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Musical Route from Early Minstrelsy to Popular Music of the 20th Century
Minstrelsy is an American form of entertainment that originated in the 19 th century,
primarily as a comic depiction of racial stereotypes. It gradually evolved into a series of
entertainment acts that included comic skits, musical performances previously by white people,
dancing and other entertainment acts. Minstrelsy has great significance in the American history
of arts and theatre.
The practices of minstrel shows have their antecedents in the 18 th century whereby the
due to national conflicts, there was a huge difference of how people viewed African Americans.
By 1840s, blackface minstrel shows were the national work of art, interpreting formal
artisanship, for example, Ethiopian Serenaders and Dan Emmett. The interest of the audience in
the people of Negro and their songs allowed the listeners to have new knowledge about African
Americans as they were considered different from themselves despite having unbiased
information. However, this entertainment practice gained immense popularity in 1928 when
Thomas Dartmouth Daddy Rice who is also known as the father of American minstrelsy,
danced and sang in the theatre of New York.
Dressed in a blackface and torn clothes, he performed a character that was based on a
fraud folk personality titled as Jim Crow and was very popular for a long time amongst black
slaves. Audio companies took great advantage of this interest and marketed songs from the sheet
music, which allows the viewers to listen and enjoy at home along with a help of other minstrels
to adopt for their play. The musical route then directed towards Female acts of minstrels whereas
Madame Rentzs Female Minstrels ran the idea. The first performance was made in 1870
wearing skimpy costumes and tights.

This show was successful and gave

rise to eleven all -female based companies by the end of 1871.

This modern minstrelsy emphasized on refined music and in
1870s, most companies included religious songs to their
collection as well. However, by 1890s, minstrelsy witnessed a
decline in its popularity and constituted only a minor part of
American theatre whereas after the World War I (around
1919) only three companies ruled the scene (Coffey, P.500).
Minstrelsy is a long-lost form of entertainment having its origins from America;
developed on the comic portrayal of ethnicity casts. This entertainment form
progressed from diverse ancestors of American entertaining acts such as the
travelling circus, melodic halls, medication shows, nomadic theatre, Irish dance,
female minstrels, and melody with African-accented beats. These shows were so
popular that several followers appeared while the plea for minstrel shows rapidly
became unappeasable.
The popularity of Minstrelsy was lost during the world war. Entertainment was taking a
new turn by the new type of entertainments. A stir in variety shows was observed through the
musical route changing the entertaining form such as musical comedies and so on were
appearing in the north (Adelt, P.571). Although in between the musical path, numerous forms of
music and other musicians entered whereby the modern Minstrelsy now means the blending has

turned out to be much denser, wealthier, more complex through the impacts running from Elvis,
Bob Dylan, Eminem, and Amy WineHouse.
The music of Elvis and Bob Dylan emphasised on the use of minstrel songs by changing
it to a new form of songs making him the leader of rock and roll songs. However, some of his
songs such as That's All Right incorporated a touch of R&B idiom of Negro field jazz. The use of
jazz became famous in the musical path along with rock and roll and blues. Similarly, Dylan's
present day minstrelsy began to develop on "Time Out of Mind," however intensified on
Affection and Theft", whose title, suggesting blackface minstrelsy, basically verified the hints of
minstrelsy in the musical industry even in the mid and late twentieth century.
The music initiated incorporating jazz with slight influences of minstrel musical styles.
The utilization of chromatics, syncopated rhythms and the prevailing all through the piece are
basic of minstrel music as well as are entirely normal for jazz. These kept on affecting and shape
American diversion well into the twentieth century. Checking and characterizing the approach of
American well-known music, large portions of these singers were given a chance to function as
the matter of inspiration developed (Bluestein and Nathan, P.69). For example, the famous US
singer Eminem brought in the new form of music style following Elvis and Bob Dylan.
The musical path took a turn with the utilization of sexist substance on his collections.
This, however; became a polarizing issue all through Eminem's whole profession. However,
Eminem identified with the blackface minstrelsy for the sole reality that he is white. Eminem and
blackface minstrelsy can be investigated through the last fight scene from 8 Mile and from
numerous other Eminem tunes also (Moore, P. 124). However, the focus kept on changing from
minstrelsy to other forms of the music. The same was observed to be the case of Amy Winehouse

who sung more than one form of music such as the eclectic mix of musical genres, including
rhythm, soul, jazz, and blues, which completely changed the form of music.
The vocalists who began in the late nineteenth had their causes in blackface minstrelsy
while influencing many. Presently, current artists who are not blackface but rather use slight
minstrel music can be thought to perform a combination of different kinds of music (Shaftel,
P.30). Hence, it has been noted and concluded that by the turn of the 19 th-century minstrel shows
were just enjoyed because of its shadow of popularity in the past as it was then replaced by
popular and hip-hop rap music. It made due as expert amusement until around 1910; beginner
exhibitions proceeded until the 1960s in secondary schools and neighbourhood theatres. As the
social equality development advanced and picked up acknowledgement, minstrels lost their
occurrence and the trend of new music came into existence for which people were more in
favour of and from then until now variations in music is more appreciated.

References
Brown, T. Allston and Charles Day. "Black Musicians And Early Ethiopian Minstrelsy". The
Black Perspective in Music 3.1 (1975): 77. Web.
Coffey, H. "Minstrelsy In Medieval France". Early Music 41.3 (2013): 498-500. Web.
Shaftel, Matthew. "Singing A New Song: Stephen Foster And The New American Minstrelsy".
Music and Politics I.2 (2007): n. pag. Web.
Adelt, Ulrich. "Blackface Minstrelsy In Britain". Popular Music and Society 32.4 (2009): 569571. Web.
Bluestein, Gene and Hans Nathan. "Dan Emmett And The Rise Of Early Negro Minstrelsy".
Ethnomusicology 9.1 (1965): 69. Web.