Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about New Orleans, Louisiana's second line music and dancing.
Part II of this series showcases a video of a New Orleans, Louisiana Jazz funeral with its first and second lines. This post also includes selected comments from that video's discussion thread.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/video-documentary-of-new-orleans.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I showcases a YouTube video about the history and culture of New Orleans, Louisiana's second line music and dancing. My unofficial transcription of that video that corrects some of that video's captions is also included in this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/youtube-video-best-of-terrylyn-dorsey.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III of this series showcases a video of a New Orleans, Louisiana second line dancing and includes selected comments from that video's discussion thread. The Addendum to Part II provides information about the New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (which were referred to as "Benevolent Societies" in the documentary that was showcased in Part I of this pancocojams series).
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The content of this post is presented for cultural, historical, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who are featured in this embedded video. RIP Juanita Brooks. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
Hat tip to Denise Oliver Velez for writing the article "Black History Month: Celebrating 'Iko Iko,' Mardi Gras Indians, and the second line" on dailykos https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/23/1913217/-Black-History-Month-Celebrating-Iko-Iko-Mardi-Gras-Indians-and-the-second-line. That article inspired me to research and publish this pancocojams series on New Orleans, Louisiana second lines.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: You better second line! Jazz funeral in New Orleans for Juanita Brooks
kookydave, Oct 20, 2009
Come pay your respects like we do down here in Nawlin's. Experience a real New Orleans second line jazz funeral for the lovely and talented Juanita Brooks.
-snip-
Here's some information about Juanita Brooks from http://www.offbeat.com/articles/juanita-brooks-1954-2009/
Juanita Brooks, a jazz and gospel singer perhaps best known for her stint in the extremely popular stage production, “One Mo’ Time”, died unexpectedly September 9, 2009 of complications from back surgery. She was 55.
“I consider her one of the greatest singers to have ever come out of New Orleans,” says bandleader/pianist Lars Edegran, whose association with Brooks goes back nearly three decades, and who toured Switzerland with Brooks this past May. “She was a great gospel and traditional jazz singer. She really projected herself well, especially in front of large audiences like at festivals.”...
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
(with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Monke96ify, 2009
"could some explain me what a funeral second line is cause im not sure?"
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REPLY
2. return2delirium, 2010
"@Monke96ify the second line is generally named for the group of people that follow the family. hence....second line.
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REPLY
3. toReasonWhy, 2011
"@Monke96ify
The second line is the people who dance or play music but were not hired to do so in the first place... the ones who join in on the jazz march without being paid. The second line, after the planned, hired first line. By this point in time it's often used to mean any people who dance around any jazz parade/funeral."
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REPLY
4. Sean Lambert, 2014
"@***** the first line is the family and friends who would normally dance to the music. That's why when the band plays, it's called second lining."
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REPLY
5. Sean Lambert, 2014
"Well the hired musicians are usually a brass band that travel with the 1st line. The actual "second line" is made up of random musicians playing out of respect and the pure enjoyment of playing. And it's all good, it's a very beautiful thing that should be shared with everyone :)
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REPLY
6. Lynn Magnuson, 2014
"The first line is the actual family of the deceased, close friends, etc. who are right up with the hearse. Not sure but I think the band is part of that as well. The second line is the people behind the band. The tradition has been around New Orleans several hundred years. Many here believe a person must EARN a jazz funeral but I'm not sure on the common thought on that. Just about any decent musician, Mardis Gras Indian or other "culture bearer" can expect one."
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REPLY
7. Sean Lambert, 2014
"As a second liner, I can say it is always sad in the beginning. The dirge; the mourning part. Then we pick up ourselves and reflect on life, because we don't mourn the death of a loved one, we celebrate their life."
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8. strgazermel, 2010
"@cajunrae08 more questions! How come the ladies and gents are doing a side step as they proceed out of the church? How come some have fancy umbrellas and sashes? Thanks!"
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REPLY
9. sherry gypsy S, 2010
"i love the ladies doing the traditional walk
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REPLY
10. Jolie Harris, 2012
"I consider them the "grand marshalls" of the parade. They are not relatives. They are part of the band - Social Aid and Pleasure Club as best I know."
-snip-
Information about the New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs is provided in the Addendum to Part III of this pancocojams series.
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11. amd77j, 2010
"A beautiful cultural expression of love and respect.
