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| | Title: |
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| Educator: |
Mary Jayne Landowski |
| Educator Affiliation: |
n.a., MN |
| Overview: |
The 1920s hit song, “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” was sung by famous blues singer, Bessie Smith, who came to be called “Empress of the Blues.” Lyrics of “Taint Nobody’s Bizness” can be seen as reflecting aspects of the socioeconomic conditions of some African Americans at the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Bessie Smith and the blues experienced great popularity during the 1920s. This was the era when she recorded for Columbia Records’ new race records division, and toured extensively as a performer. The blues waned in popularity in late 1929, when the Great Depression hit, and the music called “swing” was just finding a foothold. Bessie Smith died in Clarksville, Mississippi, as a result of a traffic accident on September 26, 1937. |
| Grade Levels: |
9-12
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| Subjects: |
Arts - Dance, Drama, Music, Visual
Computer Skills
Media - Film, Video, and TV
Reading
Research Skills
Social Studies and History
Speaking, Discussion and Debate
Writing
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| Lesson Goals: |
Students will:
1. Increase their knowledge of the blues form of music.
2. Know aspects of the life and times of Bessie Smith.
3. Identify possible correlations between the content of “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” and social conditions faced by some African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance.
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| Text & Materials: |
1. Recording of “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” by P. Grainger and E. Robbins, Bessie Smith, vocalist, New York, April 26, 1923, Columbia A.3898. Original recording produced by John Hammond and Frank Walker. Columbia Jazz Masterpieces, Bessie Smith Collection.
2. Lyrics of “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do.” (See Supplemental Material section following.)
3. Charles S. Johnson, "The New Frontage On American Life" can be found in Locke, Alain. The New Negro. New York: Atheneum, 1992. pp. 278-98 (ISBN 0-689-70821-1) (Excerpt in Supplemental Material section following.)
4. Videotape of “St. Louis Blues,” a 17-minute short feature movie featuring Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong, recorded in 1929. To view the film online, see the web site:
Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues
http//www.redhotjazz.com/stlouisblues.html
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| Activities: |
1. Play the recording of “Taint Nobody’s Bizness” and provide the lyrics (from Supplemental Materials.) Ask students to describe the female voice in the song lyrics and in the performance (i.e. attitude, tone, phrasing), and to list questions about the song (i.e., Who is Joan Frida? What is “haul no coppa”?)
2. Provide information or ask students to research and bring to class information
about:
a. the blues as a musical form.
b. the life and times of Bessie Smith
c. the Harlem Renaissance
(Suggestions of web sites for information or research are contained in the supplementary resources and links sections of this unit.)
3. Have students read and discuss an article by Charles Johnson (excerpts in Supplemental Materials) in which he suggests why women may feel compelled to give away their money to men, as the female voice does in “Taint Nobody’s Bizness.” Questions to prompt analysis include:
a. Johnson cites statistics that show more women in Harlem in the 1920s than men, creating what he calls an “abnormal” condition where “normal relations” are not possible. How do you think Johnson would define “normal relations” between men and women, and between men, women and money? Do you share Johnson’s opinion that when “women find it an added personal attraction to contribute to the support of a man, demoralization... follow(s) this...”?
b. When Johnson writes about “demoralization,” whose demoralization is he focused on? Men’s, women’s, society’s? Would you describe the female voice in “Taint Nobody’s Bizness” as demoralized? Why or why not?
4. Assignments
a. Students will write an essay about the content, attitudes and point of view of the song, “Taint Nobody’s Bizness,” and compare them to the content, attitudes and point of view in Clarence Johnson’s article.
b. Students will pick a topic from modern day culture and write lyrics to their own personalized blues song. Try to clarify the content, attitudes and point of view of the song’s voice. Create an introduction to the song which demonstrates knowledge of the history of the blues form.
c. Students will write an essay comparing and contrasting the content, attitudes and point of view of the song, “Taint Nobody’s Bizness,” with the life of Bessie Smith.
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| Supplemental Resources: |
Lyrics: “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do”
by P. Grainger and E. Robbins, recorded with Bessie Smith, vocal, Clarence Williams, piano, New York, April 26, 1923, Columbia A.3898. Original recording produced by John Hammond and Frank Walker. Columbia Jazz Masterpieces, Bessie Smith Collection.
There ain’t nothin’ I can do, or nothin’ I can say.
There goes Joan Frida.
That’s he.
But I’m goin’ to, cuz I want to anyway.
An’ (I) don’t care if he of’n defies me.
If I should take a notion,
To jump into the ocean
‘Taint nobody’s bizness if I do,
Do, do, do.
If I go to church on Sunday,
Then just give me hell on Monday.
‘Taint nobody’s bizness if I do,
If I do.
If my friend ain’t got no money,
And I say take all mine, honey,
‘Taint nobody’s bizness if I do,
If I do.
Then I rather my man will hit me,
Than to jump right up and quit me.
‘Taint nobody’s bizness if I do,
Do, do, do.
I swear I won’t haul no coppa,
If I’m beat up, by my papa.
‘Taint nobody’s bizness if I do,
If I do.
Excerpts from “The New Frontage On American Life”
by Charles S. Johnson, article in Locke, Alain. The New Negro. New York: Atheneum, 1992. pp. 278-98 (ISBN 0-689-70821-1)
“In the working age groups of New York, there are more women than men. For every hundred Negro men, there are 110 Negro women. This is abnormal and would be a distinct anomaly in an industrial center. The surplus women are doubtless the residue from the general wash and ebb of migrants who found a demand for their services. The city actually attracts more women than men. But surplus women bring on other problems, as the social agencies will testify.”
“Where women preponderate in large numbers, there is proportionate increase in immorality because women are cheap.”
“The situation does not permit normal relations. What is most likely to happen and does happen, is that women soon find it an added personal attraction to contribute to the support of a man. Demoralization may follow this – and does. Moreover, the proportion of Negro women at work in Manhattan (60.6) is twice that of any corresponding group, and one of the highest proportions registered anywhere.”
“The nature of the work of at least 40 percent of the men suggests a relationship, even if indirectly, with the tensely active night life by which Harlem is known. The dull, unarduous routine of porter’s job or that of an elevator tender, does not provide enough stimulation to consume the normal supply of nervous energy. It is unthinkable that the restlessness which drove migrants to New York from dull small towns would allow them to be content with the same dullness in the new environment, when a supply of garish excitements is so richly available.”
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| Web Links: |
http://alt.venus.co.uk/weed/bessie/welcome.htm
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bessie.html
http://www.greatwomen.org/smithb.htm
http://mathrisc1.lunet.edu/blues/Bessie_Smith.html
http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/artistswithsongs/bessie_smith_2.htm
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| Posting Date: |
2001-03-06 |
Comments: |
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| Standards: |
View Minnesota Content Standards information |
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