Music of Washington, D.C.

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Washington, D.C. has been home to many prominent musicians and is particularly known for the musical genres of hardcore punk, bluegrass, and a local hip hop-dance music hybrid called "go go". The first major musical figure from D.C. was John Phillip Sousa, a military brass band composer. Later figures include jazz legends like Duke Ellington and soul singers like Roberta Flack.

The city is home to the Washington Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1931 by Hans Kindler), and the DC Youth Orchestra Program, (founded in 1960). The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a nationally important venue for a variety of musical performances. Washingtonian magazine maintains a Washington Music Hall of Fame. The United States Marine Band, based in Washington, D.C., is the oldest musical group in the United States (formed in 1798, before the city's founding). The Marine Band's most famous conductor is undoubtedly John Philip Sousa, who composed many of the most famous American marches, as well as several musical comedies.

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[edit] Music history

John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa

The earliest music of Washington, D.C. can be traced to the foundation of the U.S. Marine Band. Some fifty years later, in 1851, the city's first choral society, Washington Saengerbund, was formed. Other 19th century musicians included the minstrel singer and songwriter James Bland ("Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny"). In 1872, the Coloured American Opera Society formed.

Duke Ellington receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969
Duke Ellington receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969

Later groundbreaking musicians included James Reese Europe, ragtime musician Claude Hopkins, Lithuanian immigrant and vaudeville performer Al Jolson and Lillian Evans Tibbs, who became the first African-American opera singer to perform in a foreign country. The most widely renowned musician from 20th century D.C. is undoubtedly Duke Ellington, a jazz pioneer. Later D.C. jazz musicians included Charlie Rouse (saxophonist, with Thelonious Monk), Billy Hart (drummer), Ira Sullivan (tenor saxophonist) and Leo Parker (bop baritone saxophonist). Ahmet Ertegün, a Turkish-born jazz fan, came to D.C. at age twelve and later went on to found Atlantic Records. Todd Duncan was a D.C.-born singer who made history by being the first to play the lead of the opera Porgy and Bess; he later became the first black man to play Tonio in I Pagliacci. D.C. was also a home (and recording stop) for blues legend Jelly Roll Morton, country legend Jimmie Rodgers and rock & roll legend Bo Diddley. Local stars of the early part of the century include the singer Pearl Bailey.

In 1957, Elizabeth Cotten recorded for the family that employed her, which included a number of composers and musicologists. One song, "Freight Train", became a folk music legend. Charlie Byrd, a D.C.-based jazz musician, recorded an innovative album in 1962 called Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, helping to launch the bossa nova craze. By the middle of the 1960s, D.C. had begun to produce some major stars, like soul singer Marvin Gaye. Other musicians included John Fahey, one of the first "folk" musicians to gain national appeal, Peter Tork (of The Monkees), underground legend Tim Buckley, guitarist Link Wray, pop singer and songwriter Billy Stewart, country singer Patsy Cline, guitarist Danny Gatton, doo wop bands The Orioles (based out of D.C., though from Baltimore) and The Clovers, Scott McKenzie (known for "If You're Going to San Francisco"), R&B singer Ruth Brown, and country star Roy Clark.

During this period, Washington began to develop its own music scene, with a number of styles evolving by the end of the century. Some popular singers from later decades include Roberta Flack ("Killing Me Softly with His Song"), Root Boy Slim & the ex Change Band ("You Broke My Mood Ring"), singer-songwriter Tori Amos, Herb Fame (of Peaches & Herb), Van McCoy (disco producer, "The Hustle"), Toni Braxton, Ginuwine, Mya, Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters), Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight"), Joan Jett (heavy metal singer) and Nils Lofgren (guitarist for Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Neil Young).

Washington is also home to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, founded in 1974 and part of the DC Public School System. Some other notable music education organizations which are located in Washington include the DC Youth Orchestra Program, founded in 1960; the Blues Alley Jazz Society, founded in 1985; and the Levine School of Music, founded in 1976.

[edit] Musical genres

[edit] Blues

Early in the 20th century, D.C. was home to many bluesmen, such as Jelly Roll Morton and later rock & roll and rhythm & blues legends Bo Diddley and Roy Buchanan. In the 1960s, a number of white youths formed local blues bands, like the Northside Blues Band and the Nighthawks.

[edit] Bluegrass

In the 1950s, Buzz Busby and the Bayou Boys became a noted bluegrass band that helped D.C. become known as the "Bluegrass Capital of America". Later bluegrass bands from the city included the Country Gentlemen. Seldom Scene eventually became the city's most prominent and longest-lasting bluegrass band.

