Swing is a momentous phenomenon in the history of music, as well as in the history of the USA. Swing triggered important changes in the social fabric of the country, shaped its musical taste, and pushed the nation to unity. All these significant changes occurred within the time frame of just a couple of decades. Swing was writing the history of America in its 1930s-40s. Swing’s own history was written by personalities of an exceptional magnitude. Altogether, these two “histories” merged to form a fascinating story of musical, cultural and social revolution and evolution. Swing erased the racial and cultural limits between people, and it also helped to erase the borderline between the definitions of popular and artistic music.
Jazz reached the apogees of its popularity with the U.S. society during the 1930s-40s. It was the time of the Great Depression and the WWII aftermath, but it was also the so-called era of swing. The popularity of swing brought jazz as a whole to the new heights. The swing era can be eloquently described as the time of the sudden mass proliferation of swing bands and the American public’s embrace of swing as its national music. The way to this recognition was not long, but it was thorny. The unification of the nation under the umbrella of swing was initiated and fueled by musicians themselves.
The first genii of swing were African Americans. However, swing swiftly transformed from a purely “black” musical phenomenon into “black-and-white” and even “multicolor” (because swing embraced also Latino Americans and other ethnicities). In the 1930s, white jazz musicians started to contribute their talents to the swing culture. This period is marked by the names of Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy Lunceford, and Duke Ellington. Apart from the fact that these people changed the “color” of swing, the latter of them “christened” swing with the record titled “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”. In 1935, clarinetist Benny Goodman brought swing onto a new level and made it a part of the mainstream music culture. Goodman organized a band, including Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, and Fletcher Henderson. The band was a blend of musicians of “white” and “black” cultures, and this multiracial integration within a band led to gradual integration within the music industry, as well as on the social plane of the USA. Some call this revolutionary event not only innovative but politically explosive. Swing did as much, as laid the first bricks of the foundation for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. Indeed, through music, the white “majority” started to perceive African Americans as worthy and talented people. Cultural recognition was projected onto a wider context of society, economy and politics, so that the rights and recognition of “black” musicians through music (namely, swing) began to expand. The outcome of the turbulent 1960s is well known.
After racial equality had blossomed, gender equality followed. The 1940s allowed female performers to find a place among the already respected and loved male musicians. “All-girl” bands emerged the most famous of which was The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, established by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss. This and similar bands used the wartime as an opportunity to prove they were as talented and masterful in swing as their male co-artists. Unfortunately, the names of female swing performers sank into oblivion when the American musical chronicles were written and rewritten. Nevertheless, their contribution is undeniable, and their artistry helped to shape the phenomenon of swing.
Swing crossed ethnic and racial lines freely. This statement is true in the meaning that swing jazz easily and rapidly won hearts of people regardless of race or place of living. But at some point, swing itself divided the country into people who favored and liked it and those who opposed it. There still were people of different ethnic backgrounds and social statuses whom swing left untouched. Swing’s capacity to unite hardly overcame entrenched racism. On paper, the race-unifying, swing-induced trend may seem quite simple, and in light of the current state of the American society, the times of racial discrimination and tension may look too distant and obscure, but 70 years ago, the USA only made its first steps in accepting all cultures and races as equal. Despite the efforts made by American and African American swing musicians, a certain part of society did not want to accept the reality in which swing mixed cultures and colors. Swing challenged the deeply rooted social norms which were essential to conservative members of society. Also, the older generation resented upon the influence swing exerted on the younger generation. At swing performances, races used to be kept separately. Dark skin was still considered an equivalent of a threat to “white purity” on the dance floor, as well as in everyday life.
Notwithstanding, the racial worries and conservatism could not stop the slow movement of swing through the nation, as it unified it. The first bells of change rang when Goodman insisted on having mixed-race audiences as one of demands of his band’s “rider”. However, the stories of other personalities involve a shameful reminder of the racial biases which resurfaced over and over again during the country’s evolution into a truly democratic state. The record says that during the creation of the 1944 film Jammin the Blues, white guitarist Barney Kessel had to undergo “idiocies”, which were supposed to make him look “black”. At first, they used berry juice to stain the man’s skin, and when the idea failed, it was decided to darken Kessel’s skin by filming him in the shadows. Luckily for Kessel and other musicians, swing “swang” the cradle of old racial biases wildly, and soon the good name of the jazz performer was illuminated with true fame and without regard to his skin color. Swing worked its magic on people, and it was so successful, mostly because of the idea to integrate races and styles came from within, from the musicians. The public simply followed their example.
It seems that the very composition of swing mirrors the social trends and the effect swing had on the masses. Swing is called the Big Band sound. This alternative name came from the fact that swing possesses a strong rhythmic drive and an orchestral “call and response” between various ensemble sections. Thus, piano, guitar, bass, and drums were the rhythm section which set the swinging beat, whereas trumpets, woodwinds, and trombones represented the section which set the emotional tone of the music piece. The way sections interacted was called a “conversational” style. Ironically, just like the sections united in swing to form a holistic and harmonic unity, where each element communicated its essence to the other ones, swing music itself united people of all cultural backgrounds, origins and skin colors. Swing became the means of conversation for them, like a common denominator to which everything stood in accord. Thus, if anyone dared to draw an allegory out of swing’s brass and reed sections engaged in call-and-response, perhaps, African Americans would impersonate the brass section, whereas “white” Americans would be the reed section.
The role of swing in the history of the USA and its social integration found its reflection in the words of many people. According to David Stowe, swing ideology was an ideology of ethnic pluralism and democratic equality which proved the possibility of tolerance, mutual respect, even affection between “white” and “black” parts of society. Lewis Erenberg said swing offered a new model of social democracy and groups’ life. These reflections help one to realize the role swing played as a channel through which musical unification came, followed by gradual integration of races. One may say swing bound music styles, skin colors and genders into a tight knot of what is now called the American culture
Amanda Parkinson, the writer at quality custom essays company and a passionate series movie watcher. She used to lifestyle blogging and solo traveling.
