0:00:13 > 0:00:16Some people believe that the blues is a kind of protest music,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20that the blues is the cry of the oppressed.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23In this programme, we want to examine that idea.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Is blues a form of Black protest music?
0:00:27 > 0:00:31And when we say "oppressed", what do we mean anyway?
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Well, in the case of Black people in America,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36we mean quite specific things.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39First, slavery.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The only reason Black people are in America in the first place
0:00:42 > 0:00:46is because they were taken there forcibly as slaves.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Second, racism.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53Once slavery was ended, a systematic pattern of laws was established
0:00:53 > 0:00:56discriminating against Black people.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Blacks were segregated.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00They had inferior facilities of every kind -
0:01:00 > 0:01:04education, jobs, housing, income.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06So, the third mark of oppression,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10reinforced by segregation, was poverty,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and there are plenty of blues about that.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Let's see Big Joe Williams, filmed in 1976,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20with a song he used to sing in the '30s,
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Providence Help The Poor People, Those Who Cannot Help Themselves.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28# Well, providence help the poor people, oh
0:01:29 > 0:01:32# Those cannot help theirselves
0:01:37 > 0:01:41# Well, providence help the poor people
0:01:41 > 0:01:44# Those cannot help theirselves
0:01:48 > 0:01:51# When you're working 15 hours a week, boys
0:01:51 > 0:01:55# Whoo, boys You can help someone else
0:02:02 > 0:02:04# Well, there was a toll a-headin'
0:02:04 > 0:02:06# Won't your hands all go lace What d'you say?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10# No, I got a job waggonin'
0:02:10 > 0:02:11# See every name
0:02:11 > 0:02:15# Providence help the poor people
0:02:15 > 0:02:19# Those cannot help theirselves
0:02:22 > 0:02:25# When you're workin' about 15 hours a week
0:02:25 > 0:02:28# Whee, well, boys Try to help someone else
0:02:32 > 0:02:34# Well, I woke up this mornin'
0:02:34 > 0:02:36# Just about half past eight
0:02:36 > 0:02:39# Started down on Pine Street to get my meal tickets traded to me
0:02:39 > 0:02:41# No
0:02:41 > 0:02:44# Providence ain't gonna help no more
0:02:50 > 0:02:52# Yeah, when you see Big Joe comin'
0:02:52 > 0:02:56# Whoo, my head be the maestro
0:03:01 > 0:03:03# Well, now, you stole a hen
0:03:03 > 0:03:05# I want you hen to crow
0:03:06 > 0:03:09# Said no, I can't get no, Lord, my meal bill
0:03:09 > 0:03:10# I can't live any more
0:03:10 > 0:03:14# Woah, the providence help the poor people
0:03:15 > 0:03:18# Those cannot help theirselves
0:03:21 > 0:03:24# Wait till you help them 15 hours a week, boys
0:03:24 > 0:03:28# Whoo, Lord, boy, help someone else
0:03:32 > 0:03:35# Well, I woke this morning Went out to the old Red Cross store
0:03:35 > 0:03:38# To get me some flour and meal
0:03:38 > 0:03:40# Say you can go back home, boy
0:03:40 > 0:03:43# Cos providence ain't gonna help no more
0:03:44 > 0:03:46# Yeah, it ain't gonna help you no more
0:03:53 > 0:03:57# Yeah, won't see me again with my mom
0:03:57 > 0:03:59# Happy just by the store
0:04:01 > 0:04:03# It's hard, you see. #
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Big Joe used to sing that to the people standing in line
0:04:08 > 0:04:12for the soup kitchens set up for the unemployed in St Louis
0:04:12 > 0:04:14during the Depression.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18At that time, millions of people were out of work, Black and White.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23But for Black people, it was worse. Last hired, first fired.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27For this next singer, Henry Townsend,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31blues very clearly came from poverty and racism.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34He sees blues as a relief from pressure.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Townsend came from Mississippi, but as a boy he left the Deep South,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43hoping to find more freedom and opportunity in the North.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45He settled in St Louis.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48There, with the help of his blues, he made a living,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51playing both guitar and piano.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54He'd play at speakeasies and at private parties,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57picking up dimes where he could.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02# Oh, yeah, Lord, yeah
0:05:03 > 0:05:06# I know just what I should do
0:05:08 > 0:05:11# Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
0:05:11 > 0:05:14# I know just what I should do
0:05:17 > 0:05:19# Way you've been acting, yeah, of lately
0:05:19 > 0:05:22# I have to get rid of you
0:05:48 > 0:05:50# Ain't it a shame, ain't it a shame
0:05:50 > 0:05:53# The way things are going today?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58# Ain't it a shame, ain't it a shame
0:05:58 > 0:06:01# The way things are going today?
