The Power of the Playlist
In choosing songs for our Black History Month playlist, I wanted to make selections that weren’t just “good,” but influential to me personally. I’ve highlighted historically relevant songs, and — in some cases — those that amplify and evoke important stories and emotions. What I’ve mentioned about these songs and artists is just the tip of the iceberg. I’d encourage you to dig deeper into Black music. As a Black man in America who grew up in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, music has always echoed the successes, failures, strife, and joy that our community has faced. I hope you enjoy this music, but dually embrace the context in which it was conceived.
WITCH — Living in the Past
This is my favorite of the Zamrock (Zambian Rock) era, one that began in the ’50s but actually took hold in the ’70s. It’s a movement that falls in lockstep with the history of Zambia’s independence, the surge of its economy based on exporting copper, and the eventual crash of that economy — as well as the havoc the AIDS epidemic wreaked on the country, and Africa as a whole. The sounds they created hold up well against what we saw in the West, from the Beatles-esque to psychedelic ’70s sounds.
Funkadelic — One Nation Under a Groove
I didn’t wholly appreciate this song — and this band’s music in general — until I was much older. Themes of harmony, unity, and sharing permeate throughout their music. The fusion of rock, funk, and psychedelic musical stylings really influenced scores of Black music through the ’80s, ’90s and today. The guitar nerd in me really loves the uniqueness of how they used the instrument.
Get By — Talib Kweli
It’s a classic song that effectively tells a particular story of growing up Black while dually inter-weaving the hope and perseverance and joy that still resides within a culture that we’ve created through shared experience. Nearly two decades later, this song still gives me goosebumps.
The Fire — The Roots
The Roots are a band that really changed the landscape of music — a true band. And this is just a really good song from the best lyricist in hip-hop history. I always thought it important to highlight groups that actually play instruments. Their songs are rife with Black historical references be they art, literature, etc. This particular song reflects an air of inspiration that has always moved me.
Jimi Hendrix — Earth Blues
A very important artist at a very important time. We all know that rock music was a derivative of blues which was a derivative of gospel — and Jimi really brought the blues back to rock. It’s an anti-war/unity song that embraces the hallmarks of all of these genres.
Peter Tosh — African
Peter Tosh was a founding member of The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. His solo efforts were just as influential as Bob Marley’s, even if lesser known. This particular song struck me when I heard it as a youth. It really spoke to the fact that even if we’re from different places, if you are Black, you are African. It’s very easy to dismiss this when you don’t have a physical connection to Africa, but it also makes sense to recognize that it’s a benefit to be able to connect to your heritage — no matter how far away it seems.
Living Colour — Pride
A band that really brought Black Rock ’n’ Roll back into the mainstream, not because they’re Black, but because they were damn good. This song really spoke to me in high school. It expressed so many things I felt as a youth but had no idea how to say. How Black art could be so appreciated but Black people so reviled and disregarded. How the culture was embraced but not the people — and how when we embraced and were proud of that culture, we were often dismissed and denigrated.
Odetta — Give a Damn
This is a fantastic cover of a song by Spanky & Our Gang. Odetta’s version came out in 1970 and really gives it a different feel as she sings about how we disregard the misery we see in the world and on the street. Yet, if we just stop and look maybe we’d better understand the world around us. Her voice is an important one in Black folk music that has yet to receive the hype it deserves. She was majorly influenced Harry Belafonte, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan, among others.
Richie Havens — Freedom
One of the most influential singer/songwriters in the ’60s and ’70s. His song “Freedom” was a true anthem and hallmark of Woodstock. Most don’t know it was really just an improvised song based on an old spiritual called “Motherless Child.” Apparently, he ran out of songs during his Woodstock set, so Freedom was born.
Havens said of his song, “I’ll sing it for the rest of my life, if only to show the rest of the world what I think an American is. Sometimes I think we don’t know ourselves. But people are all the same, everywhere. They laugh in the same places, even if they don’t know the language.”
The song always touched me not just because of the message, but in the way it was a spur-of-the-moment expression of what he was feeling at the time.
Richie Havens — Here Comes the Sun
Most people know The Beatles version of this song — I’m a huge fan of that one, too, but there’s something unique and spiritual about the Havens version that really speaks to the Black American experience. I’m not sure if it’s his voice or the pace at which he plays it — the instrument nerd in me truly appreciates the extra rhythms that Richie added to the song to give it more of an afro-folk feel. His spin on this song really inspires in me the hope that as far as we’ve come, we can still move mountains because there are still mountains left to move.
