Blurred Lines: David Bowie and the Advent of “Blue-Eyed Soul” by Allison Miller

For the younger generation, David Bowie may be more of an historic icon than a singer who will be missed. You know, someone you’ve heard of that’s pretty cool – like Frank Sinatra or John Lennon.

I am fairly sure, however, that the hip and the cool - and maybe even not-so-hip and cool - have heard of Robin Thicke.

Not long ago his crossover hit Blurred Lines was all the rage and was as controversial as it was popular. He even did a throwback performance on the 2014 Grammy’s with quintessential crossover band Chicago, a well-known staple of great music (in my humble opinion) that continues to play in heavy rotation on my iPod.

Thicke’s success was a continuation of the popularity and acceptance of white artists, often British, who create music that sounds just like rhythm and blues (R&B). It has been affectionately dubbed “blue-eyed soul.”

This notion of blurring the lines between who was actually putting out music I liked – a white artist or a black artist - was part of the soundtrack of my youth and quite the game changer.

It was nothing for my friends and I to utter a stunned, “Say what?!” when we discovered that it was a white artist who was crankin’ out a driving beat underpinned by a thumpin’ baseline.

Some perceived 80’s dance staples like Bowie’s Let’s Dance and Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust as an encroachment on “real music” and the Black artists who often went unrecognized and uncelebrated.

YouTube video – Let’s Dance by David Bowie

Similarly, soul music purists were nervous that these artists would “steal” what was considered “ours” and gain the notoriety and financial reward that often eluded soul music pioneers of old.

But alas, African American couldn’t help themselves.

In an article for NBC news.com ('Plastic Soul': David Bowie's Legacy and Impact on Black Artists), writer Mashaun D. Simon notes that Atlanta DJ Sir Daniel said Bowie had a standing relationship with the black community. According to Daniel, Bowie’s “...’blue-eyed soul’ delivered music…on a gritty and soulful level that resonated with African Americans."

Daniel goes on to say that, "David Bowie, and many other British musicians, arrived on American shores with a deep passion for R&B and Gospel music. In particular, David would make his 'glam-rock' music, but would also jam with Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and others to edify his love of Black American music."

Like most young people, my high school friends and I were open to whatever made sense to us and whatever sounded good. We embraced blurry blue-eyed soul like it was the real deal and even tolerated traditional R&B bands such as Earth, Wind and Fire and Gladys Knight and the Pips when they had to reinvent their sound to stay alive in the ever-changing musical landscape of the 80’s.

I was blessed to have a mom who studied music at New York University in the 50's when very few African Americans roamed those hallowed halls and when jazz greats like Horace Silver and Miles Davis as well as the Hollywood musical were king. I spent many a Sunday afternoon watching West Side Story, Porgy and Bess, and Singing in the Rain and was taught that that was undeniably real music. You can imagine her outrage and eye-rolling at loud techno beats and very little lyrical creativity blaring through my stereo speakers during my high school years.

But I had to school her.

Real music is in the ear of the beholder and the good stuff always lasts.

The outpouring of love for and appreciation of David Bowie in his passing is proof positive.

Attributions:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/plastic-soul-david-bowie-s-legacy-impact-black-artists-n494241