Coolio based his 'Gangsta's Paradise' on a Stevie Wonder song. Stevie Wonder got the chords from Bach.
Bach was probably the greatest musician western Europe even produced.
How does 'Black' America stack up?
How about a legendary list of superachievement?
Superabundance of superachievement on a historic scale beyond belief?
First of all, how many genres did western Europe invent in the past 1,000 years?
A few? Baroque music, Romantic music, Renaissance polyphony?
How many genres did 'Black' America invent in a mere 200 years?
Gospel, Jazz, Blues, Ragtime
Modern jazz, rock and roll, Soul, Funk, Rap
And that's putting 'Black' America against the whole of European music!
And putting just a couple of centuries of 'Black' America against a thousand years of European classical music!
But what about individuals?
How many countries in classical music have given us as many figures comparable to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix and Duke Ellington as 'Black' America has?
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye
And that's just scratching the surface of the modern jazz scene!
But wait- there's more!
For it was these musicians and their musical subculture that inspired hipster culture as we know it, starting with Beatnik culture and including Hippy culture!
The Beatniks were the modern jazz fans- the truest disciples of Charlie Parker, led by Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane!
The hippies were the descendents of the Beatniks, and had Jimi Hendrix as one of their top leaders!
Bach would be in awe!
A superabundance of achievement!
And that's just 'Blacks' in America!
God loves you! Feel the music!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson