For several years, I worked in radio programming. One particular station played progressive music with an eclectic bent. Their television advertising campaign asserted ‘Great music knows no labels.’ Unfortunately, the station new no ratings, and within a year, changed their format to something a little more genre specific. Turns out people like labels, as it helps them identify the type of music they know and like, sort of like returning to an old familiar friend. But is that just one more barrier, one more way to be separate from one another?

Many of us identify with a particular genre depending on our age, or admittance to an exclusive club: Middle school pop, later, metal or hip-hop, perhaps Goth, house, blues, country or that good old-time rock ‘n roll. Early adopters smugly claim they new a certain type of music or band first, and can be territorial about their discovery. Often once the artist goes mainstream, those same early adopters back away. Much like when Gen X’ers and Boomers migrated to Facebook, all the young’uns’ exited, because if your parents are on the same social media platform, it becomes decidedly uncool.

But is music race-specific as well?

Whatever contemporary music you listen to, it is most likely rooted in jazz.

Developed in New Orleans, and influenced by ragtime and blues, jazz is recognized around the world as ‘one of America’s original art forms.’ It is a genre also deeply- rooted in the black experience. From ante bellum spirituals to Count Basie’s stylish swing, Ray Charles’ rhythm and blues, to classically-trained flutist, singer and rapper, Lizzo, one could argue that American music doesn’t exist without music based in African–American culture.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, all one has to do is listen to the almost any rock song. The blues, R&B, Gospel and Jazz echoes through almost every popular song, whether you listen to Pitbull or Sia.

A great appeal of music steep in R&B tradition is you can dance to it. Witness disco, EDM or house music for heart-pounding, bootie-shaking rhythm. R&B. Music steeped in traditional African American arts forms have been covered and further popularized by white artists like Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga.

Black and white musicians have harmonized throughout the decades.

An archived New Yorker article chronicles collaborations and mutual admiration for black and white musicians. Other musical collaborations are pure alchemy: Frank Sinatra crooned with Ella Fitzgerald. Eric Clapton and B.B. King, two guitar gods at the top of their game. Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. Unexpected and amazing.

Music can bring races together to seek the common good, and social justice. Folk music, provided a soundtrack for the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s, much of it generated by white singer songwriters. Much of it was featured in protests, but did not catch on with the public, especially the black public in the same way that R&B, Rock and Soul did, nor did it enjoy the same level of radio play.

The history of American music reflects the history of race relations and social justice. Music has played a role in bridging the racial divide, and perhaps the entire country, with simple but powerful tunes by Woodie Guthrie. The sixties gave rise to ‘socially conscious’ music and reflections on society as evidenced by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger. Marvin Gaye, one of the most soulful R and B artists of all time pivoted from singing more upbeat songs to producing the seminal What’s Going On? a reflection of the turbulence caused by growing racial tensions, economic and social inequities and the Vietnam War.

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Post Vietnam into the identity crisis of the 1970’s came a different type of music: New Wave and Punk, a reaction to the excesses of what what rock had become. Short, fast, hard edged songs — often political — punk was the reaction to failed a failed economy, war and social aspirations, and a largely white genre, that also took a stronghold in Great Britain among disenfranchised and often unemployed young men.

Throughout the 20th country music, which had also been called country and western, developed in the early 1920’s in the mountains of Appalachia. It was often known as Hillbilly music, though, these simple songs, often ballads are also rooted in the West, and Southwest. Fiddles, and harmonicas blended with African instruments: banjos, steel guitars and dobros and those simple lyrics told the stories of blue-collar workers, and a hardscrabble life. It’s interesting to note, traditional country music is steeped in a hybrid of cultures: Celtic, French folk, African American blues, cowboy songs and traditional English ballads.

There are traces of country and folk influences in music by Jackson Brown, the Eagles, Mumford and Sons.

One striking aspect of American music is that it always changes, evolves, makes room for something new. Little Nas X broke barriers and defied expectations as a young, gay black man blending blues, country and hip hop to produce 2018’s ‘Old Town Road.’ British singer Adele can belt out an R&B tinged song to break your heart. Beck constantly shifts and blends genres. Darius Rucker, a black man who fronted the 1990’s rock band Hootie and the Blowfish, was welcome into the country music community without fanfare, and in 2014 won a Grammy award for best solo country performance.

Labels, whether for music or people: Do they simply identify, or further divide us?

Although music is a universal aspect of the human experience, the experience itself is often different. How do we label that experience? And does that experience define who we are, how we are labelled? Does the label itself create an ‘otherness,’ something that further separates us? Perhaps people, like great music should know no labels.

Recent social unrest, anger at a broken justice system and simmering misunderstandings rooted in racial tension show that we have a long way to go achieve racial harmony.

Harmony. That’s a musical term. But it’s also a human way to coexist and unite around the common good. We can be lifted by Paul MacCartney’s gentle assertion of his civil rights-inspired ‘Blackbird.’ And, as we feel the resolve of a nation trying to do better by each other, we may discover, in the words of Sam Cooke ‘A Change Gonna Come.’

Music and Race: Can We Find More Ways to Harmonize?

Whatever contemporary music you listen to, it is most likely rooted in jazz.

Black and white musicians have harmonized throughout the decades.

Labels, whether for music or people: Do they simply identify, or further divide us?