depictions of these artists in the advertisements in Black newspapers were as Black men, either in Black face, or sketched as Black men (Vocalion, 1929). This was most likely connected to the marketing strategies of the White record producers trying to glean as much profit as possible from their race record market. Beyond the yodeling, country music also shared similar subject matter and themes with traditional blues. Bessie Smith was singing “Black Mountain Blues,” and suggesting violence as a way to resolve a broken heart, talking about using a razor or a gun against her unfaithful lover, noting I’m gonna cut him if he stands, I’m gonna shoot him if he runs. (Johnson, 1930) Jimmie Rodgers puts forth a similar sentiment in “T for Texas”, also known as Blue Yodel Number 1, singing about a disastrous relationship with Thelma, noting that he would Buy me a pistol, long as I am tall, Gonna shoot po’ Thelma Just to see her jump and fall” (Rodgers, 1927, Track 1) 62 .