Big Road Blues

Show Notes:

I’ve always be fascinated by topical blues songs and this week we spotlight songs dealing with blues artists’ response to war. In this week’s show we hear songs dealing with WW I, WW II, Korea and Vietnam. I plan to do a follow-up show or two spotlighting topical songs dealing with natural disasters, social issues and politics.

In the “Jim Crow” world of pre-1945 America, black servicemen confronted not only the hostility of enemies abroad but that of enemies at home. African-American soldiers and sailors had two formidable obstacles to deal with: discrimination and segregation. Yet, black servicemen in both world wars repeatedly demonstrated their bravery, loyalty, and ability in combat or in support of frontline troops.

World War I (1914-1918) - More than 350,000 African Americans served in segregated units during World War I, mostly as support troops. No black men were allowed in the Marines, Coast Guard or Air Force. They were allowed in the Navy only as messmen. Several units saw action alongside French soldiers fighting against the Germans

President Roosevelt established the country’s first “peacetime draft” when he signed into law the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 following the fall of France to the Nazis. More than 10 million men were drafted during World War II. More than 2.5 million blacks were registered for the draft in World War II, and about 909,000 served in the Army. At its peak in In 1944 there were over 700,000 blacks in the Army. Segregated troops remained official U.S. Army policy throughout World War II.

With the onset of World War II the government found it necessary to ration food, gas, and even clothing during that time. In the spring of 1942, the Food Rationing Program was set into motion. Rationing ended in 1946. Reconversion refers to moving the economy from wartime economy to a peacetime economy and Louis Jordan’s “Ration Blues” and “Reconversion” humorously sums up the situation.

One response to the war was the idea of burrowing underground either to escape a nuclear attack or avoid the draft. We play three such songs: Jimmy Rogers (”This World Is In A Tangle”), Honeyboy Edwards’ (”Build A Cave) and Arthur Crudup’s (”I’m Gonna Dig Myself A Hole”). In addition several others have used this imagery including John Lee Hooker (“Build Myself A Cave”), Robert Lockwood & Sunnyland Slim (“I’m Gonna Dig Myself A Hole”), Lightnin’ Hopkins (“War News Blues”).

The Korean War began as a civil war fought between 1950–1953 on the Korean Peninsula, which had been divided by the post-World War II Soviet and American occupation zones. The civil war began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea attacked South Korea. The civil war was greatly expanded when the United Nations, led by the United States, and later China entered the conflict. The conflict ended when a cease-fire was reached on July 27, 1953. Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “There’s Peace In Korea” was cut on July 27, 1953 the very day armistice was declared in Korea.

In 1948 the draft was re-instated. It was expanded by the Universal Military Training and Service Act in 1951, in response to the manpower needs caused by the Korean War. African-Americans served in all combat and combat service elements during the Korean War and were involved in all major combat operations, including the advance of United Nations Forces to the Chinese border. In June 1950, almost 100,000 African-Americans were on active duty in the U.S. armed forces. In October 1951, the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment, a unit established in 1869, which had served during the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the beginning of the Korean War, was disbanded, essentially ending segregation in the U.S. Army.

The Vietnam War saw the highest proportion of blacks ever to serve in an American war. During the height of the U.S. involvement, 1965-69, blacks, which formed 11 percent of the American population, made up 12.6 percent of the soldiers in Vietnam.

U.S. involvement in Vietnam unfolded against the domestic backdrop of the civil rights movement. From the outset, the use, or alleged misuse, of African American troops brought charges of racism. Civil rights leaders and other critics, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., described the Vietnam conflict as racist—”a white man’s war, a black man’s fight.” Volunteers and draftees included many frustrated blacks whose impatience with the war and the delays in racial progress in America led to race riots on a number of ships and military bases.

The Vietnam War was especially well documented in soul circles. Apart from country music, no other genre of music can offer anywhere near as much social commentary on the subject. It is no coincidence that the overwhelming majority of enlisted personnel came from either poor white or poor black America, where Country and Soul ruled their respective musical roosts.