Black Music Sunday is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 300 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.
Since today is Super Bowl Sunday, and a slew of folks will be tuned in not for the game, but for the Bad Bunny halftime show, I got to thinking about the intersections of both music and sports, and politics and sports.
Opinion Editor and sports fan Bill Edmondson wrote on this in “How Sports and Politics Intertwine to Reflect and Shape Our Society”:
Sports and politics, seemingly disparate realms, have been intricately intertwined throughout both American and global history, creating a complex and often contentious relationship. The intersection of these two spheres is undeniable, although often unappreciated, as athletes, teams, and major sporting events become platforms for expressing political views, fostering social change, and reflecting the broader societal landscape. … Sports have a unique ability to bring people together and they evoke strong emotions as a result. Sports provide individuals with a sense of identity and belonging to their favorite teams or athletes, and this affiliation becomes a part of their personal identity. Seeing your favorite team succeed can be the highlight of your week and seeing your favorite athlete achieve the unthinkable can make you swell with pride. Sports are full of these moments, some of them inherently political in nature. From iconic moments that challenged oppressive ideologies to the present-day debates surrounding gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial biases, the intersection of sports and politics remains a dynamic and often contentious arena. While athletes have consistently utilized their platforms to advocate for social change, the current landscape exposes systemic issues within the sports world that mirror broader societal challenges. … The evolving relationship between sports and politics serves as a microcosm of societal dynamics, demanding a thoughtful and inclusive approach for a more equitable future.
In “Sports and Music Collide” music publisher Judy Stakee wrote:
The intersection of music and sports has long captivated audiences, creating timeless moments that echo through the annals of entertainment history. From iconic sports anthems to energetic halftime performances, the marriage of music and sports has proven to be a dynamic force in American pop culture. [...]
In 1985, the Chicago Bears unleashed a cultural phenomenon with the "Super Bowl Shuffle." After a 15-1 season, the novelty song became a mainstream phenomenon, achieving gold status and reaching number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as garnering a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy’s that year. Altruistically, $300,000 in profits were donated to the Chicago Community Trust. While other other sports teams and athletes had released songs, “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was the first of its kind to break through into the mainstream proving that athletes could be entertainers as well as people of sport. [...]
Super Bowl ad space has evolved into an entertainment spectacle of its own, attracting global audiences with star-studded cameos. One standout example is Pepsi's Super Bowl ad that featured an ensemble of powerhouse performers – Beyoncé, Pink, and Britney Spears. Singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, these pop divas enter a Roman Coliseum for a three-way vocal gladiator combat scene. The three-minute spectacle demonstrates how major brands can leverage music’s universal appeal and football’s rabid fanbase to sell their products.
Back in 2004, I wrote about WNBA players getting out the vote in Georgia, for Sen. Rafael Warnock. Though I have taken a look at Black college (HBCU) bands both at the Super Bowl and other events, I haven’t explored music history in relationship to both U.S and international events.
Since this is Black History Month and Jackie Robinson played a major role in it by integrating major league baseball in 1947, I wasn’t surprised to find musical tributes to him.
From the Library of Congress, here’s a piece on the Buddy Johnson song "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?"
Jackie Robinson inspired a number of singers and songwriters to compose songs in his honor. In the years immediately following Robinson's major league debut in 1947, the Library of Congress Copyright Office received deposits of at least four songs with Robinson as their subject, including such titles as "The Jackie Robinson Boogie" and "Jackie Robinson Blues."
By far the best known song honoring Robinson is Buddy Johnson's classic, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" Johnson submitted this sheet music for copyright in June, 1949. In August of that year, his recording of the song (Decca 24675) hit its peak position on the charts at number 13. Today many baseball fans are familiar with Count Basie's recording on the Victor label (Victor 20-3514), featuring vocalist "Taps" Miller. This recording, made in the Victor studios in New York City on July 13, 1949, has become synonymous with the song itself.
Here’s Count Basie:
Willie Mays got his due in this R&B song by The Treniers:
In 1968, The Intruders recorded “(Love Is Like a) Baseball Game”:
As the American sports pastime shifted from baseball to football, no surprise we’d get some R&B football tunes like “Butt Kickin at the One Yard Line” from an album dedicated to music for football fans from Mr. Sports Jazz:
In 1986, hip-hop’s LL Cool Jay chimed in with “Football” for the movie “Wildcats”:
Jazz organist Jimmy Smith’s “The Champ” was more than likely about boxing:
Though most Americans relate to the term “football” in reference to the sport played here in the NFL, but football is also known as “soccer” in other countries and has 3.5 billion fans globally compared to 400 million for American football.
Brazilian Afro-groove musician Jorge Ben’s tribute to an African soccer player, “Ponta de Lança Africano,” made it onto a Rolling Stone top 500 list—ranked number 351.
When David Byrne put together an introductory compilation of Brazilian pop for American listeners in the late Eighties, he opened it with this track, and for good reason. Ben was a versatile artist with a hornlike vocal wail and slippery sense of rhythm who effortlessly fused bossa nova and samba with rock and funk. “Ponta de Lança Africano,” dedicated to an African soccer player, opens his fantastic 1976 album Africa Brazil.
In the International sports world, the Olympics have inspired with songs that have become anthems, most notably Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” in 1988 and Gloria Estefan’s “Reach” in 1996.
“Reach”:
Join me in the comments section below for more sports music. Question: Are you watching the Super Bowl this evening?
