Whether it be Blues, R&B, Country, Rock or even Jazz, you can bet that your favourite artists song has either been ‘borrowed’, sampled or featuring someone else’s original idea. A lot of the time this is in the form of a consensual, professional agreement. However, in divisive post modern-day America (amongst other places) this was not always the case. Approaching us is the end of Black History Month so we thought it best we take this wonderful opportunity to educate, inspire and celebrate our brothers and sisters’ achievements in the music industry; as well as the forgotten songs that lay in the shadows of the more culturally accepted artists of the 1900’s.
Naturally when you think of cultural appropriation in the 1900’s you tend to think of the likes of Elvis and The Rolling Stones who famously covered black musicians work that ended up catapulting them into the limelight. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones and a lot of this is still thought to be happening today.
Famous Elvis Presley examples include:
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti 1955
Elvis Presley - Tutti Frutti 1956
Big Momma Thornton - Hound Dog 1952
Elvis Presley - Hound Dog 1956
For those of you unsure what cultural appropriation is, it’s when a minority groups culture is adopted by a more influential and powerful group. More often than not, this more socially accepted group is often praised and admired for doing this action, sporting this style/language etc. regardless to the fact that the people who do this daily, whose culture it actually is, are not even acknowledged. Commonly, there are numerous debates about the morality of white artists breaking into the ‘rap culture’, Caucasians embracing dreadlocks, as well as the likes of Katy Perry and Iggy Azalea using different cultures in each music video they create… to name but a few examples. But historically this has been going on for a really, really, long time. Take these songs for example:
Fats Domino - Aint That A Shame 1955
Pat Boone - Aint That A Shame (late) 1955
Joe Turner – Shake, Rattle & Roll 1954
Bill Hayley & the Comets (late) - Shake, Rattle & Roll 1954
Richard Berry - Louie Louie 1955
The Kinsmen - Louie Louie 1963
A more recent version is Katy Perry’s #1 hit Dark Horse, over which there’s a lot of speculation as to whether the idea was original and unique at all. We’ll leave the rumoured artist she stole from below, please take a listen:
What’s your stance on all this? Do people have a right to be angry? Has the world become too sensitive? Is everyone just a special little snowflake? Let us know!
If you fancy broadening your musical horizons we have plenty Vinyl LP Records from all race, class and culture available online HERE... take a peek!