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Example research essay topic: Musical Comedies Radio Stations - 1,155 words

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... he reconstruction period constitutional amendments were passed to assure civil rights and voting rights for former slaves and some blacks were elected members of the House and Senate; Whites wanted to be assured that blacks were still inferior and blackface troupes were not showing this by continuing to hire blacks. Therefore, audiences depleted, and many troupes that had incorporated blacks started to perform on circuits like the "Chicken circuit, " which hit most black owned theaters. Blacks who were part of the troupes started to branch off and start their own troupes. In doing this, they altered the usual blackface performance routine. First, they altered song lyrics, instead of singing songs that downgraded blacks; songsters would play on white fears and mock them.

Many blacks took off the face paint and introduced musical comedies. Black musical comedies made many black performers successful. White already loved black music so the musical comedy fit right into the market. Still many of these comedies were on the circuit, and confined to black theaters. It was not until later that musical comedies were featured on Broadway. When musical comedies appeared on Broadway "Lyles and Miller a very successful team created a whole new approach to the comedies. " (Watkins) They presented at the end of their acts a group of women who danced and sang with the stereotypical attitude many felt black urban women had.

This simple addition astounded Broadway and critics raved. Eventually, every black troupe evolved to use this form. Black Musical Comedies took blacks to another level of comedy yet, they were unable to shake the sambo stereotypical image given to them by white blackface performers. "Licensed radio was introduced in 1920, because of the low budget and inadequate facilities, news shows and music provided by local groups dominated the airwaves. By 1922, there were over 522 licensed stations and radio sales increased from $ 1 million in 1920 to $ 400 million in 1925. By 1929, one in every three homes owned radios ten years later there was a radio in almost every home.

Radio was a medium where its listeners could hear concerts, comic monologues, sporting events and political speeches as they happened. " (MacDonald, 1981) Radio at first initially ignored blacks, as in the blackface performance days they were imitated by whites. In 1925, Freeman F. Gosden and Charles J. Correll a minor duo debuted as musicians on a radio station in Chicago. They played at this radio station for a while and later moved to a station owned by the Chicago Tribune. There they were approached by management about doing a broadcast edition to the comic strip "The Gumps. " The two refused the offer but suggested an alternative, a black - dialect show.

Gosden and Correll made a series based on two black names "Sam 'N' "Henry", which would later become known as "Amos 'N' "Andy." Sam 'N' Henry debuted on January 12, 1926 (Dunning, 1925 - 1976) The characters Sam and Henry still depended on the stereotypical images of blacks created during the blackface (minstrel) performance years. Blacks were superstitious, nave, easily influenced, lazy, ignorant and conniving. On March 19, 1928, three months after the "Sam" 'N' "Henry" show had been cancelled, "Amos" 'N' "Andy" mysteriously appeared on a rival station in Chicago. Gosden and Correll had come up with the idea presented it to the station and it was accepted.

This show was far more successful than Sam and Henry; Amos N Andy was recorded and leased to forty other radio stations. In August 1929, Pepsodent became the first major sponsor of a black comedy show. Amos N Andy was the number one show in the country. By 1935, 70 percent of American home (40 million) listeners tuned in each night.

Sayings from the show hit the streets "Ain't dat sumption', "Spain dat to me', " and "Holy Mackerel" became popular. Even with its popularity, the show had a down time. Radio stations modernized their broadcast methods; comedians were no longer forced to work without an audience. This is when variety shows begin to take the market. In 1943, Gosden and Correl returned to the air with a thoroughly revamped half an hour version of "Amos" 'N' "Andy." The show was performed before a live audience and featured an orchestra and chorus. "Amos" 'N' "Andy" represented a breakthrough for black comedians on radio and television as well. Although one-person acts were not popular during the variety show period, Moms Mabley set the stage for many comedians that would come after her.

Jackie "Moms" Mabley. Born in North Carolina in 1897, Mabley grew up in Cleveland Ohio, by the time she was sixteen she had became a stage performer. She began as a dancer and singer and dabbled in comedy. During the 1920 's, she was performing on the chicken circuit in Dallas, where another teams saw her act and helped her get better bookings. Like many performers, she appeared in skits with other performers at first. However, Mabley did not like this and she was one of the first comics to turn to monologue humor.

She appeared on the stage with oversized clodhoppers, tattered gingham dresses and oddball hats she acted like a typical down to earth older black woman. Mabley worked with many performers but she did her best when she was alone. She was famous for her costume and her shuffle, she would sing some comical version of a popular song, tell stories or just stand there and the audience loved it. Mabley foreshadowed the shift to direct social commentary and stand up comic techniques that would dominate humor and comedians to come.

Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Redd Foxx, Steve Allen, Richard Pryor, Whoopi Gold burg, Eddie Murphy, and many other popular black and white comedians have evolved from the history of comedy. The images that were passed on from slavery still thrive at the root of jokes many comedians of today tell. Black comedians have finally gotten away from the white interpretation of black humor and created original black humor from an African American perspective to the world. Black comedy has come to be the voice of the struggle, pain, and joy African American people have gone through and are continuing to going through. Humor will continue to be a driving force to bring people of all ethnicities together to laugh at the good and bad times of our country. Without humor, would we really survive?

Bibliography: Works Cited 1. Hughes, Langston. The Book of Negro Humor. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. , 1966 2.

Joyner, Charles. Down by the riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1984. 3. MacDonald, J.

Fred. Don't Touch That Dial! Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1981. 4. Rourke Constance. American Humor: A study of the National Character. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovic h, Harvest, 1931. 5.

Watkins, Mel. On The Real Side. New York: Touchstone, 1994


Free research essays on topics related to: black humor, black comedy, radio stations, african american, musical comedies

Research essay sample on Musical Comedies Radio Stations

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