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12. a. di n, 2011
"that's a send off. you guys are amazing. what a culture! stay strong out there"
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13. virag69, 2012
"It’s “When I Die (You Better Second Line)” by Kermit Ruffins, from his album “Big Easy”, with the vocal of the late Juanita Brooks"
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14. mkalover232, 2013
"WAS THAT DR. JOHN?!"
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REPLY
15. Connie Harper, 2019
"Yes, and now his second line was this week.🎼 😭🎺🎷🎩🎉"
-snip-
Here's information about Dr. John (New Orleans's musician)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._John
"Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music combined blues, pop, jazz, boogie-woogie, and rock and roll.[1]...
He typically performed a lively, theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack recorded thirty studio albums and nine live albums, as well as contributing to thousands of other musicians' recordings....
The winner of six Grammy Awards, Rebennack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singer John Legend in March 2011.
In May 2013, Rebennack received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Tulane University."...
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16. Zee Andrews, 2013
"Thank you SOOOOOOO MUCH for your explanation. I cannot tell you how much sense that makes to me now. I have the utmost respect for the ceremony. I always wondered what "line" meant, and why nobody talked about the first line. Again, thank you."
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17. bkueorchid216, 2013
"New Orleans is so culturally rich! I can't wait to visit. What a way to honor your dead! Stunning and amazing"
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18. David Eddington, 2014
"The first hymn is probably a jazzy rendition of " In the Sweet by and by," sometimes commonly known as "In the Sweet by and by, We shall meet at that beautiful Shore.""
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REPLY
19. Talon McKinney, 2015
"What is the second song?"
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REPLY
20. Wanda Joseph,2018
"Just a Little While To Stay Here"
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21. Carl Hamilton, 2015
"What a beautiful tradition. As a musician, it's really great to see the true meaning of 2nd line"
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22. Peter MultiTrum, 2016
"+Mehdi F The Front line is the immediate Family, the SECOND LINE is where others join in to celebrate, have a fun time and enjoy the music and march to the burial, then drinks and celebrations.... Hence Join the 2nd Line"
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24. OhSheela, 2017
"Very Beautiful 🙌🏽🥀
Why the umbrellas?
Is there a meaning behind, I'm just asking. I've seen them ☔️ or shine💜"
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REPLY
25. RunningErins, 2017
"There isn't really a meaning behind it but it was mainly used for shade before air conditioners were a thing. It also became an accessory of choice for many southern weddings and funerals and was often an indicator of societal statue."
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REPLY
26. Tracie Lawrence, 2017
"They're parasols."
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REPLY
27. Jack Pea, 2018
"I think there is a West African origin. Umbrellas were a thing and still is some places."
-snip-
Here's some information about umbrellas/parosols as a symbol of status/authority:
From a 1981 New York Times article https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/06/garden/umbrellas-drenched-in-history.html
....Umbrellas are descendants of sunshades (parasols, from Latin, meaning to ward off the sun), and an ancestor of the parachute.
When the Mandarins ruled China in the 11th century B.C., ''The rank of any holder of office could be judged according to whether a double or triple-decked umbrella was carried over him; a fourfold sunshade was the privilege of the heaven-born emperor alone,'' wrote Max von Boehn in ''Ornaments: Modes and Manners'' (Benjamin Blom, 1970). In imperial Japan the Mikado never appeared in public unaccompanied by his parasol-bearer. Even today a parasol-bearer stands near the Emperor as he gardens.
Alabaster reliefs in the Palace at Nineveh in Iraq dating from 885-860 B.C. show the Assyrian ruler Nimrod in his war chariot. ''Behind him stands a slave with a conical parasol, made of some striped material, and made to fold up,'' von Boehn wrote. In ancient Egyptian art, Pharaohs are enthroned beneath parasols, and in Thebes princesses drove chariots with fringed sunshades. In Burma, white umbrellas were reserved for the king and the sacred white elephant; the king claimed among his other titles, ''Lord of the Great Parasol.''
Greeks brought parasols to Europe, and the transformation from sunshade to watershield was made, at least for a while, in Rome. Until the 18th century, umbrellas kept appearing and then disappearing in the West. In the medieval Catholic Church the umbrella became a symbol of authority, and umbrellas are still among the Pope's accouterments."...
There are a number of YouTube videos of Ghanaian festivals/events with people holding and twirling large umbrellas under which important people walk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOLPfquWmgw is one of those videos.
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28. Saunsiaray Broussard, 2020
"My condolences and prayers are with everyone! You're loved and missed by many people! Rest in peace Ma'am!"
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This concludes Part II of this three part pancocojams series.
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