[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his week “Drunk History” teaches us a lesson on American music, with stories about some of the biggest and most influential people in various musical genres. From the rise and fall of DJ Alan Freed, to the story of songwriter Kris Kristofferson, to the true story of The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight”.
Jaleel White as Grandmaster Caz and Da’Vone McDonald as Big Bank Hank
Photo Credit: Comedy Central
Equipped with a couple dirty martinis, our first narrator tells us story a about Alan Freed, the DJ who is often credited with originating the phrase “Rock and Roll”. Freed, who is portrayed by Jack McBrayer, started out as a small-time DJ in Cleveland before he eventually moved to New York City where he became known as the Moondog.
By being the first mainstream DJ to play rhythm and blues to a white crowd, Freed became a hit with younger audiences. Unfortunately his rise to fame eventually came to a crash once fans at his concerts regularly started to riot and rebel against local police departments.
Our next intoxicated historian tells us the story about how Kris Kristofferson went from being disowned by his family, to one of the most famous people not only in music, but also in Hollywood. Kristofferson’s first break came when he had a chance encounter with Johnny Cash when he was working as a janitor for Columbia Records. The two connected over the fact Kristofferson’s family disowned him.
Eventually Kristofferson penned “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, which would eventually become one of country music’s most commonly recorded songs. Once Kristofferson was able to convince Cash to play the song on his variety show, not only did Kristofferson’s song become a hit, but Kristofferson himself became a hit on the big screen.
The final story was about the true origin behind The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight”, which would in many ways go on to change the rap genre arguably as much as any other song in its history. The Sugarhill Gang was assembled by Sylvia Robinson, whose husband was record mogul Joe Robinson.
There is a great deal of speculation as to how the group originated, but they actually were created when she was introduced to Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson who was known in the area for being the rapping pizza guy. He brought together a few of his friends, but they didn’t have any real lyrics to use. Jackson talked to Grandmaster Caz – portrayed by Jaleel White, better known as Urkle on “Family Matters” – who offered him some of his older raps.
Once they and their song became a success, it was figured out that not only were their lyrics stolen, but their beats were also ripped from a song by the band Chic. Although the group received a bit of criticism for not creating the work entirely on their own, there was no denying the commercial success it would eventually be, as it became the first rap single to reach the top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 Chart.
If it weren’t for people like Alan Freed, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson or The Sugarhill Gang, music in the United States would likely be much different today. Perhaps it’s only fitting that “Drunk History” decided to have a toast to some of American music’s true pioneers.
Next week’s episode will feature three stories about the city of Baltimore, Maryland. As always, you can watch it on Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. EST every week on Comedy Central.
