Music of Washington, D.C.
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The music of Washington D.C. is known for two primary scenes, hardcore and associated derivatives and a hip hop-dance music hybrid called go go. The first major musical figure from DC 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 and the National Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1931 by Hans Kindler). Important performing venues include the Kennedy Center. Washingtonian magazine maintains a Washington Music Hall of Fame. The US Marine Band, which is based in Washington, D.C., is the oldest musical group in the United States (formed in 1798, before the city was even founded). 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
The foundation of the U.S. Marine Band is the earliest the music of what we now know as Washington, D.C. can be traced. 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.
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 early 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 Ertegun, 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 black 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 and country legend Jimmie Rodgers. Local stars of the early part of the century include the singer Pearl Bailey.
By the middle of the decade and into the turbulent countercultural popular music 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. 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.
During this period, Washington began to develop its own music scene, with a number of styles evolving by the end of the century. Other popular singers from this period include Roberta Flack ("Killing Me Softly with His Song"), Root Boy Slim & the Sex 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).
[edit] Variety
[edit] Blues
Early in the 20th century, D.C. was home to many bluesmen, such as Jelly Roll Morton and later underground legend Roy Buchanan. In the 1960s, a number of white youths formed local blues bands, like the Northside Blues Band and the Nighthawks.
[edit] Soul & Funk
For a comprehensive listing of Washington DC Soul & Funk artists and labels, see DCSoulRecordings.com
[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] Go go
The Go go sound developed during the mid 70s & and began to take it's current shape by the late 1970s. It's characteristic formula combined simple funk grooves with instrumental percussion and often rapping. Many Washington DC 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.
[edit] Hardcore
Washington is known for its contribution to hardcore punk rock, particularly bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains and 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
In the mid-1980s, veterans of the hardcore scene created a new punk subgenre called "emo", meaning "emotional hardcore." The most renowned D.C. area emo band was Rites of Spring.
[edit] Punk
In the 1980s, Washington, DC, was rich with Punk/New Wave music. Bands like 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, dc space, and Madam's Organ.
[edit] 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, 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] Venues
Venues in Washington, D.C. include:
The MCI Center hosts many major concerts. The Kennedy Center is home to the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.
