Royal: Queens

As a native of the New York borough of Queens, I’ve been a bit miffed by the virtual (but not complete) absence of any references to Queens during this theme. I could have written about bands and artists who came from that borough, like the Ramones or Paul Simon, or even Run-DMC, or some of the famous jazz musicians who lived there, like Louis Armstrong. Or, I could have made it easy, and written about Queen, or the Queens of the Stone Age. Or picked a song like “Killer Queen,” “Queen Bee,” or, god forbid, “Dancing Queen.” But, no, I’m going to go in a different direction, and talk a bit about some of the great musicians who have been crowned Queen of some genre or another. Because there isn’t an official organization devoted to the creation of music royalty (as opposed to organizations that collect music royalties), in some cases there may be competing claimants for the crown. For the purposes of this post, I deem myself the final authority, and hope that my decisions don’t lead to, say, a War of the Roses. And, because these titles are not granted by the United States, none of these citizens are in violation of Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, the Title of Nobility Clause (or, for that matter, the Sanity Clause).

Let’s get started with the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin:



From the next country over, we have the Queen of R&B, Ruth Brown:



The Queen of Gospel, Mahaila Jackson, occupies an older throne:



Nearby, the Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor reigns:



Meanwhile, down in Louisiana, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, lets the good times roll:



We can't forget the Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald (who lived for a while in Queens):


Influenced by some of her fellow rulers, the Queen of Rock & Roll (who also held the crown as Queen of Psychedelic Soul, presumably subject to Aretha), Janis Joplin’s reign was too short:



In Opryland, Loretta Lynn, the Queen of Country, holds sway:



Meanwhile, hailing from Staten Island is the Queen of Folk, Joan Baez:



Cuban Celia Cruz’s status as Queen of Salsa was never threatened by the revolution (although she became a citizen of the United States):



And we end this discussion with the Queen of Reinvention, yes, Cher:

Poverty: Coal Miner's Daughter

Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter

[purchase]

Loretta Lynn's "Coal Miner's Daughter" paints an honest picture of the type of poverty that existed in many Appalachian coal mining communities in the early part of the 1900's.

We are all familiar with the stereotypes of Eastern Kentuckians living in places with no roads or electricity or running water. We've all heard stories of children who grow up in the mountains with no shoes, no education, and no food. These are stereotypes that, as a native of Eastern Kentucky (I was born and raised in the same small town as Loretta), I have spent a good deal of my life trying to disprove. I certainly didn't grow up that way, my parents didn't grow up that way, and I know few people who did.

Well... Loretta Lynn did. Her father worked in the coal mines in the small community of Van Lear, KY. He worked long, back breaking hours for very little pay. It was an environment that made it very difficult to provide for a for his wife and eight children. Loretta sings of drawing water from a well, selling a hog to buy shoes, and even going without shoes in the summertime. It was a life of poverty to be sure.

What I take away from this song, however, is how Loretta's family chose to view their situation. From a material standpoint, they had nothing. But from their perspective, they were rich because they had each other. As Loretta says, "We were poor, but we had love." It speaks to another stereotype of the people of Appalachia... a strong bond and connection to family. As cliched as it sounds, Loretta Lynn didn't have much growing up, but she never felt deprived due to the love of her family. That's why she's proud, and not ashamed, to be a coal miner's daughter.

Loretta talked about the song, and her life in an interview with NPR back in 2000.

Footwear: Little Red Shoes

Loretta Lynn: Little Red Shoes

[purchase]

Here’s some scary music from Appalachia.

Loretta Lynn gives a firsthand account the trials and tribulations of her poor family trying to make do without adequate healthcare, charity, or transportation. The somewhat creepy background music orchestrated by Jack White is a perfect accompaniment for Loretta’s tale.

Dying is a big part of folk music. Loretta’s story about her little red shoes evokes the traditional bluegrass/folk song Put My Little Shoes Away (sometimes credited to Woody Guthrie) which is another first-person account told by a dying, but stoic, child. Little shoes are the primary image in each song.

We know Loretta pulled through, but the fate of the other little kid is not clear.

Bill Monroe: Put My Little Shoes Away [purchase]
Freakwater: Put My Little Shoes Away [purchase]