Call & Response
The music of the enslaved evolved to become America's music.
The Old Plantation attributed to to John Rose, c. 1785.
About The Genre
Born out of the oral tradition of African music, field hollers, or work songs, were performed by enslaved Africans working on plantations as a way of communication and for entertainment to combat the tedium of field work. The tradition continued in prison work camps well into the 20th Century.
The call and response genre was a direct influence on work songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spirituals, gospel, and blues. Its impact is still heard in rock, hip hop, and pop music.
Trivia/Famous Lyrics
DId you know...
"When the sun comes back, and the first quail calls
Follow the drinkin' gourd
For the old man is waiting just to carry you to freedom
Follow the drinkin' gourd"
From Follow The Drinking Gourd
