We don’t get our props when it comes to music. Talk about blues, and people think Beale Street in Memphis or Maxwell Street in Chicago. But Chicago didn’t have a blues scene in the 1930s. St. Louis did. When all those brilliant musicians moved north, Chicago suddenly had one—and it got all the credit.
Traditionally, St. Louis is where artists have huge creative breakthroughs, or clarify their voice, then move on. Scott Joplin wrote “The Entertainer” here, but died in New York. There are exceptions to this, of course—take Chuck Berry, Nelly, and Jay Farrar—but more often, it’s the story of geniuses like Miles Davis, Tina Turner, Jeff Tweedy, and Robert McFerrin taking off for a bigger city like Chicago or New York.
From the advent of ragtime at the turn of the 20th century to hip-hop at the turn of the 21st, though, St. Louis has always profoundly impacted the direction of American music. Even when we weren’t innovating, we set a high bar; Willa Mae Ford Smith originated the voice of modern gospel, and singers and wigmasters talk about Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the green room at the Met. We have been, and continue to be, one of the most amazing music cities in the country. Doubt us? Keep reading. ➜
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