I’ve uploaded snippets of four music tracks to my Vox audio stash. Think you can tell, by your ears alone, whether a singer is a Negro... or not a Negro?
This is not a contest, just an experiment. No need for any detective work. Just go by what you hear and feel. I’ll provide the answers over the weekend.
Okay, here are the snippets:
Track A
Track B
Track C
Track D
UPDATE (08/03/07): Interesting. Three of you – UBMFAN1, Mark V and Eric – got all of ’em correct. To wit:A. Not a Negro
B. Negro
C. Negro
D. Not a Negro
Apparently it’s easier for a white singer to “sound black” than for a black singer to “sound white.” Five out of nine listeners were fooled by D – Suzanne Cloud (photo at left). I guess it’s her husky voice.
I was only able to trick four of you with Track C; that’s Thornetta Davis (photo below). And that’s as close as Ms. Davis can sound to white, due evidently to the alt-rock style of that particular song... which I love, by the way.
If I ever try this again, as a for-real contest, I’ll have to work hard to find a black singer who can fake you all out your socks.
Anyways, here are the complete tracks, FYI:
A. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” – Carrie Coltrane
B. “Summer on the Beach” – Evelyn Thomas
C. “And I Spin” – Thornetta Davis
D. “Just My Imagination” – Suzanne Cloud
It is hard for me to tell but here are my best guesses:
ReplyDeleteA. Not negro
B. Negro
C. Not negro
D. Negro
A. Not a Negro
ReplyDeleteB,C,D. Negro
Miles Davis went through a similar listening test for Downbeat once. He claimed he could tell the difference because a white sound "just wouldn't go through my body." I think I know what he meant. Unfortunately, he got many of his answers wrong.
ReplyDeleteSo in the spirit of Miles Davis, here's my shot: A,C, D - Not; B - Yes.
BTW, I'd Teena Marie to the list of "Black-sounding" white singers. Tom Jones and Michael Bolton need to be banned from that list.
A-Not
ReplyDeleteB-Negro
C-Negro
D-Not
-UBMFAN1
I'm wingin' it:
ReplyDeleteA. Negro
B. Negro
C. Not Negro
D. Negro
totally quick impression answers:
ReplyDeletea - not negro
b - negro
c - negro
d - not negro
My guesses match Mark V's:
ReplyDeleteA. Not a Negro
B. Negro
C. Negro
D. Not a Negro
Great idea. My guesses:
ReplyDeleteA. non-negro
B. negro
C. non-negro
D. negro
So I'm in agreement with sj.
By the way, I did a quick search on what scholarly articles have been publisehd on race and music. None of the ones I found do this expierment. Instead, they tend to see if what music people prefer depends on race. According to one 1970 study, for example, 88% of the artists preferred by black respondents were black; while 68% of the artists preferred by white respondents were white. I wonder if these number still hold up today...
I'm gonna go with all Negroes.
ReplyDeleteSheeiittt! I was Miles Davis like a muthafucka! I had a question mark by C, too. Dammit!
ReplyDeleteDave, do a booty shot Negro, Not a Negro! Search hard, brotha.
ReplyDelete^ Brilliant concept! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI got all of them right.
ReplyDeleteNot, Negro, Negro, Not.
The last lady didn't fool me at all.
I got all of them right.
ReplyDeleteNot, Negro, Negro, Not.