KBLX Celebrates Black Music Month

June is Black Music Month. For the past 30 years, KBLX has been bringing the San Francisco Bay Area the best Smooth R&B from the classics of the 70s, 80s to the new artists you hear on 102.9FM today. As the Bay Area authority on "Smooth Quiet Storm" music, KBLX prepared a "Bay Area History Report" and "History of KBLX" music report.

The history of Black Music in America actually has its roots in the Mother Land – Africa – with the sound of drums. Drums were a form of communication. One of the foremost instrumentalists to come out of Africa is Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. The Grammy Award winning masterful drummer composed music for Raisin in the Sun and Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It. Black music is as multifaceted as the people who create it.

Work Songs - Spirituals – Gospel: When slaves were captured and brought to the United States, drums were banned for fear slaves would use them for communication during rebellions. Slaves then relied on their vocal chords to make music. These resourceful people started singing Spirituals, also known as work songs, while breaking their backs in southern cotton fields. The first Spiritual recording was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1909. The slaves of the deep south wanted to find their way to the freedom land up north and were thinking about escaping which is the origin of many songs like Steal Away to Jesus, meaning stealing away on the Underground Railroad. One of the best known spiritualists ever is the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson. Work songs were the foundation of what would eventually become the Blues.

Blues: Black Americans left hot southern fields and found they did not have much money or anyone to love. So they would sing. That was the birth of the Blues. Robert Johnson was a delta blues guitarist considered by some to the Grandfather of Rock and Roll. But if you listen to his songs, they were definitely the blues. Other great Blues singers include Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters. Life was hard but somehow a person could make it as long as they could sing about it. Billie Holiday’s largest selling record, “Strange Fruit,” was about Black men who were hung from trees. Blues became so popular that White folks would go to the Black parts of town and listen to music by someone like Big Mama Thornton and make the same song a hit on the pop side of the charts.

Ragtime: Ragtime was very popular between 1897 and 1918 and is known to be the first truly original American music. Ragtime influenced some classical artists like Scott Joplin. Jelly Roll Morton, a pianist, bandleader and composer and was known as an essential transitional figure between ragtime and jazz. After 1917 jazz stepped in and stole the listening audience’s attention.

Jazz: Jazz, an American musical art form, started as a slang term from the West Coast and used to tell about the music from Chicago. There were jazzy big bands led by Count Basie and as well as the mellow tones of his royal highness Duke Ellington. Sass the lass with all the class, Sarah Vaughn, was known for her scatting style of jazz. And then there was “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald, who had a three octave vocal range. Jazz had a variety of subgenres, one of which originated in New Orleans known as Dixieland. The Modern Jazz Quartet performed in several jazz styles including cool jazz and bebop.

Bebop: The younger generation of jazz musicians produced a new form of Jazz. Known as Bebop, it had fast tempos and improvisation. Collaborations between Jazz and Bebop were made with folks like Dizzy Gillespie and Louie Armstrong. Armstrong had a distinctive voice and Dizzy’s signature was his bent horn and pouched cheeks. Another one of the individuals that led the Bebop craze was Cab Calloway. Louis Jordan was one of the most successful band leaders and was known as the “King of the Jukebox.” He took Jazz to another level by blurring jazz musical lines with a Doo-wop beat.

Rock & Roll: Tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and you will see the faces of countless Black artists, who were the originators of this new style of music. Born out of the blues being played in smoke-filled joints in the South, Rock & Roll was originally a Black art form. The recordings were originally called “race records,” as they were only sold to Blacks and played on Black radio stations. But young Whites, electrified by Chuck Berry’s powerful guitar playing and energetic dancing, soon created a market for White rock. The original “Shake, Rattle and Roll” was by Big Joe Turner was #1 on Billboard Charts in 1954, because Whites were listening to it in the privacy of their homes. Little Richard, known for his wild shouting style, and playing the piano with his feet at times, is often pointed to as one of the greatest inspirations to later rockers. With his aggressive guitar strumming, Bo Diddley set the standard for future Rock & Roll guitarists.

