1 BLUES CITY CULTURAL CENTER Down on Beale Street Some of the most iconic symbols of American music come to life in DOWN ON BEALE STREET, a lively musical depicting notable musicians and the culture that gave birth to the blues. Man, the lead character, guides an aspiring blues singer through the lives of W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith, B.B. King and other legendary artists who left their historic footprints on Beale Street. Written by Levi Frazier Jr in 1972, DOWN ON BEALE STREET has been presented on numerous stages in Memphis and at the Richard Allen Culture Center in New York. It was first performed in 1973 at LeMoyne-Owen College during the W.C. Handy Festival. In 2016, it was performed at Minglewood Hall for over 2,000 students. Over the years, it has been viewed by over 100,000 people through live performances or public broadcasting. In African-American Theatre: An Historical & Critical Analysis, theatre historian and critic Samuel Hay described DOWN ON BEALE STREET as a musical revue that “highlights the denizens and the good times of such Beale Street spots as the Palace Theatre in Memphis. The significance of all of these musicals-with-messages is that they finally achieve what Dubois was seeking when he asked Cole in 1909 to write protest musical comedies for Broadway.” Arts for a Better Way of Life
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Down on Beale Street · 2019. 10. 2. · B.B. King and other legendary artists who left their historic footprints on Beale Street. Written by Levi Frazier Jr in 1972, DOWN ON BEALE
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BLUES CITY CULTURAL CENTER
Down on Beale Street
Some of the most iconic symbols of American music come to life in DOWN ON BEALE STREET, a
lively musical depicting notable musicians and the culture that gave birth to the blues. Man, the
lead character, guides an aspiring blues singer through the lives of W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith,
B.B. King and other legendary artists who left their historic footprints on Beale Street. Written by Levi Frazier Jr in 1972, DOWN ON BEALE STREET has been presented on numerous
stages in Memphis and at the Richard Allen Culture Center in New York. It was first performed
in 1973 at LeMoyne-Owen College during the W.C. Handy Festival. In 2016, it was performed at
Minglewood Hall for over 2,000 students. Over the years, it has been viewed by over 100,000
people through live performances or public broadcasting.
In African-American Theatre: An Historical & Critical Analysis, theatre historian and critic
Samuel Hay described DOWN ON BEALE STREET as a musical revue that “highlights the
denizens and the good times of such Beale Street spots as the Palace Theatre in Memphis. The
significance of all of these musicals-with-messages is that they finally achieve what Dubois was
seeking when he asked Cole in 1909 to write protest musical comedies for Broadway.”
As a music genre, the blues was originated by African
Americans in the Deep South. Rooted in African rhythms,
spirituals and field songs, it reflected the hard lives and
misery experienced by blacks living in a segregated and
disenfranchised society. W. C. Handy, known as the “Father
of the Blues,” pointed out, "The blues did not come from
books. Suffering and hard luck were the midwives that
birthed these songs. The blues were conceived in aching
hearts." This lesson enables students to explore and
appreciate the historical significance of the blues and its
impact on Beale Street, Memphis and the world. Students
will also come to understand the ways in which music and culture blended to create
opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds and varying degrees of power to find a
common ground through shared experiences.
The Memphis Blues (The Mississippi Blues Trail - http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/memphis-blues) The bright lights of Beale Street and the promise of musical stardom have lured blues musicians
from nearby Mississippi since the early 1900s. Early Memphis blues luminaries who migrated
from Mississippi include Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Jim Jackson, and Memphis Minnie. In the
post-World War II era many native Mississippians became blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll recording
stars in Memphis, including Rufus Thomas, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley.
Memphis blues was discovered by the rest of the world largely
via the works of Beale Street-based bandleader W. C. Handy,
who began using blues motifs in his compositions shortly after
encountering the music in the Mississippi Delta around 1903.
