America's popular music has always been greatly influenced by black culture including jazz, blues, ragtime, rock, soul, and rap. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s black music became American music. This increase of popularity of black music was due in part to the fact that British rock groups such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles acknowledged their debt to black musicians such as Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Another reason for the increase of popularity was because of a wide appeal of new popular black music produced and recorded by Berry Gordy's Motown Records, founded in Detroit.

Motown performers of the 1960s contrasted their style to the rock and roll of the 1950s. Motown or soul music featured equally heavy accents on every beat. Soul music combined gospel music with secular lyrics and provided a release for singers and their audiences, allowing them to learn in church but also make their living catering to this world rather than the next. Cities all over the United States were developing their own type of soul music, including Philadelphia and New York. Motown performers included Smoky Robinson, Gladys Knight, the Temptations, and the Supremes led by Diana Ross. The Supremes featured love songs with simple melodies and smooth sound. They were considered the most popular female group.

Meanwhile in Ne Orleans black performers continued to create rock and roll's dominant styles. The singers were accompanied by pianos or small bands. Groups we called "doo-wops" because they sang nonsense syllables in many songs. Singer Little Richard and Fats Domino sold 65 million 45-rpm records. Other groups included the Platters, the Five Satins, the Flamingoes, and the Coasters.

Ray Charles was probably the singer with the widest diversity of musical styles. He began as an imitator of Nat King Cole and went on to sing blues, gospel, country, jazz, and rock, earning himself the title of "The Genius" and the Father of Soul. Sam Cooke sang a song entitled "A Change is Gonna Come," which was prophetic of the awakening of black assertion in America during the Civil Rights Movement. Cooke became revered among black artists although his success on the charts was small. Cooke's music influenced Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, Arthur Conley, and Al Green. Another great singer of the 1960s was Aretha Franklin, who was greatly influenced by gospel music. In 1963 Stevie Wonder recorded his first popular record. Wonder played nearly every instrument and used dubbing to make his songs sound as if they were played by full-size bands. Other performers of the 1960s include singer James Brown who was called the Father of Funk.

The last three years of the 1960s saw changes as dramatic as those that had taken place during the earlier years. Curtis Mayfield and James Brown were contributors of the last movement of the decade -- the emergence of black pride. For example Brown sang a song entitled "Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" and "I Don't Wnat Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open the Dor and I'll Get it Myself)." The political content of black music reflected the changes in the decade. For example the civil unrest, the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., the emergence of black power, the war in Vietnam, and the explosion of drug abuse all gave new subjects to black lyrics which had in earlier days consisted of love and dance music. This new music took on a more positive attitude demanding a better deal and speaking out on political and social issues.

Traditional and spiritual music also played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Blacks used songs to protest peacefully, voice their frustrations, and present a unified front. In Albany after Freedom Riders were arrested for trespassing on a segregated "white" highway Bernice Johnson Reagon, a key player in the Civil Rights battle said the following about how songs helped:

"I think Albany settled the issue of whether to go to jail. Songs helped to do that, because in songs you could just name the people who were trying to use this against you -- Asa Kelley, who was the mayor, Chief Pritchett, who was the police. This behavior is new behavior for the black people of te United States of America. You would every once in a while have a crazy black person going up against some white person and they would hang him. But this time, with a song, there was nothing they cuold do to block what we were saying. Not only did you call their names and say what you wanted to say, but they could not stop your sound. Singing is different than talking, because no matter what they do, they would have to kill me to stop me from singing, if they were arresting me. Sometimes they would plead and say, "Please stop singing." And you would just know that your word is being heard. There was a real sense of platformness and clearly empowerment, and it was just like saying, "Put me in jail, that's not an issue of power. My freedom has nothing to do with putting me in jail." And so there was this joy.

"There's this song that Reverend Hollaway would do, and it's called "Shine On Me." [Begins Singing] 'Shine on me, shine on me, let the light from the lighthouse shine on me. Shine on me, shine on me, let the light from the lighthouse shine on me.' It's like claiming your space. We had been out of the light too long. It was our time. It still is (Hampton 108)."

Guy Carawan said of the songs of the Civil Rights era:

"The songs could take many meanings. They could be jubilant, or they could lament because someone had gotten killed. They could help people gather their determination, or they could be funny or satirical. You could dance to some of the songs, anything to help people get through all this. The musicbecame a part of everything -- you couldn't tell who was singer and who was an organizer, because the organizers sang and the singers organized (Seeger 39)."

Others said of the abundance of music during the movement the following:

"There was music in everything we did. If you had a staff meeting, or if we were just around the office, somebody would just come out with a song. Or if there were bad feeling, a painful discussion, tension, anybody, not a singer or anything, just anybody at the meeting or in the office, would open up with a line of song, and somebody else would take it over, and somebody else would add a verse, and by the end, everybody would be hugging each other and loving each other. You can't have a movement without that (Seegers 85)."

