Follow The Stir

Slideshow

Black Music Month Reminds Us That Everybody's Been Touched By a Little Soul

by Janelle Harris on June 12, 2012 at 8:57 PM

Black Music Month
Who gets to be Diana Ross?
If you’ve ever let Al Green serenade you out of a bad mood, sang into a hair brush to imitate the Supremes, or sweated out a perfectly coiffed hairdo dancing to Usher, you know the power of black music. (Incidentally, I’ve done all of the above. Carry on.) 

In fact, June is Black Music Month, a 31-day dedication to the instrumental, lyrical, rhythmical, and artistic genius black folks have deposited into almost every genre from gospel, rock, hip-hop, and reggae to calypso, R&B, pop, and jazz on over to zydeco, country, and go-go. 

Artists have always fed off the creative influences of their predecessors—before the uber talented Alicia Keys debuted, for example, there was the amazing Nina Simone and the incomparable Aretha Franklin. Here are some others who have their foremothers and fathers in music to thank for artistic inspiration: 

If there was no glamorous Diana Ross...

Filed Under: celebrity, music, slideshow

Comments

2
  • Logan...
    --

    LoganTroyMom

    June 13, 2012 at 10:26 AM
    seriously? doesn't this fall under black history month? you guys want the other 10, too? will you stop being "oppressed" at that point or should we make a 13th month for yall?

    shit's ridiculous. seriously. why can't ALL music, ALL history be celebrated? yall are segregating yourselves.
  • Fondue
    --

    Fondue

    June 13, 2012 at 11:31 AM

    Last time I checked, the month of June only had 30 days.


1-2 of 2 comments

To leave a comment, log in as a CafeMom member:

Log In

OR, use our non-member comment form: