A few months ago, Jamaica made headlines by considering the establishment of an “authentic reggae” certification to distinguish between reggae created by Jamaican musicians and producers and that created abroad. This came around the same time that they asked UNESCO (the cultural organization of the United Nations) to designate reggae as “intangible cultural heritage” and while “government officials, lawyers and artists participated in a conference… to hash over ways of giving Jamaica a competitive advantage from reggae, the homegrown music that long ago went global” (“Jamaica Officials, Artists Hold Reggae Conference”). Clearly Jamaican musicians, the Jamaican government, and many of the Jamaican people are willing to go to great lengths to preserve the bond between their homeland and their iconic style of music. But why is this so important to them?

The musical style of reggae has its roots in the Rastafarian movement, a religious and cultural movement that rose to prominence in Jamaica in the 1930s. In the year 1930, a man named Tafari Makonne or Ras Tafari (Ras meaning king) declared that he was a descendant of King David and had been sent by God to lead Jamaicans of African descent to Ethiopia, a move that had previously been called for by the revered Jamaican cultural leader Maces Garvey. In his self-proclaimed role as the savior of the Jamaican people, Ras Tafari took the name Haile Selassie. According to class resources prepared for a course on the Rhetoric of Reggae at the University of Vermont, “The people who listened to this soon began to call themselves Rastafarians. To these new Rasta’s, Ethiopia became their Zion, and Haile Selassie their Messiah”. The most well known attributes of Rastafarianism are that followers often have dreads, smoke ganja (marijuana), and listen to/write reggae music. All of these practices are rooted in their religious beliefs, and reggae is often used in religious worship.

The person most directly responsible for Reggae’s popularity outside of Jamaica is Bob Marley, who co-led a group called The Wailers that brought reggae music and Rasta culture to the United States and Europe. Their success set off a wave of interest in reggae and paved the way for many other acts to follow in their footsteps. Eventually, reggae became associated “with the ‘peace and love’ philosophy of the hippies, an association that would not die away” (Scaruffi).

Reggae is best known for its heavy emphasis on the second and fourth beats of each measure, its staccato guitar hits, its melodic bass lines, and its use of various assorted percussion instruments. The combination of these elements yields a laid-back, distinctive sound that is unique to and immediately recognizable as reggae. If you have some exams coming up and are looking for a way to kick back and relax, or you just want to hear some really great music, I would highly recommend checking out Bob Marley’s “Don’t Worry About a Thing” (or any Bob Marley song for that matter). Especially while its starting to get cold here in State College, it may be nice to feel like you’re in Jamaica for a little while!

When I originally had the idea for this passion blog, my plan was to start with modern music and work backwards. I quickly realized, however, that if I attempted to construct/follow a single storyline spanning centuries of musical development, I would be forced to ignore many styles of music and interesting stories that come with them. Instead, I have decided to make each of these posts more or less self-contained. They will be able to be read in any order and will include as much musical and cultural context as I can find and deem valuable to understanding the work.

To understand the cultural significance of this week’s song, I want to take you back to the year 1926. As Dr. Ken Untiedt explains in his book, First Timers and Old Timers:

Few times, standing so close together, has there been such a sharp line of distinction as that which existed between pre- and post-WWI… The Twenties continued with a material prosperity such as ordinary Americans had not known before. With jobs to be had and good wages, the American people were able to buy cars, radios, phonographs, and a host of labor-saving electrical appliances. They paid to see professional sports. They went to college—and Europe. They borrowed money and they bought things on credit… They lived better than any pre-WWI American society, and they tried to be everything their parents had not.

It was against the backdrop of this cultural revolution that Irving Berlin sat down to write what would ultimately become “ the theme song of that entire decade” (Untiedt): “Blue Skies”.

According to biographer Laurence Bergreen, Berlin composed “Blue Skies” for a friend who was starring in a musical that lacked a closing number. The musical, Betsy, was set to open the following night when singer Belle Baker approached Berlin for the favor; telling him, “even something half-finished by you is better than what I’ve got now, which is nothing!” Berlin finished the song around 6:00 AM and Baker sang it in the show that same night to an “enraptured” audience. The crowd loved the song so much that they demanded twenty-four encores; the twenty-fourth of which featured Berlin himself singing along with Baker (Bergreen).

As one biographer explains it, “’Blue Skies’ was an extraordinary song, the work of a craftsman, who… disguised his intricate artistry under a veneer of utter simplicity.” (Furia) The song combined jazz, a form of musical expression that had come to define the generation, with lyrics that encapsulated the pervasive optimism of the decade. The first verse, in which Berlin explains that “I was blue, just as blue as I could be / Ev’ry day was a cloudy day for me” captures the perceptions of pre-war life, while the ideas that “skies were gray but they’re not gray anymore” and there will be “nothing but blue skies / From now on” speak to the post-war prosperity that Untiedt wrote about.

Just as the song belonged to one quintessential twenties form of expression, jazz, it also found its way into another that arose from the postwar prosperity: movies. In 1927, when The Jazz Singer became the world’s first feature length motion picture with synchronized dialogue, Al Jolsen sang “Blue Skies” as one of six songs featured in the film. The lyrics and story of “Blue Skies” paint a vivid picture of life in post-war America and the state of the collective consciousness. Looking back, modern audiences hear the statement “nothing but blue skies / from now on” and cringe, knowing how soon that optimism will be decimated by the Depression it helped to cause. Even still, “Blue Skies” managed to freeze a moment in time and preserve it for future generations in a way only music can.

Works Cited:

Bergreen, Laurence. “Heartbreak House.” As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. New York, NY: Viking, 1990. N. pag. Print.

Furia, Philip, and Graham Wood. Irving Berlin: A Life in Song. New York: Schirmer, 1998. Print.

Ogren, Kathy J. The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America & the Meaning of Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Untiedt, Kenneth L. First Timers and Old Timers: The Texas Folklore Society Fire Burns On. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2012. Project MUSE. Web. 14 Sep. 2015. <https://muse.jhu.edu/>.