Songs were also used in prison because the prisoners could still protest and present a unified front even though they were seperated. James Farmer, a freedom rider who was arrested and placed in Parchman, a maximum security prison, along with several other blacks, said of his experience:

"In Parchman, the male Freedom Riders were in one very large horseshoe-shaped cell block. As a way of keeping our spirits up, we sang freedom songs. The prison officials wanted us to stop singing, because they were afraid our spirit would become contagious and the other prisoners would become Freedom Riders as a result of our singing. They said, 'If you don't stop singing, we'll take away your mattresses.' Now, the mattresses were the only convenience we had in those little cells. They were our link to civilization, so to speak. Everything else was cold and hard and the mattresse was no more than an inch and a half thick, and straw, but at least it was something. So it was a real threat to have nothing left to sleep on. People were quiet for a while, until finally Jim Bevel, who was a Bible student at the time, made a little speech pointing out, 'What they're trying to do is take your soul away. It's not the mattress, it's your soul.' Then everybody said, 'Yes yes, we'll keep out soul.' One Freedom Rider then yelled, 'Guards, guards, guards,' and the guards came dashing out to the cellblock to see what was wrong. He said, 'Come get my mattress. I'll keep my soul.' And everybody started singing,

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round, turn me round, turn me round.
Gonna keep on a-walkin',
Gonna keep on a-walkin',
Keep on walkin' to the Promised Land.

They came in and took the mattresses away and people sang as they had never sung before. We thought we were winning our battle, they were on the run (Hampton 94-95)."

One of the most important songs of the movement was "We Shall Overcome". It was started in 1945 by female tobacco workers who were on strike. By early 1960 it had become the unofficial theme song of the movement. Freedom Riders sang the song when they were on the verge of being arrested. One said:

"By now we were trapped, nowhere to go. Our only hope was to stay together. We joined hands in a circle and started singing "We Shall Overcome." The song has different meanings at different times. Sometimes you're singing about problems all over the world -- "We Shall Overcome"; sometimes you're singing about problems in the local community -- "We Shall Overcome." But in that bus station it was a prayer -- a song of hope that we would survive and that even if we in that group did not survive, then we as a people would overcome (Seeger 55)."

Hollis Watkins said of the singing "We Shall Overcome:"

That song was like the end result of all the hard fighting. We aregoing to overcome no matter what, no matter how, no matter how hard or how difficult or how long, we SHALL overcome! We sang it with our arms crossed with the right over the left, showing that the right will finally be victorious, and by holding each other's hand, the common bond pulled together all of the people (Seeger 180)."

Popular rock and roll also continued to develop while the Civil Rights struggle was going on. During the 1970s black music and musicians were featured on the covers pf Time, Newsweek, and Life. The advancements of the earlier years led to an increased standard of living which gave blacks more purchasing power. American music became black music notably country western which incorporated black rhythms. This music became known as progressive country music. Also during the 1970s the Commodores used elements from rhythm and blues and coutry to produce a unique sound. Other musicians had an emphasis on hard funk and were featured on many soundtracks of "blaxploitation" films which were popular. These films had themes of sex and violence and were made to exploit black audiences. Although they provided employment for black actors and actresses, directers, and technicians they created negative stereotypes of blacks which still exist today. They portrayed blacks as pimps, hustlers, addicts, or hookers. Examples include "Cotton Comes to Harlem" and "Sweet Sweetback Baadassss Song." Musicians began to return to their African and Caribbean cultural roots and featured musical instruments from Africa and the Caribbean on their albums. The 1970s yielded a cross section of many different types of black music including reggae, blues, soul, and R&B. This was the decade when black music became an institution in America. However, the 1970s failed to produce any true, great musicians apart from Michael Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass, and Randy Crawford. However the decade did produce an increasing diversity of musical styles under the heading of black music.

Black opera stars also made advances during the Civil Rights time period. Marian Anderson was the first black to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1955. Other opera stars were Leotyne Price, La Julia Rhea, Grace Bumbly, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, and Kathleen Battle.

