What exactly is a "coon song"?

[marcapra]

So what I am understanding is a song like Mandy, just because it is a minstrel type song sung in blackface, does not mean it is a coon song. It must be a parody of southern blacks and use their dialect.

[FellowCollector]

For anyone interested, here is a video from my YouTube channel featuring a small sampling of favorite coon songs from my collection on 2 minute wax cylinders played on one of my Columbia BF Peerless Graphophones.

Coon Song List In Play Order:

"My Name Is Morgan But It Ain't J.P."
"All Coons Look Alike To Me"
"Moses Andrew Jackson Good-Bye"
"I Wish't I Was In Heaven Sittin' Down"
"Hannibal Hope"
"Sim & Sam The Musical Coons"

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uckas5rPWU[/youtube]

Doug

[Curt A]

So what I am understanding is a song like Mandy, just because it is a minstrel type song sung in blackface, does not mean it is a coon song. It must be a parody of southern blacks and use their dialect.

I think that any song sung in blackface would be considered to be a "coon" song, however some are more obvious racial parodies that don't require any determination of intent...