0:06:04 > 0:06:09# Well, I've tried so hard But I can't never have my way
0:06:34 > 0:06:36# Oh, last night
0:06:36 > 0:06:40# I was wakened up with my nightmare dreams
0:06:42 > 0:06:44# Yeah, Lord, last night
0:06:44 > 0:06:48# I was wakened up with all them nightmare dreams
0:06:50 > 0:06:52# I was dreaming Old Devil
0:06:52 > 0:06:55# Was really gonna get my loving queen
0:07:19 > 0:07:21# So I'm gonna have to say I'm leaving
0:07:21 > 0:07:24# Although I don't wanna go
0:07:27 > 0:07:29# Yeah, I'm gonna have to say I'm leaving
0:07:29 > 0:07:32# Although I don't wanna go
0:07:34 > 0:07:37# Well, I just came for your work
0:07:37 > 0:07:39# I ain't standing round here any more
0:07:42 > 0:07:47# So I'm gonna wave my hand I'm gonna wave my hand, bye-bye-bye
0:07:49 > 0:07:51# So I'm gonna wave my hand
0:07:51 > 0:07:55# I'm gonna wave my hand Bye-bye-bye
0:07:57 > 0:07:58# So when I leave for good
0:07:58 > 0:08:02# Please don't sit around and cry. #
0:08:28 > 0:08:32All the people in this programme used St Louis as a base at some point.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Henry Townsend still lives there.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Our next singer was rather different from the others - Victoria Spivey.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40She became a very big star.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44She travelled on all the showbiz circuits, Black nightclubs,
0:08:44 > 0:08:45Black theatres and so on.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And she made a lot of money in the '20s and '30s.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50But she never forgot what blues meant
0:08:50 > 0:08:53to the ordinary folk who bought her records.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59This song, which she originally recorded in 1928, is about TB,
0:08:59 > 0:09:04a disease associated with poverty, bad housing and poor food.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07The film was shot in 1976.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11A few months later, Victoria Spivey died.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Perhaps one should say that her performance here is musically
0:09:14 > 0:09:19well below her best, but in a way, that's the thing about blues -
0:09:19 > 0:09:22it's the feeling, the emotional involvement,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25the commitment of the performer that count,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28far more than the virtuoso mechanics of technique.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31You decide whether it's protest music.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35# TB's all right to hell
0:09:37 > 0:09:42# But your friends will treat you so low down
0:09:49 > 0:09:53# TB's all right to hell
0:09:55 > 0:09:59# But your friends will treat you so low down
0:10:05 > 0:10:09# Don't you ask them for no favours
0:10:09 > 0:10:15# They even stop coming around
0:10:21 > 0:10:27# Oh-h-h-h
0:10:30 > 0:10:33# TB's killing me
0:10:40 > 0:10:44# Mmm-mmm
0:10:48 > 0:10:52# TB's killing me
0:11:00 > 0:11:04# Well, you can just bury my poor body
0:11:06 > 0:11:09# Lord
0:11:09 > 0:11:11# In the deep blue sea
0:11:19 > 0:11:21# Now, when I was up on my feet
0:11:23 > 0:11:27# I could not walk down the street
0:11:28 > 0:11:31# For you men looking at me
0:11:33 > 0:11:37# From my head to my feet
0:11:37 > 0:11:39# Though now
0:11:43 > 0:11:47# TB's killing me
0:11:56 > 0:11:59# You can just bury my poor body
0:12:00 > 0:12:05# Lord, in the deep blue sea
0:12:06 > 0:12:10# And don't you worry about me. #
0:12:15 > 0:12:18TB Blues, Providence Help The Poor People,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21they're songs about poverty and disease.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23And there are plenty of those.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26But in a way, that's not the point.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The blues are not directly about oppression.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31But in a culture shaped by oppression,
0:12:31 > 0:12:37as Black culture in America has been, music has a symbolic significance.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Everyone knows about poverty and racism,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42so no-one needs to spell it out.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Everyone's experienced it. So protest isn't quite the word for blues.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49It's not rhetoric,
0:12:49 > 0:12:54but a knowledge of shared experience, that gives the music its power.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24# I was standing at the crossroads
0:13:24 > 0:13:27# With my head hung down on the ground
0:13:30 > 0:13:34# Yes, I was standing at the crossroads
0:13:34 > 0:13:37# With my head hung down on the ground
0:13:40 > 0:13:44# So now I'm tryin' to find my babe
0:13:44 > 0:13:46# And you know she's not around
0:13:49 > 0:13:52# I worked hard for my baby
0:13:52 > 0:13:54# And she treats me like a tramp
0:13:57 > 0:14:00# I worked hard for my baby
0:14:00 > 0:14:03# And she treats me like a tramp
0:14:06 > 0:14:09# She must have been tired of living
0:14:09 > 0:14:11# I'll put her six feet in her grave
0:14:15 > 0:14:17# You know, I don't want no woman
0:14:17 > 0:14:20# If she won't pay me no mind
0:14:23 > 0:14:26# You know, I don't want no woman
0:14:26 > 0:14:28# If she won't pay me no mind
0:14:32 > 0:14:35# She done knocked her job in
0:14:35 > 0:14:37# She tried to drive me out of my mind
0:15:05 > 0:15:08# I believe
0:15:08 > 0:15:10# I believe I'm goin' back home
0:15:13 > 0:15:16# I believe
0:15:16 > 0:15:18# I believe I'm going back home
0:15:21 > 0:15:24# I gotta find my baby
0:15:24 > 0:15:27# She done left my hand at home. #
0:16:23 > 0:16:26That was James DeShay playing in his own club,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28the Santa Fe Bar in St Louis.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31His clientele are working people, like himself,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and he works by day in a chemical factory.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38This last song is typical late-hours, after-midnight stuff,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42the old sho 'nuff, slow, sad, mournful blues.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44But is it only sad?
