Controversial songs (1880-1920)

[cole phelps]

c00n tunes was a genre of music that presented a racist and stereotyped image of Blacks. They were popular in the United States and around the English-speaking world from 1880[1] to 1920.[2]



Rise and fall from popularity
The first explicitly c00n-themed song was "The Dandy c00n's Parade" by J.P. Skelley, published in 1880.[1] Other notable early c00n songs included "The c00ns Are on Parade", "New c00n in Town" (by J.S. Putnam, 1883), "c00n Salvation Army" (by Sam Lucas, 1884), "c00n Schottische" (by William Dressler, 1884).[1]
By the mid-1880s, c00n songs were a national craze; over 600 such songs were published in the 1890s.[3][4] The most successful songs sold millions of copies.[3] To take advantage of the fad, composers "add[ed] words typical of c00n songs to previously published songs and rags".[5]
After the turn of the century, c00n songs began to receive criticism for their racist content.[6] In 1905, Bob Cole, an African-American composer who had gained fame largely by writing c00n songs, made somewhat unprecedented remarks about the genre.[6] When asked in an interview about the name of his earlier comedy A Trip to c00ntown, he replied, "That day has passed with the softly flowing tide of revelations."[6] Cole's comments may have been influential, and (following further criticism) the use of "c00n" in song titles greatly decreased after 1910.[6]

On August 13, 1920, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League created the Red, Black and Green flag as a response to the song "Every Race Has a Flag but the c00n" by Heelan and Helf. That song along with "c00n c00n c00n" and "All c00ns Look Alike To Me" were identified by H.L. Mencken as being the songs which firmly established the derogatory term "c00n" in the American vocabulary.[7] Originally in the 1830s, the term had been associated with the Whig Party. The Whigs used a racc00n as its emblem, but also had a more tolerant attitude towards blacks than the other political factions. The latter opinion is likely what transformed the term "c00n" from mere political slang into a racial slur.[8]

 

[cole phelps]

Composers
At the height of c00n songs' popularity, "just about every songwriter in the country" was writing c00n songs "to fill the seemingly insatiable demand".[5] Writers of c00n songs included some of the most important Tin Pan Alley composers, including Gus Edwards, Fred Fisher (who wrote the 1905 "If the Man in the Moon Were a c00n", which sold three million copies),[9] and Irving Berlin.[10] Even one of John Philip Sousa's assistants, Arthur Pryor, composed c00n songs.[5] (This was meant to ensure a steady supply to Sousa's band, which performed the songs and popularized several c00n song melodies.[5])
Most c00n songs were written by Whites, but some were written by Blacks.[4] Important African-American composers of c00n songs include: Ernest Hogan (who wrote "All c00ns Look Alike to Me", the most famous c00n song),[11][12] Sam Lucas (who wrote the most racist early c00n songs by modern standards),[1] Sidney Perrin, Bob Cole (who wrote dozens of songs, including "I Wonder What The c00n's Game Is?" and "No c00ns Allowed"), and Bert Williams and George Walker.[13]

 

[Milk N Cookies]

What the fukk??? I thought this was songs by c00ns but this literally what the title said

 

[cole phelps]

...

 

[Truth200]

 

[Truth200]

 

[Cave Savage]

This is why I'm against using the word "c00n" to mean "Uncle Tom"

 

[Truth200]

 

[Blackking]

They were literally going triple plat... Before major distribution was around.. off the strength of being c00n anti black songs.

 

[Blackking]

ohhhhhhhhh

ok,,,

Ya BOY TOMMY


Now I understand you... carry on.