![]() Their sign for this is the cross, but it has nothing to do with the Christianist cross. West Africa views the spirit world as existing alongside the human world and that they periodically intersect. Africa, on the other hand, in its core, held a different musical philosophy because it held a different religious philosophy. He credits this essentially to the influence of Christianity which downplays the body. It is Ventura's contention (and many others I have read) that civilized Europe produced a music – classical – that was designed to appeal primarily not to the body but to the mind. ![]() It’s as though such a drum is there to say that within the astonishingly complex rhythms of Africa – rhythms which Western musical notation is too crude, rhythmically, to express – within the multi-toned din is a core of quietude, of calm, the focused silence of the Master, the silence out of which revelation rises. “An instrument of significant silence, not reverberation,” is Thompson’s phrase. Hence in this culture the drum is so sacred as an instrument that some are built for display. Like ancient India, China, Egypt, and Ireland it embraced a pagan mother goddess religion, and its worship rites were intimately connected with drum induced bodily trances through which the gods communicate to men. We see this illustrated linguistically via such words as "funky", "mojo", "boogie", and "juke." All of these, and others, come from the West African language of Ki-Kongo, and in their original language mean respectively positive sweat, soul, devilishly good, and bad.Īlong the West African coast even well into the nineteenth century an old culture thrived loosely labeled as Yoruba. Rock music is historically and undeniably rooted in West African and Haitian voodoo traditions. Today's blog post is essentially my summation of that essay with extensive quotations. It exists online as a standalone 32 page pdf that has been cited in the equivalent of peer reviewed papers as of this writing twenty eight times. One of those essays, "Hear That Long Snake Moan", was an historical criticism of the roots of rock music. In 1986 he published a collection of eleven essays under the title Shadow Dancing in the USA. Ventura is a sometime author, essayist, film critic, and poet who currently writes for the "Austin Chronicle." Now seventy years of age, he has spent decades observing and commenting on the more intellectual aspects of American culture. ![]() With today's post I dig them up with the help of Michael Ventura. No one tells it better than Charlie, so I’ll just pull a few of my favorite lines from the story, but really you have to listen to really get swept up in the eeriness of the whole thing.The roots of rock lie deep in the soil of voodoo. The song goes on to give the backstory of Lucius Clay and how the ghost came to live in the swamp. There’s some things in this world you just can’t explain” One of the song’s most memorable lines rounds out of this first verse, but the whole thing sets the tone for where this is going to go…Īnd things that creep around on the ground The song begins with a man refusing to believe the story of a ghost that lives in Wooley Swamp and deciding he has to find out if it’s true for himself. While the song didn’t have the commercial success of some of its predecessors, it confirmed that Charlie Daniels was a no-joke songwriter, capable of creating fantastic stories that can take your imagination to a dark, dark place. “The Legend Of Wooley Swamp” was the second single released off their 1980 album Full Moon, which also contained fan favorites like “Carolina (I Remember You)” and “In America.” Songs like “Devil Went Down To Georgia” and “Long Haired Country Boy” became lasting anthems in every corner of the country, while songs like “Uneasy Rider” and “Still In Saigon” showcased his beliefs and opinions on numerous cultural issues of the time, which many country fans heavily resonated with.īut around this time each year, I’m reminded of the great CDB for another reason.Īs the pumpkins get carved, orange and black decorations go up, and Halloween costumes get planned, I can’t help but think about not just one of his most underrated songs, but perhaps the greatest spooky song in country music history. He brought his music to fans outside of the country music world, pushing him to heights few others have or will ever reach. He simultaneously carried the genre’s traditions, and was a strong voice for keeping the outlaw in country music while realizing a good amount of crossover success. When Charlie Daniels sadly passed away in July of 2020, he left behind a legacy that no one will be able to match.
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