Soul, Country, and the USA : Race and Identity in American Music Culture

Soul music and country music propel American popular culture. Using ethnomusicological tools, Shonekan examines their socio-cultural influences and consequences: the perception of and resistance to hegemonic structures from within their respective constituencies, the definition of national identity, and the understanding of the 'American Dream.'. In twenty-first century America, soul music and country music hold influential positions as the two central flagships that propel the expression and evolution of American popular culture. From their respective but concentric positions on opposite ends of the perpetual continuum of American racial identity, these musical cultures attract their audiences with their distinctive musical aesthetics and characteristically relatable cultural messages. Applying ethnomusicological tools, this book examines the socio-cultural influences and consequences of these two genres: the perception of and resistance to hegemonic structures from within their respective constituencies, the definition of national identity, and the understanding of the "American Dream." These genres communicate coded information to their enthusiasts whose experiences and world views are formed and reinforced in this transaction between producers and consumers. Each emerging American reality revolves around a unique sub-culture that is replete with its own highly developed signifiers and undergirded by its own interpretation of identity, space, vernacular, and politics. In the midst of these divergent realities, these two musical cultures are direct descendants of a common ancestor. The southern Americana musical tradition, which emerged from the experience of poverty and working class struggle, serves as the cultural and aesthetic progenitor from which these genres and their associated cultural mores have derived Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Outside Looking In....Pages 1-17 Folk Roots to Pop Masses: An Entangled History....Pages 19-46 Money and Media: Radio; Television; Film Representations....Pages 47-71 Race and Identity: Homies and Hillbillies....Pages 73-93 Gender and Relationships: Women and Femininity....Pages 95-119 Semiotics and Songs: Visual and Oral Meanings....Pages 121-131 Politics and Power: Left or Right....Pages 133-154 Religion and Faith: Jesus Walks or Takes the Wheel....Pages 155-173 Conclusion: The American Dream....Pages 175-181 Back Matter....Pages 183-200