Jazz Lyrics & References - Why History Matters

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Support my channel by going to www.patreon.com/lauraglaess
Instagram: lauraglaess
Art doesn’t exist in isolation; it is a constant dialogue between the past, the present, and the experiences and aspirations of the artist. Lindy Hop, jazz, and swing dance are no different. To me, the more I learn about the history of Lindy Hop and the original dancers, the more I feel that I understand how to to contribute to Lindy Hop in its modern form.
For a tiny look into this history, I’ve been researching some of the lyrics and titles of jazz songs that co-evolved with Lindy Hop. I hope you enjoy them!
If you want a playlist of the songs featured in this video, join my patreon!
Support my channel by going to www.patreon.com/lauraglaess
00:00 - Intro
01:21 - WW2 Lyrics
02:36 - Slang
03:49 - Jackie Robinson
06:25 - Jumping with Symphony Sid
08:00 - Harlem Airshaft
09:55 - Stepin Fetchit
12:34 - Place Specific Songs
13:09 - A Train
14:05 - Harlem, Home of Civil Rights Titans
Previous addresses of jazz greats in Harlem:
Duke Ellington: 935 St. Nicholas Avenue
Billie Holiday: 26 West 87th Street - someone lives there now - in her house!
Count Basie: 2150 Seventh Avenue (now Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard), between 127th and 128th streets.
Fats Waller: West 134th Street
Langston Hughes: 20 E 127th St
General Sources:
www.jazziz.com/short-history-darktown-strutters-ball-shelton-brooks-1915/
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sneaky%20Pete
time.com/5445581/slang-dictionary-oed-lowkey-highkey/
www.openculture.com/2015/01/cab-calloways-hepster-dictionary.html
secondhandsongs.com/performance/332485/versions
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sneaky%20Pete
Jackie Robinson:
3.128.87.165/biography/
www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/articles-and-essays/baseball-the-color-line-and-jackie-robinson/did-you-see-jackie-robinson-hit-that-ball/
www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/articles-and-essays/baseball-the-color-line-and-jackie-robinson/1947-to-1956/
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jackie-robinson-breaks-color-barrier
www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/articles-and-essays/baseball-the-color-line-and-jackie-robinson/1940-to-1946/Great Interview on Dick Caveat Show: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YCr0RAzf8ds.html
Jazz Integration - Teddy Wilson:
www.npr.org/2009/05/30/104713445/benny-goodman-forever-the-king-of-swing
syncopatedtimes.com/teddy-wilson-american-jazz-hero/
Slang:
www.npr.org/2009/08/27/112255870/lester-young-the-prez-still-rules-at-100
www.openculture.com/2015/01/cab-calloways-hepster-dictionary.html
Symphony Sid:
secondhandsongs.com/work/136609
www.mmone.org/symphony-sid/
www.sandybrownjazz.co.uk/TracksUnwrapped/JumpinWithSymphonySid.html
www.britannica.com/art/race-record
www.history.com/news/race-records-bessie-smith-big-bill-broonzy-music-business
Harlem Air Shaft:
www.6sqft.com/a-short-history-of-new-york-citys-foul-air-shafts/
brianwestbye.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/air-shaft/
americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tenement-Life_.pdf
www.npr.org/2016/11/03/500504682/the-lush-life-of-billy-strayhorn
Stepin Fetchit:
www.imdb.com/name/nm0275297/bio
www.mentalfloss.com/article/80348/retrobituaries-lincoln-perry-first-african-american-movie-star
allthatsinteresting.com/stepin-fetchitwww.npr.org/2006/03/06/5245089/stepin-fetchit-hollywoods-first-black-film-star
www.imdb.com/name/nm0275297/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
www.vulture.com/2017/02/stepin-fetchit-legacy-obstacle-black-comedians.html
Uncle Tom:
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93059468
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Uncle%20Tom
theconversation.com/how-uncle-tom-still-impacts-racial-politics-152201
Sugar Hill, the A Train, & Billy Strayhorn:
www.nyc-architecture.com/HAR/HAR-History.htm
www.writingcities.com/2017/04/24/harlem-sugar-hill-and-the-unmarked-homes-of-legends/
www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/nyregion/23sugarhill.html
untappedcities.com/2020/06/15/33-places-in-nyc-to-celebrate-black-history/19/
www.harlemworldmagazine.com/fabulous-harlem-the-sweet-history-of-sugar-hill/
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100731586
untappedcities.com/2021/07/06/end-of-a-train-guide/
www.boredpanda.com/vintage-photography-new-york-metro-jamel-shabazz/?
Harlem:
www.harlemworldmagazine.com/fabulous-harlem-the-sweet-history-of-sugar-hill/

