I've yet to sing any minstrel songs in dialect in public but if and when I do, "Kingdom Coming" will probably be the first one. I've thought of an explanation for the time and place and I'd like to run it by you fellow mudcatters for your opinions. I have no data to back this hypothosis as of yet. I will use the term "black" for African American because it was the politically correct term I was introduced to and used most of my life. Here is my hypothesis: Minstrel music was the original rock'n'roll. By that I mean that some white performers heard black performers making music, were smitten by it, and wanted to imitate it. They learned to play in the manner, but when they were ready to perform, they found that it would be socially unacceptable to do so unless they caved in to society's bigotry and made the songs into parodies rather than sincere imitations of the black musical style. Minstrel music, whether performed by whites or blacks, became extremely popular in the mid 1800's just as rock'n'roll did in the mid 1900's.

Am I right or wrong?