Black History Month - Black Radio & History On The Rise, Part 3

Part III -- Black Radio & History On The Rise

In this, the third in our current series in Black history 2009, we're going to look at black music and radio in the '60s and early '70s. Before we do that and since we're celebrating Black History Month, a little history is in order.

What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied -- or even documented -- when the tradition originated. Although African-Americans have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that we gained a respectable presence in the history books.

The history books largely ignored the black American population. When blacks did figure into the picture, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they were assigned at the time. So with that brief background, we pick up the celebration with the struggle that now involved black music and radio.

Obviously, the two were intertwined. The music came first, but once the music found its way to the radio, the whole picture changed. For black radio, there was always a wide gap between rhetoric and reality. Call it a conflict between the past and the future, growth and no growth, experience and the lack of experience. Focusing their binoculars on the future, those standing on the promontory will tell you that they saw a world vastly different from the one that exists now.

As we step back into the early days of this vastly different world, we find that just as television was beginning to make its mark on the country in the period of the early '50s (it was still small-screen black-and-white back then), black radio was going through one of its healthiest growth periods.

Most would be surprised to find the facts of the early black broadcasters show they were not who you think they were. Naturally, they were inexperienced and untrained. Not only did they have no formal training whatsoever, the early ebony broadcasters were not actors who simply moved from the stage to behind the microphone. In fact, some of the first black voices on commercial radio making announcements were not announcers at all, but rather members of gospel singing groups who would announce the songs they were about to play live and mention the churches where they were appearing.

There were dozens of these early African-American broadcasters. Gospel and spiritual groups purchased blocks of time, usually in 15-minute increments, which were paid for in advance, often in cash. These performers seized the opportunity to perform their original songs and plug their appearances. Every Sunday morning they would come in and play for 15 minutes, pack up their instruments and make way for the next group. After they finished their broadcasting, these groups would then make appearances at various local churches. The churches where they appeared would then take up special offerings. Some, such as The Swan Silvertones and Dennis Four in Pittsburgh, where I grew up, became so well known and popular that they became early recording artists. They began to tour often with other groups and even non-religious entertainers. Some developed huge followings.

Beyond these humble beginnings in gospel, the most undeniably significant difference early black broadcasters had to overcome was prejudice. It manifested itself in a multitude of ways, such as the assignment of most black stations to daytime only frequencies at the high end of the AM dial. This meant black stations not only had to overcome a limited broadcast schedule, they also had to overcome the fact that some radio sets had difficulty receiving stations broadcasting on a frequency higher than 1500.

Motown And More

So with that brief background, we fast-forward and pick up with the struggle in the '60s. The '60s are often referred to as "The Motown Era." As the decade began, however, black music and early Motown were still relegated to the higher regions of the AM dial. FM radio had to wait until the early '70s to make a real dent in the popular psyche. Musically, the transition from the '50s into the '60s mirrored the tension between convention and rebellion, familiarity and freedom. As happened with other forms of popular music, black artists forged personal statements through their music.

Motown was "the great integrator." Its music was so smooth and sweet, with all of its rough edges scrubbed away, that it slipped right over the color line, and artists such as Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Steve Wonder, Jr. Walker, The Temptations and The Four Tops (all part of the Motown '60s sound) became "The Sound of Young America." It was the beginning of "crossover."

But radio listeners took these smooth love lyrics as metaphors -- consciously or unconsciously -- and attended to the more eloquent language of the music. Some critics said Motown was "plastic soul," but it sold. Its founder, Berry Gordy Jr., made sure of that. A lot of stations that played Motown artists during the '60s soon began playing and listening to other black artists on other labels. The effect mushroomed and the widening acceptance of black music and radio became a fact, helping both radio and the artists it played.

Although Motown was the best known and most successful independent label of the decade, the '60s also fostered The Memphis Sound typified by Stax/Volt and artists such as Otis Redding, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, William Bell and Booker T and the MGs. Over at Atlantic there was the fiery resonance of the recently departed Wilson Pickett, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, The Spinners and Don Covay. And let's not forget the Memphis horns and the sound of the famed Muscle Shoals recording studios with their Detroit roots.

While this was going on in black radio (it was called "soul radio" back then), it became a precursor of the black music formats of the future. Black radio now had signals you could hear, many of them on FM in stereo, but in some markets much of it was still relegated to the AM dial. Even as late as the early '70s there were many obstacles to the struggle for recognition and freedom of expression within our radio community. Indeed, the fight for equality continued as the central theme of the African-American experience.

This struggle, in turn, played a profound role in shaping the contemporary American social and political conscience. And in its quest for wider acceptance, radio listeners and record buyers recognized the unique qualities that make black music special -- the earthiness, the emphasis on vocal expression over technical gimmicks, the emotional release.

Despite its rise in popularity and influence, black music and radio both faced many obstacles in their struggle for recognition and freedom of expression. This struggle, in turn, played a profound role in shaping the contemporary American social and political conscience. The racial disparities of privilege and power in our cities were dramatically revealed by the parallel emergence of gentrifying yuppies and an entrenched underclass.

The '60s and '70s were decades in which it was hoped that next decade's black history would reveal opportunities for any American of any ethnicity, based solely on the individual acquisition and application of education, skills and knowledge.

Since these obstacles echoed those faced by early pioneers, the impact made by those who began it all became penetratingly real. The ground had been broken. In spite of all the discussion, setbacks and barriers, black radio grew into an effective medium of expression, fulfilling an important niche in targeting the African-American market.

Circumstance and timing during these decades are all part of an exciting time in our history. They may have given some a head start over others, but America was changing and soon, especially for the radio and music industries, the formula for success would be the same for everyone. Then, as now, in spite of a severely impacted economy, the good gigs are still going to go to those who were most prepared for a challenging future.

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