Music connects us, but like many things also seems to fall along racial cleavages, telling us where and to whom we belong. But, creativity rarely respects arbitrary barriers. In this session we explore the contributions of Black people to music across a range of genres.

On Feb 22 at 6:15pm, Prof Brian Lowery talks with Bruce Conforth, Professor of American culture and Founding curator of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They talk about the many contributions Black people have made to almost every popular music genre, and the impact African American music has had on almost every corner of the world.

Dr. Bruce Conforth, “Professor of the Blues” teaches American Culture with an emphasis on folklore, blues and popular culture at the University of Michigan and is an important contributor to the continuation and preservation of the traditional folk blues.
The multifaceted professor lived unconventionally, with one foot in the 1960s counterculture and the other in successful academic and creative pursuits. Among his many interesting and diverse experiences, he was one of the founding curators of the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. As a musician, Dr. Conforth has been performing the blues as a singer/guitarist for 45 years, having been an early proponent of traditional African American folk music in post-blues revival. He is a superlative blues and ragtime guitar picker and slider who actively plays the summer festivals and gigs in between of his teaching and writing work. He also teaches the occasional blues workshop, and sometimes, but rarely, takes on music students. His musical contribution to advancing the traditional folk blues is immeasurable. His seminal 1976 album “Ragtime, Blues and Jive” with the fiddler Kenny Kosek issued under the pseudonym “Bates & Hawkins”, with Bruce Conforth pretending to be “Josh Hawkins,” stands as one of the great country blues albums. They actively performed on the East Coast including at venerable venues such as New York’s Gerde’s Folk City, The Bitter End and at outdoor musical festivals.
Among his many scholarly works, Dr. Conforth published the book “African American Folk Songs and American Cultural Politics” with Scarecrow Press. Dr. Conforth can be considered among the foremost scholars and experts about Robert Johnson.