frankly, i have always found this a bit perplexing, and it has only gotten worse.
Why is it that throughout the incredible music history of the USA, african americans, who had one of the richest and most incredible traditions of instrumental musical virtuousity, in current times, have produced musical acts that seemed to literally stop playing instruments?
When you look back at all the incredible contributions by AA's to instrumental music, it is mind boggling how you rarely ever see a popular one with an instrument nowadays.
The incredible virtuosity of Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Myles Davis, Chuck Berry, Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane...(and many many many others) runs through the veins of music from creation of the blues, to development of rock, R&B, Jazz, soul, etc...yet, you never see an AA rock band (except for Living Color) or even the incredible acts of the past two-three decades, playing instruments:
This has always baffled me....the only real notable/well known "instrumentalists" i can think of in the past 30 years, are Prince, Wnton Marsalis, and...tbh, i do not think i can name any others....maybe that Alicia Keys girl.
How can this be? How can the same part of the population that spawned the legendary talents above, and produced bands like Parliament, Sly and the Fammily Stone, have such a scarcity of noted instrumentalists these days? Granted, the entire musical world, black and white etc. are hardly pumping out the amazing instrumentalists anymore, but still, in the past 30 years, white bands/ instrumentalists are the most known, while the vast majority of african amercian musical acts, seem to be based in solo/vocals (Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Rihanna) and group/vocals (En Vogue, Destiny's Child, TLC, Boyz 2 MEn) or rap/solo( Jayz, Kanye West, 50 Cent, etc.) and have abandoned instrumental music for electronica?
any ideas?
Why is it that throughout the incredible music history of the USA, african americans, who had one of the richest and most incredible traditions of instrumental musical virtuousity, in current times, have produced musical acts that seemed to literally stop playing instruments?
When you look back at all the incredible contributions by AA's to instrumental music, it is mind boggling how you rarely ever see a popular one with an instrument nowadays.
The incredible virtuosity of Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Myles Davis, Chuck Berry, Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane...(and many many many others) runs through the veins of music from creation of the blues, to development of rock, R&B, Jazz, soul, etc...yet, you never see an AA rock band (except for Living Color) or even the incredible acts of the past two-three decades, playing instruments:
This has always baffled me....the only real notable/well known "instrumentalists" i can think of in the past 30 years, are Prince, Wnton Marsalis, and...tbh, i do not think i can name any others....maybe that Alicia Keys girl.
How can this be? How can the same part of the population that spawned the legendary talents above, and produced bands like Parliament, Sly and the Fammily Stone, have such a scarcity of noted instrumentalists these days? Granted, the entire musical world, black and white etc. are hardly pumping out the amazing instrumentalists anymore, but still, in the past 30 years, white bands/ instrumentalists are the most known, while the vast majority of african amercian musical acts, seem to be based in solo/vocals (Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Rihanna) and group/vocals (En Vogue, Destiny's Child, TLC, Boyz 2 MEn) or rap/solo( Jayz, Kanye West, 50 Cent, etc.) and have abandoned instrumental music for electronica?
any ideas?