Опубликовано:

6 янв 2023

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Комментарии : 34

@Bluessam1452 Год назад

Laura!!! First off great vid. Loved it. When you were mentioning a lot of the key important figures in Black American culture from the baseball players, to the musicians, to the writes and poets and political figures and pride that the residence of Harlem had. All of those factors is what gave birth and rise to the Harlem Renaissance. And it’s important to remember for future discussions of this that the Harlem Renaissance impacted Black communities all over the country during that time period. The way that the musicians would constantly mention and talk about the Savoy, Harlem, Cotton Club, etc to rest of Black Americans outside of Harlem, as the place to be (because it was). It was one of many meccas for Black Americans at the time along with Chicago and St. Louis. Just as you said “Pride”. Black Americans accomplishing and over coming major social, economical, and educational hurdles in time where the majority of the country thought they were less than. Sorry for the long rant, but I just wanted to mentioned that little key piece of social and historical context. Thank you for all of your hard work and I look forward to seeing you on the dance floor soon.

@saharanduts9615 Год назад

Hi Odysseus, Are you a comedian? I saw your clips somewhere.

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Odysseus! Thank you for your time and insight. I definitely want to learn more about Black culture outside of Harlem and how it affected and was effected by the ideas coming out of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond.

@Bluessam1452 Год назад

@@LauraGlaess Absolutely!!! Let’s talk over coffee, lunch, or just video FaceTime chat when we both have time in our schedule. 🙂

@isabelleseraphin3025 5 месяцев назад

Wow! Thank you so much for these history classes. Very interesting, respectful and proudful.

@williampope4063 4 месяца назад

I been grinning so hard watching your videos, my teeth might crack! You are AMAZING! I'm blushing... I'd say keep going, but I don't think you can stop! To all, Be well be strong.

@paulgraf5259 Год назад

I love that the Sugar Hill Gang take their name from the Harlem Neighborhood and brought some of those same kinds of references into modern rap.

@bencostello7435 Год назад

Another phenomenon that I find interesting and that doesn't quite have a parallel in contemporary popular music is that many songs began as purely instrumental charts and then later (in the attempt to sell new records and/or new sheet music? or for a variety of other reasons?) had lyrics written for them. Often the lyrics just take the title and use that as a jumping off point but sometimes the addition of lyrics meant completely changing the title (and the overall meaning?), ie. something like Ellington's "Subtle Sough" becoming "Squeeze Me, Don't Tease Me". There's also the transformation of older charts into new ones, like Ellington taking the chord changes of "Rose Room" and writing "In a Mellotone" with it (and you can definitely hear the link to "Rose Room" through the much later, faster, and riff-based tune). That's still possible today, although there are more copyright barriers that complicate such borrowing. Then there's also the phenomenon of quoting little recognizable snippets from other tunes and lyrics, both old and new. That's a technique as old as music, and one that obviously is very much alive today.

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Good points! Thank you.

@saharanduts9615 Год назад

Hands up to you Laura🙌. Very informative and now I can't wait to join my very fast Lindy hopp classes this coming satarday. So so glad I found your Channel. Keep on education us. Be blessed. Love from Germany, Munich.

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Wow! I hope the class went well! Keep dancing and maybe we'll meet some day

@fogo.dentro Год назад

So freaking good video, loved it! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! 🫀✨

@MichaelQuisao Год назад

This is fantastic! Thanks so much, Laura. Clearly lots of time and research went into this, not just the stories, but the visuals too. Love that you have bookends of why this is all so important.

@collectivewest6411 Год назад

Wonderful video, Laura. Well presented. Keep up the good work!

@Juliss4jul Год назад

Thank you for such an informative and reflective video! Much appreciated!

@petjajar Год назад

❤ your work. Thank you

@kylester89 Год назад

Inspiration comes from the music. Thank you Laura for the reminder :)

@solangepolegar Год назад

Such a great video, thank you so much for taking the time to spread this much needed knowledge. ❤❤

@andrewpatton7009 Год назад

This was a really well made video and super fascinating stuff!

