General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is there anyway now that we can be considered not racist? [View all]freshwest
(53,661 posts)But the Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Little Stevie and so many of those songs were not done well. That's why I always go back to the originals.
Did you know what Mick Jagger said about a black blues singer who moved to the UK and how he wanted to sing like him?
The Rolling Stones made a fortune by imitating the great black blues singers. He quoted the man he wanted to be like saying, although I may not completely accurate:
'These English boys, they want to play the blues real bad.'
Jagger repeated that but the audience didn't get it until he emphasized the words 'real bad,' as he was laughing at himself. He was ecstatic at getting to play for the Obamas with his typical high energy performance.
That was during the latest White House performance for Barack and Michelle. It also had Jeff Beck and other white musicians who made their living imitating black musicians. First was Elvis Presley and it's never stopped. We might even go back to the Big Band era to see how long black music has been appropriated.
I'm surprise to hear that whites complain about it in the other direction... It's more a compliment, for either group. The issue is economic racism, where the black musician does not make the same money for his singing as the white one who sings it, but not with the kind of feeling I want to hear.
JMHO.