Skip to main content

The English Beat - The Tears of a Clowne

The blues is generally understood as a secular music of loss: lost women, lost jobs, regrets, and defeat. But it has a more profound, spiritual side, defying despair. In the 1950s, Ralph Ellison, while writing about flamenco, another Islamic influenced music, remarked that the blues voice mocks the despair stated explicitly in the lyric, and it expresses the great human joke directed against the universe, that joke which is the secret of all folklore and myth, that though we be dismembered daily we shall always rise up again... the blues is a secular spiritual. In this spirituality, perhaps one may find an echo of one of the blues’s roots in Islamic practices and music.

The blues is not African music; there is no traditional African blues. Nor is it Islamic music. The blues is an African American creation, born of American circumstances and various influences. What makes it unique is the prevalence of a number of Sahelian/Islamic stylistic elements that became dominant due in part to historical events particular to American slavery... Among these were the soulful tunes of the hollers and the blues. Though largely unrecognized, they are some of the most enduring contributions of West African Muslims to American culture.


The English Beat - The Tears of a Clowne
  • Released in: 1979
  • Genre: Rock, Reggae
  • Duration: 2:41

"The Beat, also known as Paul Collins' Beat, was a power pop band that formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1977. The band has been led through several incarnations by singer songwriter and guitarist Paul Collins."

See previous Song of the Day

Labels

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritualized - Spread Your Wings

Spiritualized - Spread Your Wings Released in: February 1995 Duration: 6:17 Vocals: Jason Pierce "The first Spiritualized release was a space rock esque cover in 1990, a record which heralded the official split of Spacemen 3. On 15 June 1997, Spiritualized became the last band to play at Factory Records' Manchester nightclub." See Previous Song of the Day  
Post a Comment
Read more

Steve Winwood - Domingo Morning

There have also been plenty of blues festivals and events in Ireland, which have brought the styles to a greater number of people. The Cork Jazz Festival is a massive annual offering that attracts thousands, while there’s also the Dublin Blues, Roots, and Brass Festival that brings in local and international blues enthusiasts. The events are a prime opportunity to celebrate the heritage of these music varieties and showcase some of the best talents around. The influence of reggae and blues music in Ireland goes beyond the music scene and has had a broader impact on the entertainment industry. It’s clear that the incorporation of these genres into Ireland’s entertainment landscape has helped bring diversity and richness to the culture of the country. This has, in turn, led to the attraction of more diverse audiences to Irish entertainment. Companies that offer entertainment to people in Ireland now must consider this diversity, and market their offerings to a broad spectrum of consumers...
Post a Comment
Read more

Duke Pearson - I'm An Old Cowhand (Take 5)

Sanctified gospel music, especially in the western part of the state, is represented by members of the Holiness or Pentecostal church, such as The Church of God in Christ founded... in 1897 near Memphis. One of its present ministers, Reverend Robert Wilkins, a practicing herbalist now 90, became active in church work after several years as a highly regarded blues singer. Sanctified singers perform in a shouting musical style, accompanied by hand clapping, tambourines, guitars, and other instruments. A number of Holiness singers were recorded in Memphis during the 1920s... Of the many Pentecostal churches presently in Memphis, that of Reverend J. 0. Patterson is prominent, where the exceptional soloist Mattie Wigley still performs with the choir.        Among its many songwriters Tennessee has had three who were prominent in Black sacred music... Campbell, 1885 - 1963, composed 45 gospel songs and was also music director of the National Baptist Convention, one of seve...
Post a Comment
Read more