That's the first time I've heard "Tea for One" and love the LZ sound fast or slow. Judas Priest also a favorite.
What was it with the US music industry that it persistently rejected not only women but so many UK and foreign bands and artists? Even the Beatles had trouble breaking in (per P.F. Sloan in his autobiography, who found Dunhill unreceptive). It's hard to fathom!
Thanks Ellen! I don't know, except some sort of chauvinism--the same that results in only 18% of American adults even having passports? But the worst part is that the barriers have been made official, with visa policies and tax laws making it prohibitive for most artists to perform here. Their record sales are double-taxed to add injury to insult. This all owes itself to Hollywood and the record labels lobbying (bribing) congress to pass protectionist laws.
I'd love to know more about the economic protectionism, if you are at all able to point me in the right direction. That's something I can believe without reservation having worked in a performing arts institution where people were grappling with the cross-border laws for actors. I remember Brexit closing borders to UK musicians who had previously played all over Europe with no problem.
I tend not to be convinced that consumers aren't open to foreign music given how much people loved the British bands in the 60s. Having come from the lower middle to middle class myself, with extended family members who have never traveled outside the US, it's not my experience that they reject foreign music, many loving UK bands, and more the case that they don't even know where the band or artists come from because accents often disappear when people sing. I remember arguing with a guy in Australia, insisting to him that AC/DC is a US band, and of course he was right that it was an Aussie band!
Your explanation that Hollywood and the record labels are the culprits resonates. Sadly, economics and money often seem to be behind policies that rob us of opportunities as producers and consumers.
I think its a mix of things. Chauvinism probably played a smaller part than it does now, with the culture wars having cast people who learn foreign languages as unpatriotic, etc. But earlier it was probably just a passive sort of chauvinism, not active rejection. Like your experience with AC/DC, many Americans are so used to American culture being dominant that it doesn’t occur to them that people in other countries make movies or jazz or rock music.
Ok, you wanted some direction on the protectionism. Here are two articles I wrote on the topic, with a number of references. One deals with visa/immigration policy, the other with tax law. Happy to discuss further!
My dad played mostly Big Band and American Songbook (Sinatra, Ella, etc.) but he disappeared from our lives for many years. I still remember him singing "I'm looking over a four-leaf clover..." while puttering around in the garage.
More cowbell?
I always enjoy your explanations.
That's the first time I've heard "Tea for One" and love the LZ sound fast or slow. Judas Priest also a favorite.
What was it with the US music industry that it persistently rejected not only women but so many UK and foreign bands and artists? Even the Beatles had trouble breaking in (per P.F. Sloan in his autobiography, who found Dunhill unreceptive). It's hard to fathom!
Thanks Ellen! I don't know, except some sort of chauvinism--the same that results in only 18% of American adults even having passports? But the worst part is that the barriers have been made official, with visa policies and tax laws making it prohibitive for most artists to perform here. Their record sales are double-taxed to add injury to insult. This all owes itself to Hollywood and the record labels lobbying (bribing) congress to pass protectionist laws.
I'd love to know more about the economic protectionism, if you are at all able to point me in the right direction. That's something I can believe without reservation having worked in a performing arts institution where people were grappling with the cross-border laws for actors. I remember Brexit closing borders to UK musicians who had previously played all over Europe with no problem.
I tend not to be convinced that consumers aren't open to foreign music given how much people loved the British bands in the 60s. Having come from the lower middle to middle class myself, with extended family members who have never traveled outside the US, it's not my experience that they reject foreign music, many loving UK bands, and more the case that they don't even know where the band or artists come from because accents often disappear when people sing. I remember arguing with a guy in Australia, insisting to him that AC/DC is a US band, and of course he was right that it was an Aussie band!
Your explanation that Hollywood and the record labels are the culprits resonates. Sadly, economics and money often seem to be behind policies that rob us of opportunities as producers and consumers.
I think its a mix of things. Chauvinism probably played a smaller part than it does now, with the culture wars having cast people who learn foreign languages as unpatriotic, etc. But earlier it was probably just a passive sort of chauvinism, not active rejection. Like your experience with AC/DC, many Americans are so used to American culture being dominant that it doesn’t occur to them that people in other countries make movies or jazz or rock music.
Ok, you wanted some direction on the protectionism. Here are two articles I wrote on the topic, with a number of references. One deals with visa/immigration policy, the other with tax law. Happy to discuss further!
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/are-you-a-foreign-artist-you-are
https://zapatosjam.substack.com/p/how-the-irs-sticks-it-to-foreign
Thanks so much, Charles. I look forward to reading these. I may just come back with questions. It's such an important topic.
Always look forward to our conversations!
Very interesting article. My experience was similar but I grew up with jazz, mostly big band.
My dad played mostly Big Band and American Songbook (Sinatra, Ella, etc.) but he disappeared from our lives for many years. I still remember him singing "I'm looking over a four-leaf clover..." while puttering around in the garage.
Excellent analysis