Blackbird page 6

 Blackbird page 6 by ric gustafson

A major influence on John Lennon was Calypso music. Calypso was an afro Caribbean folk music that was popular in the West Indies. The L 8 district in Liverpool had a large population of West Indian immigrants. 

Sailors from the West Indies would bring in American and Blues records. Before they became Beatles, John, Paul and George loved listening to Black and Calypso music. One Calypso singer they loved to listen to was Lord Woodbine. His group the Trinidadions was one of the first Calypso bands in Liverpool. In 1955, Woodbine and his band The All Caribbean Steel Band made their own instruments. John, Paul and George made their own instruments for skiffle bands.

In 1963 five years prior to McCartney's ' Blackbird', a female singer sang her version of the song. Nina Simone wrote her earth bound ' Blackbird' to address conditions of being black in America. Simone's song is about a bird who cannot fly. Her version was about her personal struggles with race. She witnessed this first hand in Tryon North Carolina. 

Simone was denied the chance to go to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia because of her race. For Simone, the blackbird was a metaphor for discrimination. So what was the difference between Simone's 1963 and McCartney's 1968 ' Blackbird?'.

research help: ' Blackbird' by Katie Kapurch and Jon Marc Smith

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric