Title:	Words and Songs of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone
Other Titles:	Sound Motion, Blues Spirit, and African Memory
Authors:	Melanie E., Bratcher Graham Hodges
Keywords:	African Americans‑‑Music‑‑History and criticism
Issue Date:	2007
Publisher:	Routledge
Description:	In this chapter, I explore some functions of traditional African aesthetics and discuss how certain scholars utilize aesthetics in the study of Black music. I highlight specific aesthetic features such as sound quality and stylization that are common in the song performances of Smith, Holiday, and Simone, and show how sound quality and stylization of African singing have remained intact through centuries. Smith, Holiday, and Simone are musical icons because of their unique vocal expressiveness. Their songs function in the capacity of preserving African heritage for Black people and encourage alternative models of behavior and attitude toward Black women. The Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Power movement, and the Black Arts movement are proof of ideological evolutions nurtured through African artistic achievements.
URI:	http://10.6.20.12:80/handle/123456789/10065
ISBN:	0‑415‑98029‑1
Appears in Collections:	African Studies

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