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Isn't there a lot of joy, the kind of affirmation I've been talking about?
0:17:05 > 0:17:09# I met a handsome stranger
0:17:09 > 0:17:12# I persuaded her
0:17:12 > 0:17:16# To be my wife, to be my wife
0:17:22 > 0:17:26# I met a handsome stranger
0:17:26 > 0:17:29# I persuaded her
0:17:29 > 0:17:33# To be my wife, to be my wife
0:17:39 > 0:17:42# I wanna tell all you people
0:17:42 > 0:17:47# I have made a mistake in life
0:17:47 > 0:17:49# A mistake in life
0:17:55 > 0:17:59# She cut my pleasure in two
0:17:59 > 0:18:04# The same as she had a pocket knife, a pocket knife
0:18:09 > 0:18:13# She cut my pleasure in two
0:18:13 > 0:18:18# The same as she had a pocket knife
0:18:18 > 0:18:20# A pocket knife
0:18:26 > 0:18:29# I wanna tell all you people
0:18:29 > 0:18:33# I have made a mistake in life
0:18:33 > 0:18:35# A mistake in life
0:18:40 > 0:18:43# Don't ever marry in a hurry
0:18:43 > 0:18:48# You may make a mistake in life
0:18:48 > 0:18:50# A mistake in life
0:18:56 > 0:18:59# Don't ever marry in a hurry
0:18:59 > 0:19:04# You may make a mistake in life
0:19:04 > 0:19:07# A mistake in life
0:19:11 > 0:19:15# Instead of marrying your own
0:19:15 > 0:19:19# You may marry another man's wife
0:19:19 > 0:19:22# Another man's wife
0:19:26 > 0:19:30# When you get ready to marry
0:19:30 > 0:19:33# You'd better think long and speak twice
0:19:33 > 0:19:35# Think long and speak twice
0:19:39 > 0:19:44# When you get ready to marry
0:19:44 > 0:19:47# You'd better think once and speak twice
0:19:47 > 0:19:49# You'd better speak twice
0:19:54 > 0:19:57# If you make a mistake in marrying
0:19:57 > 0:20:01# You'll be ruined for the rest of your life
0:20:01 > 0:20:03# For the rest of your life
0:20:49 > 0:20:53# Don't ever marry in a hurry
0:20:53 > 0:20:58# You may make a mistake in life
0:20:58 > 0:21:00# A mistake in life
0:21:05 > 0:21:09# Don't ever marry in a hurry
0:21:09 > 0:21:14# You may make a big mistake in life
0:21:14 > 0:21:16# A mistake in life
0:21:21 > 0:21:24# Instead of marrying your own
0:21:24 > 0:21:30# You may marry another man's wife Another man's wife
0:21:34 > 0:21:38# She'll cut your pleasure in two
0:21:38 > 0:21:42# The same as she had a pocket knife
0:21:42 > 0:21:43# A pocket knife
0:21:48 > 0:21:52# She'll cut your pleasure in two
0:21:52 > 0:21:57# The same as she had a pocket knife A pocket knife
0:22:03 > 0:22:06# I wanna tell all you people
0:22:06 > 0:22:10# I have made a mistake in life
0:22:10 > 0:22:11# A mistake in life. #
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Thank you. Thank you.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Thank you very much.