It’s Labor Day weekend and I’m here doin’ my “Black job,” which is a labor of love exploring Black music. Lots of folks are attending barbecues or events celebrating unions and the history of the labor movement here in the U.S. I’ve been sitting here thinking about all the different songs that we have featured in this series highlighting Black workers and jobs. We’ve looked at music made by enslaved people, workers in coal mines and on chain gangs, and some music played at Labor Day weekend family gatherings.
I’m gonna mix it up today with some oldies but goodies to celebrate those Black jobs. Join me and share some of your favorites, too!
”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 225 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.
I had to grin when I ran across this ode to “Black jobs” performed with the help of AI. Yes—it’s AI-generated, in the style of groups like the Stylistics or Blue Magic, according to this Jerry L. Barrow story for HOT97. The song was produced by comedian Will Hatcher, who wrote the lyrics:
“Will “King Willonius” Hatcher, creator of the AI hit “BBL Drizzy,” is no stranger to going viral with music. The comedian and digital creator, known to some as ‘Avocado Papi,’ first struck Internet gold in 2007 with a Soulja Boy parody called “Crank That: Homeless Man,” where he rapped “Homeless man ain’t got no rent, askin you for thirty cent/ if you got it, be a gent and drop it youuuu..”
Donald Trump, the former president and current felon seeking a second term in the White House, decided to claim that immigrants are invading our country and taking “Black jobs,” which sparked countless memes mocking him. He’s being dragged by everyone from former first lady Michelle Obama to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, as well as thousands of folks on social media. The Root’s Noah A. McGee wrote, “What the Hell is a ‘Black Job?’ Black Twitter Goes Off on Trump’s Comment During Debate With Biden”
I admit, I’m sittin’ here laughin’ my ass off, as I listen to Hatcher’s lyrics and the style they are sung in:
Finding and losing jobs has always been on the minds of those not born with silver spoons and inheritances. One of the top tunes from the early rock ‘n’ roll era is “Get A Job” by The Silhouettes.
The lyrics to Get A Job address the themes of unemployment and domestic relationships, with the woman of the house nagging the man to find work, implying that he is both lazy and dishonest. But the song is also light-hearted, exuberant, and very danceable, with infectious vocal hooks, handclaps, a rocking saxophone solo and a general sense of fun.
“When I was in the service in the early 1950s and didn’t come home and go to work my mother said “Get A Job” and basically that’s where the song came from”, said Rick Lewis, who wrote it before The Silhouettes were formed.
The group tried to interest several producers and record companies in Get A Job but were turned down. In 1957 they auditioned the song for Kae Williams, who signed them to his Junior label, though he preferred another of their compositions, the plaintive ballad I Am Lonely.
[…]With songwriting credited to the whole group, as was their custom throughout their career, the single was released in November 1957. When the Philadelphia radio stations got the record it was Get A Job – intended by Kae Williams as the B-side – that got the airplay, and the response was immediate.
[..]By January 1958 the record had caught the attention of presenter Dick Clark, and Get A Job was featured on Bandstand, with The Silhouettes appearing regularly on the show thereafter to promote it. This exposure sent the record to number one on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts, where it stayed for a full thirteen weeks – the song had clearly struck a chord with American youth, both black and white.
Here they are performing on “American Bandstand”:
The story of The Silhouettes’ hit song points out that there were several “answer songs” made for “Get A Job.” One the best was “Got a Job,” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. The song helped launch Motown Records.
Paul Sexton tells the story for udiscovermusic in “‘Got A Job’: Smokey Robinson Gets An 18th Birthday Present”:
Among the early career distinctions of William “Smokey” Robinson, born in the North End area of Detroit on February 19, 1940, was the fact that his first single with the Miracles was released on the very day he turned 18.
Robinson’s fateful meeting with Berry Gordy Jr. in 1957 started a lifetime friendship and planted the seed of the Motown legend. Then Berry set about helping Smokey and the group of young hopefuls that he fronted, newly renamed the Miracles, to their first record deal. It was with End Records, and on Smokey’s 18th birthday in 1958, their debut single was issued.
So Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy got Black jobs for life as a result of this answer song.
Another “job” became a hit, though I don’t think the “Handy Man” in Jimmy Jones’ hit tune knew much about hammers, nails, and saws. Dik de Heer’s “This Is My Story” blog has his bio:
Jimmy Jones, who had spent a long apprenticeship singing in R&B vocal harmony groups, became a rock ‘n’ roll star in the early 1960s singing “Handy Man” and other hits with a dramatic and piercingly high falsetto.
