Final Analysis of Bahamian Popular and Traditional Songs – Dec 4th

The musical culture of the Bahamas has historically and is presently influenced by the economic climate of the country. The Bahamas have a culture that was produced by mixing British and African traditions.  The English language, Protestantism, a market economy and technology were introduced by Britain, while various West Africans brought musical instruments, dance forms, some religious concepts, family foundations, folktales, and linguistic influences (Ember and Ember (eds.), 154).

During the 1950’s when “Gal you Want to Go Back to Scambo?” was produced the islands were not exposed to many tourists, which limited the music’s production and advertisement.  It was popular among the people of the Bahamas, but the music stayed mainly within the islands.  The fact that the song was even produced from that August Monday Celebration by one collaboration of the Fresh Creek Dance Band was a fluke in and of itself, because the band was thrown together by chance and the man who recorded and edited the song, Samuel Charters, “collected” the song during an unsponsored, difficult “field trip” to Andros Island, Bahamas (Charters, 1959).  The production of this song also had no financial backing and was performed for the purpose of celebrating the August Monday Celebration which is the commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery, a national celebration held the first Monday of every August within the Bahamas (Charters, 1959).  Since “Gal You Want to go Back to Scambo?” was limited to the islands, it was not capable of attracting income and tourists the way that the Baha Men are able to do today.  On the alternative side, the Baha Men group has 20 years of working together under their belts before the well planned production of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” (Binelli, 40).  “Who Let the Dogs Out?” was performed with the purpose of making money, and was directed towards a worldwide, young audience (Philadelphia, 92).  The song was immediately exposed to other countries, particularly the United States and Japan and influenced a revival in island flavored music (Binelli, 40).

The activities and even social organization, as mentioned above, concerning both the popular Baha Men song and the traditional Fresh Creek Dance Band song are vastly different.  The dance styles and activities that accompany the songs would have greater influences of their time, therefore the dances for “Gal you Want to Go Back to Scambo?” would have been more reserved and low key in the 1950’s rather than fast-paced, and pump and grind like the “Who Let the Dogs Out?”  The audiences would have also be greatly different because a specific group of people gathered to hear the traditional song whereas the popular song had the availability of a CD recording, as well as numerous commercials and advertisements.  The song further came out to be “one of the more popular party and sports anthem songs” (Hay, 15).  The added exposure of the Baha Men would have allowed a much greater audience and attracted a wider multicultural fan base. At the same time, both songs have a social component to draw people together, and both make the listener feel a need for movement.  Also both are played within an environment for a party or celebration.

One similarity the songs share is that both were performed by professional musicians and singers, and both used traditional Bahamian instruments such as goat skin drums, cow bells, and sticks/blocks.  The difference here is the sound that the Baha Men made, while both bands use rhythmic island music, the Baha Men create a more diverse sound with their mix of calypso-inflected insults and the unique blend of Caribbean rhythms with hip-hop (Philadelphia, 92/Hay, 15).

Both of these songs are appropriate for what they were created for, i.e. celebrations and socialization, however despite that more than 90 percent of the population of the Bahamas professes a religion and attend services weekly, neither song has a serious or spiritual connection (Porter and Prince, 2009).  The topics of both songs are very secular.  Secular songs usually have a wider audience than sacred or religious songs which would also allow for greater financial benefit.

The sounds are inadvertently influenced by the economics behind Bahamian musical culture because however well the music is doing will partially affect the country’s popularity and income.  Another aspect of this would that the Baha Men have used electric instruments (keyboard), more technologically advanced recording and sound equipment which assist in the sound quality, and the advantage of mass media for distribution and advertisement of the song.  Since, the Fresh Creek Dance Band lacks economic backing, it also lacks worldwide popularity and recognition, but this could also be because of the times.

When looking at the sounds of the music, the musical culture is strongly recognized in the instrumentation, particularly the drumming, and the island rolling rhythm.  A strong, steady beat exists in both songs. Both songs also have a strong call and response, however “Who Let the Dog’s Out?” has the advantage of today’s technology which allows for a more diverse layering of the song.  This also gave the song more of an edge over the traditional Bahamian song.  The layer of barking within the popular song is something that just wouldn’t fit in a traditional song.  The dynamics of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” has a major loudness throughout the song with its barking and shouting which gives it a rowdy feel, while “Gal You Want to go Back to Scambo?” has a more relative medium loudness throughout the song keeping the traditional pulse of the song.  The speed of the layers between the two songs are different in the fact that the traditional song doesn’t really have a pull in its character and phrasing since it has a more laid back, formal traditional sound.  On the other hand, the popular song has the traditional drumming layer to keep the tempo of the song, but then has other, layers that are faster and incorporate more swing.

In conclusion, the Bahamas is a very tourist driven country which depends very much on the popular opinion of people who will spend money and time on the islands.  However, it is the music that gives the island its culture, as well as, the exposure and draws people in.  The economics behind the musical culture then comes full circle back to benefit the country.

References

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Baha Men. Who Let The Dogs Out. Artemis Records. 2000.

Binelli, Mark. “The Men Who Let the Dogs Out.” Rolling Stone (853) 9 Nov. 2000: 2+.

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Charters, S. B. Music of the Bahamas, Vol. 3: Instrumental Music from the Bahamas Islands. Folkways Records and Service Corp, 1959.

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Olson, Catherine A. “Pro Sports Marketing Pitches Hits for Athletic Events.” Billboard 114.39 28 Sept. 2002: 59.

Philadelphia, Desa “Northern Exposure.” Time 156.18 30 Oct. 2000: 92+.

Porter, Darwin, and Danforth Prince. Frommer’s Bahamas. 2010 ed. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009.

Pryce, Vinette K. Bahamas’ Grammy Winners on Tour. New York Amsterdam News, 93.12 21 Mar. 2002: 14.

Rommen, Timothy. “Home Sweet Home: Junkanoo as National Discourse in the Bahamas.” Black Music Research Journal. 19.1 (1999): 71. Academic OneFile. EBSCO. McDaniel College. 21 Sept. 2009 http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/printdoc.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&docType=IAC&is

The Fresh Creek Dance Band. Gal, You Want to go Back to Scambo? Folkways Records, 1959.

Williams, Colleen Madonna Flood. The Bahamas. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2004.