Smith continued on to become very successful with hits like St. The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. Leadbelly - Backwater BluesTaken from: 16 Greatest Songs (As Pictured)Track no. The first two verses are unique and do not have any repetition. In order to interrogate said materials, six recordings by different musicians were chosen and meticulously transcribed. Known as the\"Empress of the Blues,\" Bessie Smith's first recording, \"Down-Hearted Blues,\" from 1923, was very successful, and helped her to become the leading African-American performer of the time. It was covered by Brother John Sellers, Toni Lynn Washington, Meschiya Lake and The Little Big Horns, The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band and other artists. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. [1] Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. Backwater Blues does not sound as much like the blues as Down Hearted Blues to me, but it is still distinguishable as the blues due to the sad content of the song. Este es un disco muy bueno; una gran voz, la Reina del Blues Dinah Washington, y unos temas espectaculares, las canciones de la gran Bessie Smith. for this article. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA, 1980: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, 1989: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1989: Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994: Face was placed upon a US Postage Stamp, 2001: Down Hearted Blues was named one of the Songs of the Century by the National Endowment for the Arts, 2002: Down Hearted Blues was listed on the National Recording Preservation Board by the Library of Congress, 2006: Down Hearted Blues listed in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Bessie Smith tabs, chords, guitar, bass, ukulele chords, power tabs and guitar pro tabs including backwater blues, careless love, nobody knows you when youre down and out, taint nobodys business . The third line either comments or reverses the first two lines. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. I chose these works for how they built upon classic blues (blues that follows the standard AAB lyrical structure and common themes of love, longing, suffering, and travel) by addressing an ecological concern, as in Backwater Blues, or innovating the classical structure, as in Too Blue, and Duplex., I want to encourage reading and listening to early blues poetry and classic blues as a method toward mastering blues aesthetics. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Feature Flags: { I make it a point to learn the African American poetic tradition. The elements of voice, musical instrument, and audience formed a living tercet in which the blues singer and musician resound one another to deliver that final line blues statement. The scene is set with the terrific storm by the female speaker, so depressed that she cant even get out of the door. Furthermore, Baraka notes that Africanisms (retentions of African culture throughout the African diaspora) were not limited to US Black people but that the culture of the Americas contains and is itself influenced by Africanisms. The poem moves to personal depression. Updated September 9, 2020. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. Smith, Bessie. Carl Van Vechten Estate/Library of Congress, Washington D.C., photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1936, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith. Brown, who alongside Langston Hughes was a pioneer of blues poetry in the 1920s. When it's . What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? As a poet who writes in English I know that every time I write a sonnet I pay homage to the high European tradition and to master poets like Shakespeare, Dunn, Keats, Petrarch. She earned her title by displaying her powerful voice to the public for everyone to hear. [2], The song has long been associated with the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. In terms of chords and melody, Backwater Blues is more complex than the typical song, having above average scores in Chord Complexity, Melodic Complexity, Chord-Melody Tension and Chord Progression Novelty. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. Pro Credit Pack (3 Pro Credits) Included with first year, Your high-resolution PDF file will be ready to download in Billed annually at $39.99. What is 12-bar-blues form? The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. To pack my things and go. Irma Thomas released it on the album Our New Orleans 2005 - A Benefit Album in 2005. My name is Lex and I am a rising senior at the University of Georgia. ). The narrator, who presents himself as a victim describes how . Blues on Yellow Marilyn Chin from Rhapsody in Plain Yellow. I have sympathy towards Smith during her performance of this song because she conveys how lonesome she is. The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2) There's trouble taking place in the lowland that night." Harmonically, what is the piece based on? The flood was a devastating ordeal. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. The repetition of her lyrics depict just how saddening her situation is- she is in the middle of losing everything. Hier geht's zu meiner Musik auf Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EV1CjZHtzJGK5SZyEyKst?si=ya1BsYRcTpSlZeVFtMKekAMeine Musik auf Deezer:https://deezer. She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The first line sets the scene, the second line repeats the first for emphasis. Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Major keys and the 5th most popular among all keys. Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. Nose To Tail - Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast 2, Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. There's trouble taking place in the lowland that night, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Bessie Smith's 'Back-Water Blues': the story behind the song", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backwater_Blues&oldid=1150358087, This page was last edited on 17 April 2023, at 18:17. Total loading time: 0 Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith . I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. 04 January 2007. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Render date: 2023-05-02T09:42:40.381Z Chris Fisher-Lochhead. Her powerful voice stands out so much in this song that the instrumental background may not even be needed as supplementation. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. I am majoring in biology and love helping my community! Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. She is considered by many as one of the most successful African-American females of all time. Bessie actually wrote "Backwater Blues" for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Teach music and songwriting in ways that keep students engaged, excited, and inspired. When it rains five days and the skies turn dark as night, when it rains five days and the skies turn dark as night, then trouble's takin' place in the lowlands at night. Hi! Cause my house fell down and I can't live there no more. AAB e.g. This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. One subscription across all of your devices. Photo credit: Carl Van Vechten, Celebrating Contemporary Books & Writers at the Library, From the Catbird Seat: The official Poetry and Literature podcast, Receive notifications about events, activities, and online resources, Marilyn Chin reads and discusses Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues", Rhapsody in plain yellow, by Marilyn Chin, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Study of Smith's touring itinerary, of testimony of fellow entertainers who toured with her, and of contemporary reports indicates that the song was written in response to the flood that struck Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 1926. Back-Water Blues. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. Marilyn Chin (1955- ) was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Oregon, and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. Create beats, songs, and musical snippets with built-in music theory, melody guides, and intelligent chord suggestions. Become a Musicnotes Pro - Premium member today and receive 24 titles per year plus take 15% off all digital sheet music purchases and get PDFs included with every song! Smith's voice not only had this quality, it also possessed a rich timbre and tremendous emotive power. Bessie Smith is the best-known of the female \"classic blues\" (or \"city blues\") singers from the 1910s and 1920s (others include Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Clara Smith, and Mamie Smith). Down Hearted Blues, her first recording, sold nearly 800,000 copies, firmly establishing her as a new singer in the blues genre. Please download this song, preferably the original 1927 recording by Bessie Smith, and listen to her amazing singing. Johnson was instrumental in the development of the piano style that emerged from Harlem in the 1920s known as \"stride.\" \r\rIn the age before sound amplification and microphones, a successful singer needed to be able to project. La Bouche) [2023 Mix] [Extended Mix] Songtext. Jazz- Review Questions. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren While many latter-day . The call and response between vocals and piano does what? C, F7, C, C7, F7, C. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go The best song poems, I believe, can live on the pages as well as in the ear. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. After discussing blues history, we went over Bessie Smiths Backwater Blues, then Langston Hughes Too Blue, and concluded our study with Jericho Browns Duplex (specifically A poem is a gesture toward home). This incident gave birth to an important blues era, now known as the Delta Blues era. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Create beats, songs, and musical ideas with built-in music theory and AI from over 30k songs. She believed that her truth needed to be told, so she told it. Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. The melody is conjunct, making it easy to follow the lyrics of the song and the instrumental portions at the same time. In our workshop, In the Voice and in the Deep, Blues Poetry, participants and I studied blues music, history, aesthetics, and ultimately blues poetry. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. I have her strong voice in my ear at all times. Considering these notes about the blues inception, the blues endured and scoredif not directly then through derived musical formsthe majority of the United States early nation-building and cultural formation.