Doo-wop: Doo-wop emerged as street corner harmonies in northern states. White America called it Rock and Roll but it was actually vocal group harmony and the beginnings of Rhythm and Blues. There was the smooth Doo-wop harmony of The Five Satins and The Penguins. One of the first teen Doo-wop groups to hit the big time with television and soared high on recording charts was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Then there were The Platters, The Jive Five, Speedo & the Cadillacs, The MoonGlows, The Coasters and The Flamingos.

Crossover: In the 1950’s, in the midst of segregation, there were artists who were able to cross over to Top 40 charts in radio. With their broad appeal, they were on different charts at the same time – blues, pop, easy listening, country or R&B. At the top of the list was pianist, songwriter and singer Ray Charles, who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues with his soulful renditions of pop and country music. There was singer Nat King Cole who was said to be the first Black American to host a television variety show. Another extraordinary all around entertainer, singer, actor, multi-instrumentalist, impressionist, comedian and dancer was Sammy Davis Jr. Johnny Mathis found his niche in the evolution of pop Black music as a romantic smooth jazz performer. Sam Cooke had 29 top 40 hits and was one of the first Black performers to guide his own career by owning a record and publishing company.

Motown: Moving into the 1960’s there was nothing hotter than Detroit with the Motown sound. Motown Records, which celebrated its 50 anniversary on January 12, 2009, was created and owned by Berry Gordy. Motown is the first record label owned by a Black American to primarily feature Black artists who achieved crossover success on pop charts. Arguably the most successful act to walk the halls of Motown was the talented, tantalizing, titillating, timeless, triumphant, thrilling, toe tapping, tempting Temptations. The Motown sound was a distinct style of soul music with a touch of pop. Some of the other acts which graced the studios of Motown included Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Tami Terrell, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mary Wells, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, the Commodores, the Jackson 5 and a host of other well known acts. A majority of the early Motown acts were backed by an exceptional group of session musicians called the Funk Brothers.

Soul: Memphis soul music started with the creation of a White owned company called Stax Records. Out of that stable came one of the first racially integrated bands Booker T & the MGs. Other parts of Memphis soul included performers like Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Al Green shot to the top of the charts with his second album after he signed onto Hi Records. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was the first female artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and named the #1 Greatest Singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. Some of the best known soul groups were a part of the Sounds of Philadelphia family; they included the Stylistics, Blue Magic, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, as well as the mighty O’Jays. Other great soul singers were Joe Tex, the Chi-lites, The Moments (later known as Ray, Goodman and Brown) and The Whispers. Then there was song writer, band leader and singer James Brown. He was known as Soul Brother Number One, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, and foremost the Godfather of Soul.

Black Rock: One standout group was the Band of Gypsys, the collaboration of Jimi Hendrix, drummer Buddy Miles and guitarist Billy Cox. Band of Gypsys was formed to play Woodstock—where Jimi Hendrix was the only artist of the entire concert paid to perform. The single “Band of Gypsys” album contained several break out hits, from “Machine Gun” to “We Gotta Live Together,” songs that energized the anti-Vietnam War movement and ushered in racial togetherness. Long after Jimi Hendrix, purer Black Rock band Living Color, an ‘80s stand-out modernized the art and paved the way for new groups and artists like Dakota Moon and Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish.

Funk: Funk bands usually have a horn driven sound with rhythmic beats that blend soul, jazz and R&B into high energy danceable music. It also has a strong groove with an electric bass and drums in the foreground. Sly & the Family Stone, with bassist Larry Graham, were forerunners in the birth of funk. Then there was George Clinton, who has been called one of the most important innovators of funk music; there was the Ohio Players, the Gap Band, Cameo and of course Rick James.

Disco: Disco is dance music containing loads of funk and a lot of soul mixed with a driving syncopated bass line. Believe it or not, we go back to Africa to find the beginnings of disco. A musician from Cameroon is said to have been the first to play disco music. Manu Dibango took the Cameroonian word meaning dance and made it into a new dance craze with the song Soul Makossa. Behind him Donna Summers became the first well-known female disco artist and played a part in pioneering the electronic sound that later became disco. Disco helped to pay many bills for Gloria Gaynor, Chic, Shalamar, and B T Express.