During the 1980s black musicians and singers played an important role in music culture. The institutions of soul music continued to live on. Artists of the 1970s continued to grow and get bigger, including Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, the Jacksons, Kool and the Gang, the Brothers Johnson, and Smokey Robinson. Other artists included the Four Tops, the Manhattans, Robert Flack, Billy Paul, Natalie Cole, Michal Jackson, Prince, Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, and Tracy Chapman. Jazz musicians who moved into the spotlight included George Duke, Grover Washington, Jr., Quincy Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Stanley Turrentine. In 1981 a superstar emerged named Rick James. He combined the danceability of funk with the aggression of rock, and wrote about major publicpreoccupations -- sex and drugs. Reggae, calypso, and soca became popular because fo the close proximity of the West Indies. British, white pop acts such as Depeche Mode and Generation X began reinterpreting black music. Because of the work and talent of Bob Marley and the Wailers reggae became more accepted toward the late 1980s. Rap music also became very popular because of Public Enemy and Run DMC. Disc jockeys manipulated the records to make scratching sounds. The singer sang the lyrics over the music in street-language. Break dancing which consisted of acrobatics also became popular and would accompany the rap music. Other groups included Ice Cube and Ice-T.

Because of the advances of black musicians during the past three decades, black music has come to be greatly accepted by everyone. Today black musicians tend to have a formal music education like whites and music labels lavish in their black artists the kind of attention and financial investment previously reserved for white pop acts. Stars of black music are now taken seriously and treated with fitting and proper respect. However, as with any area of black culture there are still problems of racism and discrimination. Video producers claim that "black recording artists are allotted smaller budgets to produce videos than their white counterparts, even if they are platinum-selling acts" (McAdams, "Focus" 48). Artist Freddie Towles is a black rock and roll singer and says people do not know how to react that he does not sing R&B or jazz, especially white record companies who do not know how to market him. He says:

"...these stereotypes still exist. Think back to when the Drifters, the Platters, Little Richard, and the legendary James Brown were first starting out. If people had said they couldn't sing or dance or do anything besides sit at the back of a bus, we wouldn't have rock'n'roll as we know it today. They had it all together and proved it (Towles 12)."

Some black artists believe that white producers can do more for them than black producers because they have more resources. Fewer than 60 of the 500 videos made by black artists were handled by black video companies in 1990 (Darden 23). Other groups such as L.L. Cool J. and Public Enemy insist on using black companies. Artist Barry White said "Music has no color. We have to ask why companies are structured to promote records to black audiences and then to the pop market. In my experience, black acts who cross over never come back" (Darden 23).

Other outstanding performers in music and entertainment include Arther Mitchell and Alvin Ailey who led outstanding dance troupes. Ed Bradley has been an interviewer for 60 minutes since 1981 and Bryant Gumbel began to cohost The Today Shaow in 1982. Oprah Winfrey became a popular daytime talk show host and established her own production company. Arsenio Hall also developed his own late-night talk show in the early 1990s. Spike Lee is an inspirational director, writer, and actor who uses his productions to spotlight African American life and culture. Some of his films include School Daze, Do the Right Thing, and Jungle Fever. In a Rolling Stone interview Lee discussed the issues of racism and discrimination in the movie industry. When asked if he wanted to be seen as a black filmmaker or a filmmaker who happens to be black, Lee said the following:

"To me, I don't think tere's ever going to be a time in America where a white person looks at a black person and they don't see that they're black. The day ain't coming very soon. Don't hold your breath. So that's a given. So why am I going to get blue in the face, worrying about that? For me, that's one of the most important things Malcolm X said: 'What do you call a black man with a Ph.D.? Nigger.' That's it. So why am I going to spend time and energy saying: 'Don't call me a black filmmaker. I'm a filmmaker!' I'm not getting into that arguement (Berskine 68)."

Later in the interview Lee was asked if her thought the idea of a colorblind society is a positive goal, or is it just stupid. Spike Lee responded by saying, "I don't think Utopia is going to be a society where everybody's blood is mixed up. Hopefully, we can live a peaceful existence, and people can still have their distinct nationalities or backgrounds or races or whatever" (Berskine 121). Other actors include Louis Gossett, Jr., Robert Guillaume, Eddie Murphy, Sidnet Poitier, the only black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, Cicely Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg, Diana Ross, Maya Angelou, the first black, woman director, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dorothy Dandridge, Danny Glover, RIchard Pryor, Denzel Washington, and Bill Cosby. Cosby's interest in teaching and education led him to develop a television character, "Fat Albert," who was used in TV programs. Cosby was the first black actor to star in a weekly TVprogram. From 1965 to 1968 he starred in I Spy. He won three successive Emmys for the part and several Grammys for recordings of his comedy routines. Bill Cosby also starred in and created The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984 through 1992 and was one of television's most popular programs.

Black entertainers in music, film, and other industries have made great strides since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and have come to receive the attention they deserve. However problems still exist in areas of discrimination and racism. Until these problems are solved there will be a culture of artists and performers who do not have the full ability to use their talents. America is missing and important and virtually untapped area of culture that could enhance and augment their existing music and entertainment fields.

Sidney Poitier