St. Louis Blues Interpretation
“St. Louis Blues” from 1922 was composed by William Christopher “W. C.” Handy. It is a blues jazz song. Handy was known as “The Father of the Blues”. The blues is a musical genre whose origin is from the African-American communities. The blues songs were jazz songs, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. “St. Louis Blues” remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians’ repertoire. Handy wrote this song mainly inspired by some memories of his life. He remembered hearing a woman walking down the street and saying: “My man’s got a heart like a rock cast in the sea”. This song verses are standard-twelve-bar blues which means that the most prominent chord progressions ae the 12-bar blues or blues changes. The song combines ragtime, it has
a tango introduction and all of a sudden it develops into a low-down blue. I read the interesting article called “An Excursion into the Lower Depths: Hollywood, Urban Primitivism, and St Louis Blues,’ 1929-1937” by Peter Stanfield and found many interesting details about the song “St. Louis Blues”. The essay tells about different presentations of the song “St. Louis Blues” in the early to mid-1930s and how this song presented the “American social and cultural discourses of race, gender, class (underclass) and sexuality”. During those years, Handy’s song represented the female gender as a lower class sex symbol. The song was written in those years when the male figure was especially dominant and the females were exploited by the male figure. The female was forced to follow men’s instructions and rule until “flappers” broke the mold. This song, to me, exemplified the frivolity and gay times after the end of Prohibition and years before The Great Depression.
Handy’s song has been used in numerous films. One of the most famous is King Vidor’s Stella Dallas, starring 1930s and 1940s starlet Barbara Stanwyck, among many others. Stella at first was presented as a sacrificed woman married to an upper-class man. After giving birth to her daughter, at first, she was presented as a sacrificed mother, but, when her husband abandoned, her she became a sex symbol. Stella, with the backdrop of “St. Louis Blues”, is now presented in this, not vulgar, but definitely more risqué way. “St. Louis Blues” became a very popular song and the most recorded blues song. The song was interpreted by Ethel Waters, the first female African American who sang this song. It was recorded during the World War II, and it was interpreted by different singers such as: Bessie Smith, LeRoy Smith, the grand Louis Armstrong, the marvelous Bing Crosby, etc. According to David Schiff, “St. Louis Blues” “changed the landscape of music” because this song was interpreted in different musical styles by many crooners. One of the greatest interpretations was the one recorded by Al Bernard, who by singing this song was said by critics to have crossed race and gender lines. Al Bernard was the first white man singing a blues song; he sang this song taking in consideration the female’s point of view. This song “St. Louis Blues” presents to us the black American society during the 1920s; it is interesting to see their transformation into the 21st century when you see that the females play a significant societal roles. It has a rich cultural and historical meaning aside from being a song that makes us want to get up and do the Charleston à la Roxy Hart. The 1929 version by the Louis Armstrong Orchestra was introduced into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and can still be heard on popular entertainment like the television show Boardwalk Empire.
a tango introduction and all of a sudden it develops into a low-down blue. I read the interesting article called “An Excursion into the Lower Depths: Hollywood, Urban Primitivism, and St Louis Blues,’ 1929-1937” by Peter Stanfield and found many interesting details about the song “St. Louis Blues”. The essay tells about different presentations of the song “St. Louis Blues” in the early to mid-1930s and how this song presented the “American social and cultural discourses of race, gender, class (underclass) and sexuality”. During those years, Handy’s song represented the female gender as a lower class sex symbol. The song was written in those years when the male figure was especially dominant and the females were exploited by the male figure. The female was forced to follow men’s instructions and rule until “flappers” broke the mold. This song, to me, exemplified the frivolity and gay times after the end of Prohibition and years before The Great Depression.
Handy’s song has been used in numerous films. One of the most famous is King Vidor’s Stella Dallas, starring 1930s and 1940s starlet Barbara Stanwyck, among many others. Stella at first was presented as a sacrificed woman married to an upper-class man. After giving birth to her daughter, at first, she was presented as a sacrificed mother, but, when her husband abandoned, her she became a sex symbol. Stella, with the backdrop of “St. Louis Blues”, is now presented in this, not vulgar, but definitely more risqué way. “St. Louis Blues” became a very popular song and the most recorded blues song. The song was interpreted by Ethel Waters, the first female African American who sang this song. It was recorded during the World War II, and it was interpreted by different singers such as: Bessie Smith, LeRoy Smith, the grand Louis Armstrong, the marvelous Bing Crosby, etc. According to David Schiff, “St. Louis Blues” “changed the landscape of music” because this song was interpreted in different musical styles by many crooners. One of the greatest interpretations was the one recorded by Al Bernard, who by singing this song was said by critics to have crossed race and gender lines. Al Bernard was the first white man singing a blues song; he sang this song taking in consideration the female’s point of view. This song “St. Louis Blues” presents to us the black American society during the 1920s; it is interesting to see their transformation into the 21st century when you see that the females play a significant societal roles. It has a rich cultural and historical meaning aside from being a song that makes us want to get up and do the Charleston à la Roxy Hart. The 1929 version by the Louis Armstrong Orchestra was introduced into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and can still be heard on popular entertainment like the television show Boardwalk Empire.