Black History Month - Evelyn Dove

Black History Month: 14 October 2020

 

Evelyn Dove made history by being the first black singer on BBC Radio, participating in the series 'Serenade in Sepia'. Born in 1902, she showed a talent for performing arts from a young age, but despite her incredible voice, faced discrimination from the classical music scene because she was mixed race. This did not stop her, however, from practicing jazz and cabaret, and her career grew as she gained a reputation for her talent. The public and press were thrilled by her incredible stage presence, as she quickly became known as one of the most glamorous women of her time.

 

She joined BBC Radio in 1939, a series which became so popular that, after it ran for a decade, became a TV show. The BBC employed her all throughout the war, and sometimes these appearances were broadcast to the forces. Having suffered from depression in the 1960s, she was admitted to a nursing home in 1970 and died in 1987. Though there were African American women who had had success in music, Evelyn was ahead of her time in Britain and Europe, paving the way for more black women in classical music.

 

Want to find out more about Evelyn Dove? Click here for more information, or here to hear her singing voice.

Black History Month - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Black History Month: 7 October 2020

 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer, conductor and political activist who fought against race prejudice with his infamous compositions. He was born in Holborn in 1875 to an English mother and a father originally from Sierra Leone; he liked to be identified as Anglo-African. His family were all able musicians and Taylor's father taught him to play the violin at a young age. His talent was obvious, and he was accepted into the Royal College of Music when he was just 15 years old and it was here that he perfected his technique.

 

Conscious of his African descent, Taylor's classical compositions were heavily influenced by traditional African music and this made him one of the most progressive writers of his time. In fact, his work across music and politics was so well received that in 1904, he was invited by President Theodore Roosevelt to visit the White House. His music was widely performed, and he had great support among African Americans.

 

After Coleridge-Taylor's death in 1912, musicians were concerned that he and his family had received no royalties from his Song of Hiawatha, which was one of the most successful and popular works written in the previous 50 years. His case contributed to their formation of the Performing Rights Society, an effort to gain revenues for musicians through performance as well as publication and distribution of music. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast is still widely performed decades after his death and is occasionally revived for seasons at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate his legacy.

 

Want to find out more about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor? Click here for more information, or here for more about his early life.

October 4 - The Death of Janis Joplin

This Day in History: 4 October 2020

 

4 October 1970

 

50 years ago, today, Janis Joplin died of an accidental heroin overdose, at 27 years old. She was discovered in her Los Angeles hotel room, where she had been putting the finishing touches on the album that would prove to be the biggest of her career, 'Pearl'. Prior to her death, she had transformed from a complete unknown into a generational icon on the basis of one spectacular performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967. She would follow this up with three years of touring and recording that cemented her status as "second only to Bob Dylan."

 

It was never just music, or the passion she displayed while performing, that made Joplin an icon. It was the gusto with which she lived every other aspect of her life, as well. The revolutionary philosophy in the late 1960s of 'sex, drugs, and rock and roll' had Janis Joplin as its leading female exponent. Her string of romantic relationships ranged from Kris Kristofferson to Dick Cavett, and her drug and alcohol consumption was prolific. She was posthumously added into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States.

 

Want to find out more about Janis Joplin? Click here for more information, or here for a video of her last interview.

Black History Month - Winifred Atwell

Black History Month: 2 October 2020

 

Winifred Atwell was born in Tunapuna in Trinidad and Tobago in 1914. Atwell left Trinidad in the early 1940s and travelled to the United States to study with Alexander Borovsky and, in 1946, moved to London, where she had gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music. However, in order to finance this initiative, she worked during the evenings at London's clubs playing piano rags. This did not hinder her, however, as she became the first female pianist to be awarded the academy's highest grading for musicianship.

 

Winifred Atwell soon became an accomplished pianist who was idolised by the British public throughout the 1950s. By this time, her popularity had spread nationally. She went on to become the first black person to have a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and is still the only female instrumentalist to do so. She signed a record contract with Decca in 1952, and her sales were soon 30,000 discs a week. She was by far the biggest selling pianist of her time, selling over 20 million records. Atwell is also the only holder of two gold and two silver discs for piano music in Britain and was the first black artist in the UK to sell a million records. Her music also worked well on TV where she made regular appearances. However, arguably, Atwell's peak was the second half of the 1950s, during which she played three Royal Variety Performances, appeared in every capital city in Europe, and played for over twenty million people. Towards the end of her famed career in 1969, she was awarded Trinidad and Tobago's national award, the Gold Hummingbird Medal, for her achievements in music.

 

Want to find out more about Winifred Atwell? Click here for more information, or here for a video of her playing the piano to 'The Black and White Rag'.

A History of Protest Songs

Radio 4's Front Row had a discussion tonight about the importance of protest songs, including a discussion about how songs had been written and performed by protesters in Cairo's Tahir Square and downloaded onto YouTube - you can see some examples here and here. It included a contribution from Dorian Lynskey, who has written "33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs", which discusses 33 of the most influential songs, from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" through to Green Day's "American Idiot". You can see the whole list here and also see his blog where he discusses other influential songs, usually supported by YouTube clips. If you have Spotify, you can download a playlist of 50 of them here.Which songs or musicians do you think have had an important part to play in encouraging protest and political change? Do let us know.

Elizabeth's theme song

If you had to choose a theme song to sum up Elizabeth I's core values what would it be? Be as anachronistic as you like and post your answers below. Best response (including your justification for the choice) will win some sort of prize...