I was fortunate to have a wonderful junior high school vocal music teacher.

Way back in the late 1950s in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first year of junior high school (7th grade) was the first year that students attended integrated schools. Prior to that, we African American students may have had White teachers, but I doubt that the White students ever had any Black teachers. I recall that Mr. Sobrola was Italian and supported John Kennedy for President of the USA (probably because Mr. Sobrola and JFK were both Catholic). Meanwhile I recall that I supported Nixon (go figure).

I don't recall learning any African American songs in Mr. Sobrola's class or in any other music class-excerpt for a blues song that I didn't know was the blues at the time. I don't think he emphasized the fact that it was a Blues song, though it had lines that mentioned that music genre...

River looks dark
with the shadows on it.
Mighty black clouds in the sky above.
Still I ain't 'fraid of the rain, doggone it.
River and rain are the things I love.
Rain fall down on me.
I'm as happy as I can be.
I'm gone down on the levy
Gonna build myself a rockin' chair.
If my lovin man don't come
I'll rock a way from there.
Cause the Blues ain't nothin
Yeah the Blues ain't nothin.
But a good (man?) feelin Blues.

-snip-

This is how I remember that song. And it may have been the only or one of the only Blues songs that I heard or that I learned until I became an adult. My family was really in to the church, and wsn't in to either Blues or Jazz music.

I might have mixed two songs together and messed up the words. Does anyone know this song?

**
I also remember Mr. Sobriola teaching his classes "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" and teaching a smaller performing choral group of which I was a member "The Hallelujah Chorus" and a cute song called "We're The Younger Generation And The Future Of The Nation".

Good memories, all.