John L. Cornelius II. DMA
When considering the contributions of African Americans to the music industry and various musical genres in America, the sky’s the limit. We have made impressionable marks in the industry, ranging from jazz, hip hop, country, zydeco, and classical to forms in between.
It would take a month to speak on one area, so the Department of Music at Prairie View A&M University is diving into African American Music Appreciation Month with a listening suggestion for each day of June. This way, there will be something varied for everyone’s pleasure.
Can you keep up with this list and know all the presented selections? Be encouraged to study these artists and forms in more depth than this forum allows.
Did you know that the Department of Music offers an “African American Music” course? It is a part of the core curriculum that will challenge your perception of genre and style.
Let’s get started and see how you fare, shall we? Click here to listen to the musical selections on YouTube.
Day 1: Belton Sutherland’s field holler
Day 2: Lt. James Reese Europe and the 369th Regiment Band (“Harlem Hell Fighters”)
Day 3: Bessie Smith – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
Day 4: Robert Johnson – Me and the Devil Blues
Day 5: Buddy Bolden and the Birth of Jazz
Day 6: Jelly Roll Morton – Doctor Jazz
Day 7: Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey – Prove It on Me Blues
Day 8: Bessie Smith – Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl
Day 9: Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and His Hot Five – Hotter Than That
Day 10: WC Handy Orchestra – St. Louis Blues
Day 11: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra – Daybreak Express
Day 12: Opry Black History | DeFord Bailey
Day 13: Louis Jordan – Choo Choo Ch’Boogie
Day 14: Ray Charles – Hallelujah, I Love Her So
Day 15: Ruth Brown – Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean
Day 16: Mahalia Jackson – I Have a Friend (Above All Others)
Day 17: Little Richard – Long Tall Sally
Day 18: Dizzy Gillespie – Manteca
Day 19: Herbie Hancock – Watermelon Man
Day 20: James Brown – Say It Loud! – I’m Black and I’m Proud
Day 21: Aretha Franklin – Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
Day 22: Gladys Knight and The Pips – Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)
Day 23: The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Oh Happy Day
Day 24: Enchantment – Gloria
Day 25: Earth, Wind & Fire – Shining Star
Day 26: Charlie Pride – Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’
Day 27: Parliament – Flashlight
Day 28: Stanley Clarke/George Duke – Sweet Baby
Day 29: Prince – Soft and Wet
Day 30: Minnie Riperton – Inside My Love
John L. Cornelius II, DMA, is a professor of music in Prairie View A&M University’s Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences.
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