Henry Ratcliff/Bakari-Badji    Louisiana/Field Song from Senegal (n.d.)
Henry Ratcliff (voc), Bakari-Badji (voc)

This recording cuts back and forth between two "field hollers," one from Mississippi and one from Senegal. It shows how closely related this African American style of vocalization is to a style from West Africa.

Tangle Eye    No More, My Lord (n.d.)
Tangle Eye and a group of prisoners (voc)

This is a work song adapted from a religious song, so it not only gives a sense of what a work song is but also shows how the vocalizing style of the blues draws on both sacred and secular sources. It was recorded at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), where African American prisoners endured conditions much like slavery well into the middle of the 20th century (the CD doesn't say when the recording was made, but it was sometime in the 1950s or 1960s).

Bessie Jones    Beggin' the Blues (n.d.)
Bessie Jones (voc)

The lyric form of the blues is crystal clear in this a cappella version.

Fred McDowell, Miles Pratcher, and Fannie Davis    Goin' Down to the River (around 1959)
Fred McDowell (voc,g), Miles Pratcher (g), and Fannie Davis (comb and paper)

Although this was recorded well into the 20th century, it reflects a much earlier, "country" style of blues. The lyrics are in the AAB form that is characteristic of the blues, but musically it is not based on a 12-bar chord progression (in fact there are no chord changes).

This piece illustrates several of the common qualities of African music that are listed on your handout. The relationship between the singer and the comb and paper player is an excellent example of #5--they play and sing the melody together but each gives a slightly different version of it. The sound of the comb and paper fit in with #6, as does the style of singing, and the singing also shows a bit of the continuum from speech to song (#7). There is also a responsorial quality (#2) to it, the way the comb and paper seems to sometimes answer or commentate on the singing. The fact that the guitars are used more for rhythm than for harmony goes along with #1, the tendency of African music to be percussive, and the way the rhythm of the two guitars interlocks fits in with #3 and #8, although there are a lot of better examples of these rhythmic approaches.

This is conversational music making, it is as much a social event as a performance, which is another reflection of West African musical culture. The singer is the master of ceremonies because the piece is measured out by the lyric, but in between the stanzas everyone has their say. The singer elaborates and mulls over the highlights of the previous stanza, the comb and paper player has the floor for a while, and even the guitars sometimes come to the forefront with a bit of extra energy and volume.

Stanza 1 (00:10):
I'm goin down the Brazos, well, I take the right-hand road, (Twice)
Lord, I ain't gonna stop walking till I get in sweet mama's door.

Stanza 2 and elaborations (00:57):
Well the girl I'm lovin', she got that great long curly hair,
Lord, the girl I'm lovin' got that great long curly hair.
Lord, her mama and her papa, Lord sure don't allow me there.

Lord, her mother sure don't allow me,
Sure don't allow me... (repeated with variations)

Stanza 2 and elaborations (02:13):
Sun rose this mornin', baby, Lord, I was layin' down on my floor,
Lord, the sun rose this mornin', I'm a-layin' down on my floor.
Lord, no woman to love me, baby, even no place to go.

Lord, nobody love me, baby,
Lord, no place, place to go...

Stanza 2 and elaborations (03:21):
Lord, I'm goin' away, baby, don't you want to go?
I'm goin' away, baby, mama, don't you want to go?
Lord, I'm goin' somewhere I ain't never been before.

Lord, I, Lord, I gwine,
Gwine somewhere I ain't never
Been before.
Lord, Lord