The Staple Singers

Mavis Staples was on David Letterman last night. I am familiar with the Staple Singers. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She was by herself with no “family” to speak of. Interestingly enough she chose to sing a song about African-American rights. Let me rephrase that. I mean “Negro” rights. The song’s theme was racial oppression during the l950’s, when Civil Rights were just becoming known. In an era before “Political Correctness” our country used the term Negro. Is there anything derogatory about the word other than the “N” word was coined from its root? African-American. Asian-American. Mexican-American. Are these really the appropriate names for mulatto-like convergences of foreign and domestic blood? I don’t think America has evolved enough to accommodate these new races. We’re not hip, yet. In the previous decade racial dissent receded and “Multiculturalism” was widely accepted as a synonym for “providing a better life for those in need of it.” That meant immigration into the United States, but it was recognized on the “up and up.” It wasn’t an issue swept under the table, down a tunnel, or away from the Mexican border. The Asian influx was welcome, and many of these immigrants settled in the Midwest. At Ohio State University we had a nickname for the Asian pianists that frequented our piano practice rooms. We called them “MOPS” or Miscellaneous-Oriental-Pianists. That acronym doesn’t seem disparaging considering the lineage of inflammatory nicknames America has coined for her brethren. “SPIC.” “WOP.” “KIKE.” “DYKE.” “QUEEN.” “SPADE.” “CRACKER.” Television in the l970’s made light of these terms in a time when the streets were mean. Huggy Bear “pimped his ride” and sold love with a cane and fur coat. “JUNKIES” were common. So were “WINOS.” Back them America called a spade a spade, because everyone was tough enough from the reality of urban life in America they did not get their feelings hurt. “Life on the streets was tough,” the way it should be. Is life still tough? What is a good litmus test for toughness? How about a measure of drug usage in America? Prostitution? Crime in general? I would like to see some numbers documenting what really is happening with the “evolution” of our society. Mavis sang well. The only thing that bothered me, and this is becoming a recurring theme was her backup singers. They were singing “pop.” What does that mean? It means instead of understanding and conveying the message of the song they were singing, they were more enthralled with being on national television. How do I know this? The answer is because during a serious song about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and the Civil Rights Movement the singers were grinning. They were having more fun singing on television than attempting to understand and convey the message in her song. This is what “pop” music does. It dilutes the possible meaning of most music to Musica Reservata, a Medieval term defining a musical moment meant more for easy satisfaction of the masses than the integrity of the music. “Pop” music is not meant to convey meaning. It is candy, bubblegum, or pop corn. “Sugar sugar…” I think it is due time to dispense with American Idol and let songwriters and musicians get back to work doing what they have always done, being the musical soul of America.