@katherinedale5260 Год назад

This was SUCH a good video, I was captivated and learned a ton. I've always been interested in the lyrics of the songs I've been dancing too -- this history is so rich and important. I'm going to go read up on more of the slang, and can't wait to see more videos like this!

@PsychedelicChameleon Год назад

Thank You Laura!

@frankrepasi7088 Год назад

Laura Thank You so much for this wonderful informative video, I love Jazz and the great contribution the black people and black culture has provided in the evolution of American music and dance . I love the lindy hop and wish I was born a generation ago when I could have visited the clubs in Harlem , Savoy , Cotton Club , and others , This is Timely in honor of Black history month and Dr King Holiday !

@Ogarocious_dance Год назад

Great effing video! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

@johnskeffington1784 Год назад

Great video Laura, your point about specific places made me think of the Billy Strayhorn composition U.M.M.G., which is named after Upper Manhattan Medical Group. This was Dr Arthur Logan's practice. Dr Logan was Duke Ellington's physician. Billy Strayhorn was friends with Dr Logan and his wife Marion. The three of them were associates and supporters of Dr Martin Luther King.

@LauraGlaess Год назад

I don't know about that composition! I'll definitely look it up! I love the connection to MLK. Everyone was so politically active - even if we don't know about it now. I love that.

@ronwaters478 Год назад

Thank you, Laura ! Learning about context definitely enriches our dance experience. I recommend everyone take a tour of Harlem, such as the one offered during ILHC 2022 and hopefully 2023, to underscore the point of how close musicians and dancers (Frankie and others) lived to the major clubs and ballrooms. Just a few blocks away ! Minor correction: 'Frigidaire' is the correct spelling. Also, in the interest of historical accuracy, 'Hellzapoppin' and 'Day at the Races' were filmed in black and white and should be presented that way. 🙂

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Thanks for the corrections, and YES to the Harlem tour.

@eckdavid2472 Год назад

Wow, you really bring Black history to life. You speak about it so passionately and you tell such interesting stories about it. I really learned something. Sometimes I feel embarrassed about how little I know about this. BTW, one thing that threw me was at minute 16:47 when you say, “In addition, Lindy Hop didn’t just appear out of thin air in the 1980s, it has a lineage…” Obviously the heyday of Lindy Hop was in the 30s and 40s. You must mean it made a come-back in the 80s, mainly among White folk. Anyway, I get it now, so great video! Thanks!

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Yeah, I can feel embarrassed about how little I know, too. It can be hard to know what questions to ask to get started on research. Just keep your ears open! Yeah, I could have gone into more detail about the 1980s. My understanding is that the 1980s was when non-New Yorkers / non-Black people started dancing Lindy Hop more: the beginning of the swing craze in the 1990s. But Lindy Hop had been danced in Black families and dance halls continuously post the Swing Era.

@MrAGregan Год назад

Looking at a lot of the lyrics, you also start to see the bohemian origins of jazz and blues in New Orleans. This music came out of the vice district of Storyville, where a cosmopolitan mix of sex workers, drug users, queer folk and artists were all rubbing shoulders. The jazz lingo developed was to signal the in-group from the out-group and to hide illegal activity in plain sight (just as gay men in the UK developed Polari). Early jazz songs are a load of sex, drugs and Jelly Roll. This aspect has been largely been forgotten about since the Squares appropriated it from the Hep Cats.

@LauraGlaess Год назад

Yeah, this is a complicated origin story indeed. It seems like it both did come from this, but also the salacious red light district history has been augmented, simplified, and romanticized over time. The first chapter of Christi Jay Wells's book, Between Beats, has a wonderful explanation of this where they try to disentangle fact from myth. www.amazon.com/Between-Beats-Tradition-Black-Vernacular/dp/0197559271

@arbiejaybriones9633 Год назад

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

@PeppermintTaste Год назад

Really enjoyed this video. You brought out so many great anecdotes and important pieces of history. I'm curious if knowing the historical context of a song ever makes you reevaluate whether it's appropriate for white dancers to dance to. For instance, I feel like it might be strange to see white dancers doing a routine to "Did You Ever See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" and it might feel like that song is not theirs to interpret through dance. Wondering also if any Black artists in the community have weighed in on this question...