Rap: Rap is a rhythmic vocal style accompanied with backing beats. Joe & Sylvia Robinson started Sugarhill Records in the 1970s. Their first record, Rapper’s Delight performed by the Sugar Hill Gang, was considered the song that brought hip hop and rap music from a largely underground genre in the Bronx into the mainstream. Grand Master Flash & the Furious 5, another act signed to Sugarhill, were the first hip hop/rap artists inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Curtis Blow, a break dancer and DJ from Harlem, was the first commercially successful rapper signed to a major label. Cool Moe Dee was one of the first rappers to earn a Grammy award and he was the first to perform on the Grammys. Salt n Pepa sold over 15 million albums and singles worldwide and is one of the top selling rap acts, either male or female.

The 80's Sound: The 1980’s was dominated by an entertainer, recording artist and businessman by the name of Michael Jackson, the undisputed King of Rock and Pop. His Thriller album has been cited as the best-selling album of all time, with between 47 and 109 million copies sold worldwide. Another powerful force in the 80’s were the elements of Earth Wind and Fire who won 6 Grammys, earned over 50 gold and platinum albums, and has sold over 90 million albums worldwide. Other great acts include Kool & the Gang, a highly successful band who has the makings of jazz, funk, disco, soul and R&B has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and Frankie Beverly & Maze.

New Jack Swing: New Jack Swing was popular from the late 1980s into the 1990s. This genre of music took the elements of older styles with the harmonization and newer trends of Hip Hop, fused them together with street beats, then added samples from the sounds of R&B and – New Jack Swing was born. Some of the forerunners of New Jack Swing include Teddy Riley, Guy, Bobby Brown, Heavy D, and BBD.

Neo Soul: The term Neo Soul was originated by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s. Neo Soul, also known as Nu soul, is a marketing term for the sub-genre of contemporary R&B. Individuals in this category of music tend to be well educated and use their poetic and artistic skills to teach the world about the Black experience. When you say Neo Soul you must include Erykah Badu whose work encompasses elements of R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical styling and sense of fashion. She is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul." Other notables who fall under this genre are Sade, Maxwell and Jill Scott.

Today's R&B & Classic Soul: KBLX plays the best of today's R&B and classic soul. The format is officially known as urban adult contemporary aimed at a listening audience of grown folks. At any time during the day you can hear Alicia Keys, a singer, songwriter, pianist, cellist and actress, who has sold over 24 million albums. Then there is Mary J Blige, who started her career at Uptown Records as their first and youngest female artist. She went on to acquire 8 Grammy Awards and is known as the Queen of Hip Hop. She is a singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actress who has sold more than 48 million albums worldwide and has been awarded the World Music Legends Award for successfully combining hip hop and soul music together. Another artist heard widely on KBLX is Beyonce, who has sold more than 75 million albums throughout her singing career. You can also hear Ne-Yo, Kenny Lattimore, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jazmine Sullivan, John Legend, and Marvin Sapp.

Moving over to Classic Soul...we’ll begin with Phyllis Hyman then move to Grammy award winner Billie Paul, followed by 8 time Grammy award winner Luther Vandross, who has sold over 25 million albums. Then there are the Isley Brothers who are one of the few groups to have placed a charted Billboard single in every decade between 1959 and 2006. If you are looking for entertainment with high energy stage performances, Patti LaBelle, is who you think of with her passionate distinctive high octave belting voice and wide vocal range. What about Chaka Khan, known as the Queen of Funk Soul, who has performed numerous musical genres including disco, jazz, ballads, hip hop, adult contemporary, pop, funk, and blues standards. Another high energy overpowering lady is Tina Turner was listed by Rolling Stone as one of The Greatest Artists of All Time. We will end Classic Soul with none other than songwriter, musician and producer Donny Hathaway. All of these artists and a whole lot more can be heard on KBLX 102.9 FM “The Quiet Storm”.