The two songs “Cotton Eyed Joe,” by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, and “Prison Cell Blues,” by Blind Lemon Jefferson, were popular in American music culture in the 20th century. The “Cotton Eyed Joe” pertains to country or hillbilly music, and “Prison Cell Blues” is a race music composition. Though it may seem that these two songs are entirely different in terms of style, composition, or genre, they have several things in common.
Both “Cotton Eyed Joe” and “Prison Cell Blues” address the violation of black people’s rights. “Cotton Eyed Joe” is proven to be a song about slavery, though it is hard to distinguish that fact without a thorough analysis of the song lyrics. “Prison Cell Blues,” as seen from its lyrics, explicitly addresses the topic of black people’s imprisonment. Both songs contain motives and sounds typical of Texas and Louisiana. When mentioning the differences between the two songs, it is necessary to consider their rhythm, as “Prison Cell Blues” is slow, while “Cotton Eyed Joe” is fast and makes an impression of a dancing song. “Cotton Eyed Joe” at first sight seems lively rhythmical music that does not concern any severe problems. “Prison Cell Blues,” on the contrary, is a slow and solid song addressing the problem of imprisonment.
When speaking about hillbilly and race music in terms of their recognition in American culture, it is necessary to mention the role of the radio in the process. Though hillbilly music was more popular among Americans during 1920th-1940th than race music, after World War II, their popularity became equal when BMI was established, and the electromagnetic tape was invented (Koskoff, 2017). Radio broadcasting let people become familiar with the rhythms and melodies of country and race music. The integration of these genres has become a reason for the further emerging of rock-n-roll (Wierzbicki, 2016). Thus, radio was one of the leading promoters and broadcasters of both country and race music.
To conclude, race and country music genres have much in common in terms of gaining public recognition. The radio helped American people get acquainted with these genres and their peculiarities. That is why the influence of the radio on country and race music may be considered equal. The only difference in the recognition process was that hillbilly music became popular on the radio in the early 1940th while race music gained fame at the end of the decade. The radio broadcasting of country and race music has also become a prerequisite for the emerging of rock-n-roll.
References
Koskoff, E. (Ed.). (2017). The Garland encyclopedia of world music: The United States and Canada. Taylor & Francis.
Wierzbicki, J. (2016). Music in the age of anxiety: American music in the fifties. University of Illinois Press.