A genre of American comic song, popular from about 1880 to the end of World War I, with words in a dialect purporting to be typical of black Americans’ speech. The term ‘coon’ was used disparagingly of blacks by that date. J.P. Skelly’s The Dandy Coon’s Parade (1880) and The Coons are on Parade (1882) may be considered precursors of the coon song; with the addition of ragtime elements in the 1890s the coon song sprang into prominence as a national favourite. It was often performed on the vaudeville stage by white female ‘coon shouters’. Coon songs explored every conceivable black characteristic and were written by black as well as white composers. Entertainments were developed from the coon song, and coon songs found their way into legitimate theatrical productions as unrelated interpolations. J.P. Sousa’s famous band popularized the genre both in America and abroad with such songs as Lee Johnson’s My Darktown Gal, including some composed by his assistant director, Arthur Pryor.
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I. Goldberg: Tin Pan Alley: a Chronicle of the American Popular Music Racket (New York, 1930/R1961 with suppl. by E. Joblonsky)
D. Ewen: The Life and Death of Tin Pan Alley (New York, 1964)
S. Dennison: Scandalize my Name: Black Imagery in American Popular Music (New York, 1982)
SAM DENNISON/R