Blog #3: Radio and Increasing Racial Tension in the 1930s

Radio and Increasing Racial Tension in the 1930s

            The interaction and conflict between Blacks and Whites has always been an important topic in the development of jazz.  The racial tension is evident in a number of aspects of the music’s history, from the appropriation of jazz from African Americans by white bands such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band to the numerous locales, such as the Cotton Club in Harlem, where Black bands like Duke Ellington’s performed for all-White audiences.  If race was not explicitly discussed in connection with jazz before the Swing Era, it was not because the topic was irrelevant; only a spark, some event that either aggravated the problems originating from the racial conflict in jazz or brought the music into the view of the general public, was needed to ignite debate over the topic, and the advent of the radio, along with the Great Depression, served to do just that.

            The advent of the radio had a wide variety of effects on the jazz industry, perhaps the most noteworthy of which was turning jazz into an industry.    The radio allowed artists to appeal to audiences that were otherwise unreachable; for example, Benny Goodman’s performances on the show “Let’s Dance” allowed him to gain popularity in California, leading to his favorable reception at the Palomar concert of 1935 (Gioia, 132).  These new audiences created a high demand for swing music, which allowed certain jazz musicians to prosper, and doubtlessly encouraged many others to imitate them in the hopes of achieving similar success.  This prospect of success, paired with the Great Depression, which left many unemployed and desperately searching for opportunity in any form, led to the formation of many jazz bands, both black and white. 

However, the same factors that led to the creation of more jazz bands also made it difficult for many to survive; the Great Depression limited the disposable income of would-be listeners, and the increased demand for jazz practically required bandleaders to make deals with agents to survive (Swing Changes, 103), and those that did not were practically doomed to failure.  The agencies played a large role in making race a prominent issue in jazz in a number of ways.  For one, it could be said that they embodied the exploitative relationship between Whites and Blacks, as the agents made significant profits off of the talent of the musicians.  Additionally, the agents “served as gatekeepers of the venues and media that enabled swing to become a national phenomenon” (Swing Changes, 103), and as such had nearly complete control over what bands were heard by the public.  This in itself would not necessarily signify the racial tension present in jazz; however, when the industry became “glutted with more bands than the industry could possibly sustain, blacks were the first to be pushed out” (Swing Changes, 122).  Because white bands “were more readily accepted by mainstream America” (Gioia, 133), the agencies chose to promote them over black bands, allowing white musicians to thrive playing black music and forcing many black bands to disband.  Two of the most successful bandleaders of this era also highlight the racial tension in jazz: Duke Ellington, who was accused by many, such as John Hammond, of “[shutting] his eyes to the abuses being heaped upon his race” (Swing Changes, 51) in order to allow his band to survive, and Benny Goodman, the so-called “King of Swing”, who became ludicrously popular by heading a white band playing black music.

The main sources of racial tension in jazz – namely, the limited potential for success of black artists due to segregation and prejudice, and the contrasting popularity of white imitators – were present long before the Swing Era; however, the nationalization of the music via radio and the consequences of that spread aggravated these problems and brought them to the attention of the general public, and thus, as the music spread like wildfire, it sparked explicit discussion of race.

Commented on Steven Bennett’s blog