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Amea Waller
Professor Hickman
WRTC 103
10.1.18

Muting the Melodies

Music is a staple in many people’s lives and is as diverse as the world itself. It gets listeners in

touch with their emotions, makes them feel good, and gives the artists a creative outlet. Music tells stories

with the combination of melodies and lyrics, beats and bass, or even just traditional instruments. With

music having so many different qualities, one type may not be preferred by a listener to another genre,

and then a bias is formed. Certain genres to a person are then seen as “bad” music, and becomes close-

minded. However, censoring or denigrating certain music forms can have detrimental effects because

people miss out on opportunities to experience new ideas.

The ad used was created in the 1960s. One significant event happening around this time was the

Civil Rights Movement, which created racial tension in the United States, especially in the south. African

Americans were fighting for equality for themselves concerning education, housing, employment, and the

right to vote – as nonviolently as possible. No matter what either Black or White people did nevertheless,

there was going to be friction between the two sides and an issue would always arise – no matter how

small.

The ad was printed off in New Orleans, Louisiana, by the Citizen’s Council of Greater New

Orleans Inc. It should be noted that the organization was also called the White Citizen’s Council, as it was

a white supremist, extreme right organization, concentrated in the South. In simpler terms, it was a group

that followed the Klan agenda, with the disguise as a more refined, official group. The ad could be seen as

a notice or warning sign, considering that the word “notice” is in big, thick letters at the top center of the
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page. As one would continue to read, the ad gives instructions to not buy or listen to “negro music” as it is

bad for the *white* youth and undermines their morals. Black music is described as “screaming”,

“savage” and includes “idiotic words”, also advised not to be played in public businesses. To make the

readers feel like they could also take action instead of just boycotting the music, people are also advised

to call the radio stations and complain to them about this particular type of music being played. The word

choice is important to note because it does not only insult the music, but the musicians as well. It makes

the artists seem aggressive and incompetent, which is a common stereotype that still resides over the

heads of black Americans today. These assumptions were made off of listening to a snippet of a piece of

music, without actually indulging into the perspective behind it.

The paper is going to focus on Louisiana, to explore the types of music at the time, to connect the

type of music being referred to in the ad/notice. In Louisiana, the music itself could be broken down into

three different regions - the southern region, the northern region, and New Orleans in a region of its own.

New Orleans music contains early African, Caribbean, and Creole music, jazz, and the blues - all

containing different beats and rhythms yet coming together to define New Orleans as a whole. Some of

the most influential musicians at the time include Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, popular with their

trumpets and stage presence, Professor Longhair, known for combining Caribbean music and traditional

Orleans music, and pop girl group, The Dixie Cups, who is known for their most popular song “Iko Iko”.

Meanwhile on the other side of the spectrum, rock and roll was very popular among the white

community. However, white artists at the same time would cover black music, and sell it as their own,

like Elvis Presley for example. White artists would also capitalize off of black culture and incorporate it

into their music, like Mac Rebbenack, also known as Dr. John, the Night Tripper. In describing music as

savage or idiotic, is all relative when it comes to the listener and the specific genre, because in a sense the

music could be good enough to copy, but not listened to by the original musician. Thus, the disdain is not

all about the beat, melodies, or the lyrics, but more so the artist.
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Mainstream media wanted to control what was put out to be distributed among society, and this

included music. This caused black entertainment to be looked over since mainstream media was

controlled mainly by the white diaspora. Meaning, a good portion of the reason black entertainment was

looked over was for just that- it was black based. Cries and frustrations for help, the pleads for change,

and the determination for a better life disguised within inspired writing and the harmony of instruments

was pushed to the side, and that caused a majority of non-black people to miss the beauty of the music, as

well as the cross-cultural dialogue.

Smooth jazz and the blues were considered to be the “bad” music in the sixties, but as time

moved on, this genre of music faded as different genres became more popular. Music progressed from the

introduction of disco and soul, to house music, to today which consists of rap and R&B. More genres

have emerged and have their own fanbases, but with more music to choose from, who is to say what the

“bad” music is today?

As some parts of society became less conservative, there were more acceptable ways for artists to

express themselves, and this may include language and topics that may have been a taboo in the past. Rap

and R&B includes both of these things, and that may make certain people uncomfortable as it may

counteract with their own personal morals and beliefs. It’s also the topics of gang life, crime, and

misogyny might also make those who listen feel uncomfortable and then they consider the whole genre as

“bad”. Ways that some try to censor is by only letting their kids listen to the “clean” versions of songs, or

not letting their kids listen to the genre as a whole.

Even today it is not advised to completely ban a type of music because even though an artist can

be put into a category, their lyrics and stance on things may not always correlate with those categorized

with them. Some artists are even able to be separated from their music and are very interactive with their

community. Censoring these artists may cause a potential listener from discovering someone new and

finding music that they enjoy with a good message and a good person behind it.
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Going forward we should let people listen to what they want to listen to. It is good to have

opinions, but listening to the artist or type of music first helps without giving the music choice a chance.

This is going to give people’s opinions more depth instead of just saying that something is not likable.

Music is made to be enjoyed and indulged in and it is not right to bring someone down for liking a certain

type of music. It’s important to hear how people want to express themselves, and to listen to the stories

that they have to tell. It may speak to them in the same way that music may influence yourselves.
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Works Cited

Branley, Edward. “NOLA History: Rock and Roll in New Orleans.” GoNOLA.com, GoNola, 21

Apr. 2014, gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/history/nola-history-rock-and-roll-in-new-

orleans.

Brasted, Chelsea. “The 40 Most Influential Musicians from Louisiana.” NOLA.com, NOLA.com, 21

Oct. 2016, www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2016/10/most_influential_musicians_lou.html.

“Citizens' Councils.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Sept. 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens'_Councils.

“Music of Louisiana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Apr. 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Louisiana#New_Orleans_music.

Pearson, Steve. “Music Played in the 1960's Popular Music From the 60s.” What Happened in 2006

Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events, 2018, www.thepeoplehistory.com/60smusic.html.