By the 1920s many musicians from Mississippi had relocated
here to perform in local theaters, cafes, and parks. The mix of
rural and urban musical traditions and songs from traveling
minstrel and medicine shows led to the creation of new blues
styles, and record companies set up temporary studios at the
Peabody Hotel and other locations to capture the sounds of Mississippians who came to town
to record, such as Tommy Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as some who had settled
in Memphis, including Robert Wilkins, Jim Jackson, Gus Cannon, Memphis Minnie, and Joe
Blues Vocabulary (A Blues History - http://ablueshistory.blogspot.com/2008/02/blues-vocabulary.html)
Here is a sample of some of the words and phrases used in popular blues lyrics. Many of them
have more than one meaning. It’s its own language, essential to understand the meaning of the
songs.
Barrelhouse - a cheap drinking and dancing establishment; a fast-paced style of blues or jazz
music.
Biscuit - a young woman.
Black cat bone - a good luck charm that is carried in a mojo bag.
Boogie - to move quickly, to get going, to dance, to party.
Captain - form of address Southern white men demanded from their black employees; a prison
guard.
Chillum - children or people.
Cold in hand - having no money.
Dry so long - being poor.
Dust my broom - leaving a place; breaking up with a woman.
Eagle flies on Friday - payday.
Easy rider - guitar hung on the back of a traveling blues man.
Flagging (a train, a ride) - to signal for a train or ride to stop; to hitch a ride.
Goin' up the line/ goin' down the line - line meaning railroad route; up the line means going
North, down the line means going South
Hoodoo – voodoo; something that brings bad luck.
Juju - magic or luck.
Juke joint - establishment for eating, drinking, and dancing to the music of a jukebox.
Killing floor - slaughter house where many Southern blacks worked when they migrated to the
North.
Mojo - magic spell, hex or charm used against someone else.
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Nation sack - donation sack carried on the belts of traveling preachers.
Rambling - to move aimlessly from place to place.
Riding the blinds - hitching a ride on the train between cars.
Roadhouse - a drinking establishment outside the city limits.
Rounder - a man that gets around; a scoundrel; a big money poker player.
Stagger Lee - a real life murderer that became a folk hero. He was so bad that flies wouldn't fly
around his head in the summer and snow wouldn't fall on him in winter.
Voodoo - folk magic derived from African religion and practiced chiefly in Haiti.
Grades 6-8 Theatre Standards
Standard 6.0 - Theatrical Presentation
6.1 - Recognize how dance, visual art, and music are used in theatre.
6.2 - Understand the role of the audience and demonstrate appropriate etiquette. Standard 8.0 - Context
8.1 - Recognize the historical impact of theatre, film, television, and/or electronic media on society.
8.2 - Understand the relationship between theatre and society.
Grades 9-12 Theatre Standards
Standard 6.0 - Theatrical Presentation
6.1 - Examine dramatic production as a synthesis of all the arts. Standard 7.0 - Scene Comprehension
7.1 - Respond to a variety of theatrical experiences as an effort to interpret, intensify, and ennoble human experience.
7.2 - Expand the depth and scope of aesthetic judgment by experiencing informal and formal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions and theatre of diverse styles, periods, and genres.
7.3 - Understand the role of the audience in creating a theatrical experience. Standard 8.0: Context
8.2 - Discover and explore historical motifs and themes.
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Prior to the performance
1. Review the background information from this guide with your students.
2. Discuss with your students the etiquette of being an audience member at a live theatrical
performance. Items for discussion: don’t talk during the play, turn off cellphones & electronic
devices, appropriate responses, no chewing gum, going to the bathroom before the
performance, etc.
3. Encourage your students to engage in the talkback discussion following the performance.
Suggested Activities
1. Allow students to listen to several blues songs. What messages and/or themes can be found
in the lyrics? Discuss how the lyrics of these songs compare to contemporary music genres such
as rock ‘n roll, hip hop, rap, soul and country?
2. Discuss ways in which music has influenced people over time. Have students identify their
favorite musical artists. Why are these artists important to them? What messages are conveyed
in their music?
3. Now that students know and understand how the blues originated, discuss ways in which
their favorite music genre began. For example, what artists popularized rock ‘n roll, hip hop,
rap, soul and country?
4. In the early days of Beale Street, most of the blues performers were male. Discuss gender
roles in music. Are there some genres of music that are dominated by men? By women?
5. Have students write their own blues song. What message is their song conveying? This can be