[edit] Folk

In 1961, the first major folk venue in D.C., The Shadows, opened in Georgetown. A band called "the Mugwumps" formed, eventually splitting up. Two of the members, John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, became The Lovin' Spoonful, and the other two, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliott, formed The Mamas and the Papas. Later, in Georgetown, then-folk singer John Denver, Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoff wrote a song called "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which launched Denver's career as one of the most popular singers in the country. Other popular folk singers include Mary Chapin Carpenter; the duo Fink & Marxer have been nominated for several Grammy Awards, for both folk and children's music.

[edit] Soul/Funk

Washington D.C.'s Soul/Funk movement took shape during the mid 60s; about the same time the Doo-Wop craze came to a close, and "James Brown" became a household name. Artists such as Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, the “Maskman” Harmon Bethea, the DC Playboys, Sir Joe Quarterman, the Soul Searchers & the Young Senators (both known for their later Go Go influences), impacted more than just the regional scene. Lesser known groups such as Brute, Aggression, 95th Congress, and Scacy and The Sound Service, topped the ever growing club circuit. Local venues such as the Howard Theatre, The Mark IV and The Room, were known for hosting Soul and Funk bands on the regular. Monumental D.C. Soul Labels included Shrine and Cap City.

[edit] Go go

Main article: Go go

The Go go sound developed during the mid 70s & and began to take its current shape by the late 1970s. Its characteristic formula combined simple funk grooves with instrumental percussion and often rapping. Many Washington, D.C. soul & funk artists contributed to the characteristic go go sound, but the main pioneers were the Young Senators, aka "The Emperors of Go Go", known for their hit tune "Jungle", & Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, known for "Bustin' Loose", which became a surprise national hit. Later go go bands include Rare Essence, Trouble Funk,Experience Unlimited, and New Entertainment and the Southeast go go band Aggressive Funk.

[edit] Hip Hop

Main article: Washington, D.C. hip hop

The DC hip hop scene has always taken a backseat to the other more prevalent genres in the area. Even still very influential groups have planted seeds in the city for future generations to follow. Groups like The Amphibians & Freestyle Union laid the foundation for artists like Wale, Rosetta Stoned, & Low Budget to help put DC's hip hop scene on the map.

[edit] Electronic

Washington D.C. has a booming House music scene, with various parties happening at clubs and warehouses across the city.

D.C. is also the home to the group Thievery Corporation, who are well known in the electronic music community for their fusion of downtempo and trip hop with lounge music and Brazilian music such as bossa nova. They founded the label Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, which is also based in Washington D.C.

[edit] Hardcore

Main article: Washington, D.C. hardcore

Washington is known for its contribution to Hardcore punk rock, particularly bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains, and labels like Dischord Records, but it had a vibrant musical community prior to hardcore's arrival with bands like the Razz, Slickee Boys and Penetrators putting out records on local independent labels like Limp, O'Rourke, and Dacoit.

[edit] Emo

Main article: Emo (music)

In the mid-1980s, veterans of the hardcore scene created a new punk subgenre called "emo", meaning "emotive hardcore." The most renowned D.C. area emo band was Rites of Spring.

[edit] Punk

In the 1980s, Washington, D.C., was rich with punk/new wave music. Bands like The Slickee Boys, Urban Verbs, Tiny Desk Unit, Mother May I, Insect Surfers, Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, and Black Market Baby were popular at places like the 9:30 Club, The Psychedeli, dc space, Madam's Organ, The Bayou (in Georgetown).

[edit] Post-punk

Main article: Post-punk

In the 1990s, bands taking heavy influence from the DC hardcore scene and the local go-go phenomenon contributed to the post-punk revival. Important players in this scene were The Dismemberment Plan, Fugazi, and Q and Not U. Currently, important post-punk/indie/dance-rock bands like Supersystem (formerly El Guapo), Medications, Maritime, Edie Sedgwick, Mass Movement of the Moth, Scanner Freaks and Beauty Pill hail from DC. Record labels like Dischord, Desoto, and Exotic Fever have been and remain to be a crucial means of distribution for DC bands.

[edit] Garage Revival

As of late, DC has been home to a growing scene of musicians who take inspiration from the primal stomp of the 60's garage rock movement. Eschewing the more esoteric stylings of their art-school peers, bands like Soul Lip, the Hall Monitors, the breakUps, the Have Mercys, the Points, and the Ambitions mine a more primitive vein of rock 'n' roll, finding inspiration in fuzzed-out chords and grooves.

[edit] Performance venues

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

The Washington area has many venues large and small for music performances. The MCI Center hosts many major concerts. The Kennedy Center is home to the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia hosts many performances and the Wolf Trap Opera Company. The Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland also hosts many national touring musical acts.

Venues in Washington, D.C. include and included:

[edit] References