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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The driving, danceable sound of boogie woogie music |
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is a distinctive American art form, and its energetic style is all |
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the more notable for having been born in the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, Music historians have traced boogie woogie to |
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northeastern Texas in the 1870s, when large numbers of African |
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Americans were working in railroad construction and in logging and |
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turpentine camps in the Piney Woods region; a common feature of the |
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work camps was a barrelhouse, which often contained a piano to |
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provide entertainment for the workers during off hours; and |
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WHEREAS, In those makeshift gathering spots, a new, |
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percussive style of piano developed, marked by a repeated "walking" |
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bass line, a fast tempo, and a 12-bar blues arrangement; this |
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spirited music quickly grew in popularity and became known by a |
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number of names, including "barrelhouse," "fast western," "fast |
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Texas," and--as it became best known--boogie woogie; and |
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WHEREAS, As the hub of the Piney Woods and the headquarters of |
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the Texas and Pacific Railway, the city of Marshall played an |
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especially important role in these events; this crossroads town was |
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a frequent meeting place for the piano players that traveled from |
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camp to camp, and it figured prominently in the early development of |
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boogie woogie; and |
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WHEREAS, The city's status as a rail center made it a fitting |
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home for the music because boogie woogie was heavily influenced by |
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the locomotive; with their pounding piano, musicians imitated the |
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huff and clatter of the trains and drew their rhythmic inspiration |
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from the propulsive rotation of the steam engine driver wheel; and |
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WHEREAS, Ultimately, the railroad helped to transport boogie |
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woogie far beyond its birthplace; as wandering musicians took the |
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style to cities throughout the country, its rollicking sound rolled |
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across the South and Midwest and on to big cities such as Chicago |
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and New York; through the decades, its elements would be melded into |
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other genres, including the uniquely American sounds of jazz, |
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rhythm and blues, and rock and roll; and |
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WHEREAS, This interesting chapter in Texas history further |
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underscores the Lone Star State's reputation as a center for |
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musical creativity, and by hosting concerts and festivals and |
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establishing a boogie woogie artist-in-residence, Marshall is |
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embracing its part in creating this important musical innovation; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate Marshall as the official Birthplace of Boogie |
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Woogie. |