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Strong link between blacks, blues
By Jimmie O. Woods Jr.
Staff Writer
The second gift America gave Blacks
after the trans-Atlantic cruise was the blues.
This musical genre was sparked in the
depths of the Mississippi Delta by Blacks
who were depressed, oppressed and spit
upon— and that was a good day.
In the cotton and tobacco fields of the
southern and eastern United States, slaves
sang songs to the rhythm of labor. These
were songs about home, about pain and
about loss.
Years later, this type of song continued
to fill the hearts of southern Blacks because
the same conditions continued to dominate
their lives. The majority of bluesmen were
breed from communities that rooted towns
sprinkled throughout southern Mississippi.
As early as 1872 blues sounds were
permeating Mississippi nights. This sound
continued to expand geographically and
musically incorporating what would later
be known as jazz and soul music.
It has been said that the whole of life
itself expresses the blues...the blues are
the true facts of life expressed in words
and song, inspiration and feeling and
understanding.
The blues incorporates all other forms
of music, according to Willie Dixon, a
South Side Chicago transplant blues
musician. He said the root of the blues is
spiritual.
“The blues calls on God as much as
spiritual songs do. The blues calls on love
as much as love songs,” Dixon said.
In relation to other forms of music he
wrote that, “blues are the roots and the
other musics are the fruits, without the
roots, you have no fruits.”
One expression of the blues sentiment
was related by Dixon, who was bom in
Vicksburg, MS in 1915 as the seventh of
14 children. These lyrics were written in
1969:
I am the moans of suffering
women
I am the groans of dying men
I am the last one to the start
And the first one to the end
I am the blues, I am the blues
I’m the last one hired
And I’m the first one fired
I’m the only man
That has never been satisfied
According to Dixon, the blues were
built into man from the beginning. The
first thing, he said, to come out of man was
the blues. When God made man, man was
lonesome and blue, hence woman was
made. He continued, she had a comer on
the situation.
“She can either straighten it out or make
it worse. She can give him the blues or take
it away from him,” Dixon said.
The bluesartwasalso created by women
whose voices filled juke joints until the
wee hours of the morning. Bessie Smith,
who sang in Atlanta in the 1920s on Decatur
Street and Ma Rainey, bom in Columbus
in 1915. The blues also flowed along
Auburn Avenue out of the Royal Peacock.
As it evolved the shiner aspects became
commercialized in the form of rhythm and
blues and sold to Americans who would
accept it.
Long held as the devil’s music, it was
shunned by most although there were some
blues artists like Muddy Waters, W.C.
Handy and B.B. King. Robert Johnson
was one ofthe few bluesmen who managed
to find commercial success. A tune of his
sold a million copies.
The juke joint, which in essence was
little more than a shed, was the concert hall
which housed the blues. It was filled with
Blacks who danced to music, cried to the
blues and released the pressures that
southern life in America created. The
church, similarly, was a gathering place
where Blacks cried, danced and rejoiced.
The similarity between these two arenas is
that they are best known by their narratives
that taught lessons in living.
Juke joints, named after the juke box
that automatically played music, in the
’40s could be found in most southern
states and the Midwest. A trail of these
stretched from Mississippi to Chicago
pausing in New Orleans, Texas, Memphis,
St. Louis and Kansas City.
Recently the blues has found new
younger audiences in Atlanta (Blind
Willie’s) and Los Angles (House of Blues)
and according to the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution blues has garnered attention
from western Europe and small towns in
Mississippi have become international
tourist attractions.
Talented Times 3 More
than famous names
By Pamela Wells
Contributing Writer
Their idol is their uncle.
He is the greatest, they believe, in the
music industry. However, they want their
music to speak for itself without any
reference to him.
It has taken three years of writing,
looking for material, learning how to
develop and experimenting with their ideas
to get where they are. and their idol has
taught them to work for what they want.
He has challenged them to reach far and
these ambitious young men are meeting
the challenge. They want to be bigger and
badder than their idol - Michael Jackson.
3T-Taj (22),Taryll (20), andTJ Jackson
(17) have made their debut on the music
scene with the release of the song
“Anything,” which they wrote and
produced.
Although Michael is their uncle and
Tito is their father, they want to be known
for their own work.
“We chose to release Anything first,
because we wanted people to recognize us
as a group,” Taj said. “We don’t want
people to like our music because of our
family. We want to be liked for our work.”
The group made their recording debut in
1993 with the track, “Didn’t Mean To
Hurt You” on the “Free Willy” soundtrack.
It is that song that got the group a recording
deal with MJJ / Sony.
However, they kept their show business
aspirations to themselves for many years
until the moment was right.
“We never gave up,” Taj said. “We were
persistent. We knew what we wanted and
we strived for it.”
The group is striving to be seen as one
with wholesome music and positive
images.
“We want to put out good music,” T.J.
said. “We want kids to be able to identify
with our music. We want to offer them an
alternative to music and show them that it
is okay to be yourself.”
3T’s music is geared toward mid-tempo
ballads or grooves, but their repertoire is
larger than most groups in their genre.
“We have been able to capture a variety
of sounds, ranging from R&B and
crossover, to pop and anthem songs,” Tarryl
said.
However, music is not their only love in
life. They value an enriching education.
T aj and Tary 11 attend Loyola Mary mount
University in California and TJ is a senior
at Buckley High School.
While performing their magic on stage,
they each take turns singing lead as their
idol suggested to them.
“Michael encourages us to take turns
singing leads. He told us to avoid the
pressure and resentment sometimes
brought about by thrusting one musician
into the spotlight,” Taj said. “I am a
perfectionist. I like to get the job done.”
Since Taj likes to get the job done in all
aspects of the business, he is majoring in
television production with a music minor
at Loyola Marymount.
“I thought it would be a good idea and
helpful to learn how to work a camera so
I can handle the music videos that me and
my brothers plan to star in.”
What is important for the group, Tyrell
pointed out, are principles that hold true
for all young people.
“Don’t be afraid to be who you are,”
Taryll said. “People should be happy with
themselves. It is not about being popular
and doing drugs. I tell everyone stay away
from negativity.”