Souled American: How Black Music Transformed White Culture - Kevin Phinney
by
Sarah
September 2005
Hearing the phrase "black music transformed white culture" immediately brings to mind people like Eminem and Vanilla Ice. It brings thoughts of Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and maybe some visions of Mariah Carey and Ray Charles.
For Kevin Phinney, an experienced white journalist based in Austin, Texas, this list just scrapes the surface of interaction between black music and white culture.
In Souled American, Phinney uses history, interviews, and music to support the idea that blacks innovate and create, and whites develop and commercialize.
From whites capitolizing on blackface in the 19th century to George Gershwin's million-dollar jazz interpretation "Rhapsody in Blue"; from the Beatles' endless Chuck Berry covers to Janis Joplin's alter-ego, Pearl; from John Belushi and Dan Akroyd's Blues Brothers to Justin Timberlake's Michael Jackson-esque dance moves, Phinney sufficiently proves the intertwining culture of white and black music.
According to Phinney, no particular race is a winner or loser - but, through the examples he provides, it is abundantly clear that whites have, throughout the decades, brought black music up from slave fields, underground clubs, and urban streets, and into the public's ears. And blacks have seen little of the profits.
At 343 pages (with small print), Souled American is a sufficient and thorough lesson about the cultural ties that bind Americans to their music. Filled with celebrity interviews and memories, it reminded me of running my fingers over the smooth cover of my dad's Jimi Hendrix albums. It brought back childhood memories of singing Marvin Gaye, and of my brother and I making our stuffed animals whistle "(Sittin On the) Dock of the Bay".
Souled American is not a chore to read - even for me, a white midwestern girl. It does not discredit whites, nor does is play up the black minority oppression. Phinney aptly and fully explains that we all have something to contribute, and, for the sake of music, we MUST remember where it all came from.
One can't help but feel that some great artists are ignored - Phinney gives little love to A Tribe Called Quest, TLC, and the entire reggae movement (although Bob and Ziggy Marley are discussed). But, in contrast, there isn't the feeling that these artists (and many others) are deliberately left out - only that there wasn't room; that he couldn't cover it all.
All in all, however, Phinney proves his point: blacks create and innovate; whites develop and commercialize. Neither race owns the music, and neither race should. Beginning with the repercussions of slavery, and ending with hip-hop as an urban reaction against the Reagan era, Phinney reminds his readers that black music truly did transform white culture, and that America - music and all - is truly a country of mixed beliefs, races, and cultures. That, in turn, has created a unique sound and artistic musical blend that should not be ignored, but examined and lauded.
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