When Jimmy was around twelve years old he moved from his native Birmingham, Alabama, to New York City. At that time he was already an accomplished tap dancer, but singing was equally important to him. Role models were Louis Jordan and the Ink Spots and later especially Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson. Early in 1955 he joined a vocal group, the Sparks of Rhythm (originally the Berliners), who landed a recording contract with Apollo Records in July 1955. Four songs were recorded at their first session, three of them led by Jimmy. When the two resulting singles went nowhere, Jones left the Sparks of Rhythm to form his own group, the Savoys, soon renamed the Pretenders. Their first session was for Herman Lubinsky’s Savoy label (for which they were named), on February 2, 1956 and yielded the single “Say You’re Mine”/”You” (Savoy 1188). By coincidence, this was one day after the Sparks Of Rhythm, now without Jimmy, recorded four – then unissued – songs for Apollo, among them Jones’s composition “Handy Man” (with bass Andrew Barksdale on lead).
[…]For every demo he did, Jimmy received $ 25. A demo of his own “Handy Man” was heard by Otis Blackwell, who helped him rework the song. Jones then made a new demo, which Blackwell took to publisher Moe Gale of Shalimar Music. On June 17, 1959, Jimmy made a professional recording of “Handy Man” at Regent Sound Studio in NYC, with Otis Blackwell handling the whistling after the flute player didn’t show up for the session. Moe Gale sold the tapes to MGM in August. “Handy Man” was released on September 7, on MGM’s Cub subsidiary, but it didn’t enter the Billboard charts until the last week of 1959. From that point there was no stopping the record and in February 1960 it peaked at # 2 pop and # 3 R&B.
Here he is performing “Handy Man” in 1960:
Hmm. Not sure that handyman is a Black job, since James Taylor did a great job covering Jones’ tune with a much slower tempo in 1977. Here’s a live version from 1998:
While there are some serious and poignant folk tunes about coal miners (and their daughters), Lee Dorsey’s raucous 1966 song “Working In The Coal Mine” was a big hit at parties and in dance clubs across the nation. Paul Kauppila wrote Dorsey’s bio for 64 Parishes:
Vocalist Lee Dorsey recorded some of the biggest rhythm and blues (R&B) hits of the 1960s, most of them in collaboration with pianist/vocalist/songwriter/arranger Allen Toussaint. His personable charm and easygoing delivery, combined with Toussaint’s catchy and funky songs and arrangements, produced a series of instantly memorable hits such as “Ya Ya,” “Working in the Coal Mine,” and “Ride Your Pony.” Although he was not a technically gifted singer, Dorsey’s warm, engaging vocals suited his songs perfectly; as Toussaint commented, “His voice was like a smile.” Dorsey’s songs mark the transition from 1950s New Orleans R&B to the 1960s funk sound of The Meters.
Early Life
Born Irving Lee Dorsey on December 24, 1924 (some sources say 1926) in New Orleans, Dorsey and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, when he was ten years old. While serving on a US Navy destroyer during World War II (1939–1945), Dorsey was injured when a Japanese fighter plane attacked his ship. After leaving the military, Dorsey began a career as a lightweight/featherweight boxer nicknamed “Kid Chocolate,” who remained undefeated when he retired from the sport in 1955. That same year he returned to New Orleans and learned auto body repair with funding provided by the G.I. Bill.
[…]The year 1966 marked the peak of Dorsey’s success. Three singles from that year, “Get Out of My Life, Woman,” “Working in the Coal Mine,” and “Holy Cow” all made the R&B Top Ten list, though it was “Working in the Coal Mine,” with its clanking sound effects and Dorsey’s comic complaints about his job, that became his signature song. Although his later hits also charted, they did not achieve the same level of success. The legendary instrumental funk group The Meters served as the backing band on Dorsey’s 1969 hit “Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)” and on many other subsequent recordings.
Just in case you aren’t aware: Yes, there were Black coal miners.
The mining industry has played a crucial role in America’s economic growth and development. Black Americans have had an integral role in shaping our nation’s mining industry since its earliest days — and yet their contributions remain largely unrecognized by mainstream history books. In fact, Black men and women were among the first to join and organize unions in many fields, and mining is no exception.
From the mid-1700s, enslaved workers in the coal pits of Richmond, Virginia, were among the first to work in America’s commercial coal mines. Thrown into harsh labor conditions and exploitation, some of these miners managed to acquire skills and knowledge that would eventually give rise to a Black-led mining culture.
One of the largest coal companies operating in the Richmond Basin (Virginia) in the late 1830s was the Midlothian Mining Co., which used around 150 enslaved black workers. After emancipation, industrializing central Appalachia saw Black miners come closer to finding economic equality than in any other coalfield, though the work was dangerous and difficult. This potential economic equality sparked a large influx of African Americans into the area. By 1920, about 88,706 African Americans resided in central Appalachia and over 26% of all mine workers in the area were Black.
These tunes are just a warmup; I’ll post more in the comments section below and look forward to hearing your favorites. I’ll close with a modern day remix inspired by Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention:
