Did Dylan invent rap?
QUESTION Did Pigmeat Markham invent rap?
RAP music involves the recitation of lyrics rapidly and rhythmically, usually over a funky beat. It often covers topics such as sex, violence and political issues.
The verb ‘rap’ has various meanings, such as ‘to strike, especially with a quick or light blow’. The Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word, with the meaning ‘to utter (esp. an oath) sharply, vigorously, or suddenly’.
Hip-hop culture, and rap specifically, emerged in African-American and Latino neighbourhoods in New York City in the early Seventies. The breakout single is usually cited as The Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 hit Rapper’s Delight, which influenced rap giants such as Run-DMC and N.W.A.
However, a host of music could be called proto-rap. More than a century before rap appeared, West African musicians were telling stories rhythmically with a drum beat. Folk artists from the Caribbean told stories in rhyme. In the Sixties, Jamaican DJs were mixing records at parties while talking to the audience.
Dewey ‘Pigmeat’ Markham’s (1904-1981) claim rests on his 1968 track Here Comes The Judge, with its rapid spoken delivery, funky beats and political overtones.
Markham started out in travelling music shows. In the Twenties, he was part of Bessie Smith’s Travelling Revue. He was popular with black audiences for his ‘here come da judge’ schtick, which mocked formal courtroom etiquette. He shot to fame after Sammy Davis Jr borrowed his routine for a 1968 episode of Laugh-In.
Perhaps a better candidate for the first rap song is Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965). This has quick delivery, politics and drug references, from its first line: ‘Johnny’s in the basement mixing up the medicine / I’m on the pavement, thinking about the government’. Graham Long, London E8.
QUESTION How is distance between towns and cities defined on road signs? Was it once measured as the distance between the main Post Office in each city?
THE measurement of distances between British towns and cities pre- dates the arrival of post offices by 1,600 years. It was started by the Romans, who marked distances along roads with milestones. The origin of the word ‘mile’ is the Latin ‘ mille’, or 1,000 — the distance a soldier covered when marching 1,000 paces.
The Romans did this mainly so military commanders could plan the stopping points for soldiers on the march.
Legend has it that in the centre of Rome was a ‘Golden Milestone’ from which all other distances in the Empire were measured. If true, it has been lost. The first known milestones were along the Appian Way from Rome to Brundisium (Brindisi).
In Britain, from medieval times onward, distances from London to other towns were measured from the Eleanor Cross, which was close to the modern day Charing Cross Station.
On the death of his queen, Eleanor, Edward I had her body taken to London for burial. At the place where her coffin rested each night, a cross was erected — the last at Charing Cross. The first HQ of the General Post Office in London was established on Cloak Lane, near Dowgate Hill in the City, in 1643. It was moved to Lombard Street, and then to St Martin’sle-Grand, neither of which was used as a measurement point.
Any non-Roman milestones still in existence owe their origins to the Eleanor Cross reference point. They usually display two figures: the distance to London, and the distance from the previous town on the route.
Turnpike trusts were established from the 17th to 19th centuries by Acts of Parliament, so councils could charge tolls for road construction and maintenance.
There was no standard point for measuring distances between towns, so it was defined by the council, and usually related to a town landmark, such as the hall, church or post office. While most towns from 1635 had a postmaster, he often worked from his house, and many didn’t have a post office until the 19th century. Towns that built the best roads had the most visitors and prospered. This led to newe coaching routes. Most distance measurements used today were established in that period. This led to discrepancies between distances marked on modern motorway and A- road signs, anda those marked on historich milestones. Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
QUESTION Under the Soviet regime the Russian people used humour to express their desire for freedom and reform. What were some of these jokes?
FURTHER to earlier answers, Vladimir Ivanov goes to buy a bottle of beer. He puts a rouble on the counter and takes the beer. The next week he goes for another bottle and puts a rouble on the counter. The assistant tells him the price is now two roubles: ‘One for the beer and one for perestroika.’
A week later he puts two roubles on the counter. The assistant gives him a rouble back. Vladimir asks: ‘What’s this — the old price?’ The assistant says: ‘No — we haven’t any beer.’ Philip E. Robinson, Ashby, N. Lincs. A QUESTION asked of applicants for Communist Party membership: ‘What is your attitude to the Soviet authority?’ One applicant answered: ‘The same as to my wife. First, I love her; second, I fear her; third, I wish I had another one.’
A frightened man came to the KGB to say: ‘My talking parrot disappeared.’
‘This is not our case,’ he was told. ‘Go to the criminal police.’
‘I know. I am just here to tell you officially that I disagree with the parrot.’ Maria Wilmots, Bristol.