Effects On African-American Music
Coon songs, ironically, contributed to the development and acceptance of authentic African-American music. Elements from coon songs were incorporated into turn-of-the-century African American folk songs, as was revealed by Howard W. Odum's 1906-1908 ethnomusicology fieldwork. Similarly, coon songs lyrics influenced the vocabulary of the blues, culminating with Bessie Smith's singing in the 1920s.
Black songwriters and performers who participated in the creation of coon songs profited commercially, enabling them to go on to develop a new type of African American musical theater based at least in part on African-American traditions. Coon songs also contributed to the mainstream acceptance of ragtime music, paving the way for the acceptance of other African-American music. Ernest Hogan, when discussing his "All Coons Look Alike to Me" shortly before his death, commented:
| “ | (That) song caused a lot of trouble in and out of show business, but it was also good for show business because at the time money was short in all walks of life. With the publication of that song, a new musical rhythm was given to the people. Its popularity grew and it sold like wildfire... That one song opened the way for a lot of colored and white songwriters. Finding the rhythm so great, they stuck to it ... and now you get hit songs without the word 'coon.' ... would have been lost to the world if I had not put it on paper. | ” |
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