Ryan André Brasseaux
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195343069
- eISBN:
- 9780199866977
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195343069.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter deconstructs Cajuns’, and Cajun music’s, folk categorization. It analyzes three separate interpretations of folk culture as espoused by influential public intellectuals. Alan and John ...
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This chapter deconstructs Cajuns’, and Cajun music’s, folk categorization. It analyzes three separate interpretations of folk culture as espoused by influential public intellectuals. Alan and John Lomax’s famed ethnographic folklore excursions through the American South, with a focus on the individuals and cultural contexts that informed the Depression era Cajun musical landscape, open the chapter. The first Cajun musicians to perform on a national stage at Sarah Gertrude Knott’s National Folk Festival are also included in this study as an example of Cajun music’s attachment to contemporary trends in the public consumption of folklore and the genre’s attachment to the American national project. William Owens’ little know field excursions are then used to demonstrate the perpetuation of Cajun music’ folk categorization.Less
This chapter deconstructs Cajuns’, and Cajun music’s, folk categorization. It analyzes three separate interpretations of folk culture as espoused by influential public intellectuals. Alan and John Lomax’s famed ethnographic folklore excursions through the American South, with a focus on the individuals and cultural contexts that informed the Depression era Cajun musical landscape, open the chapter. The first Cajun musicians to perform on a national stage at Sarah Gertrude Knott’s National Folk Festival are also included in this study as an example of Cajun music’s attachment to contemporary trends in the public consumption of folklore and the genre’s attachment to the American national project. William Owens’ little know field excursions are then used to demonstrate the perpetuation of Cajun music’ folk categorization.
Ronald D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469628813
- eISBN:
- 9781469628837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628813.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Folk music performance and collecting entered the waning year of the 1930s with somewhat renewed vigor but with reduced federal government support. Of increasing importance, a group of professional ...
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Folk music performance and collecting entered the waning year of the 1930s with somewhat renewed vigor but with reduced federal government support. Of increasing importance, a group of professional musicians, including Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Burl Ives, and Josh White, emerged to capture a popular interest in folk music, particularly in New York City. Alan Lomax’s CBS programs brought a variety of folk performers into homes and schools throughout the country, and the music’s connection to the Communist Party and organized labor continued as the country edged closer to war. At the same time anti-communism was on the rise.Less
Folk music performance and collecting entered the waning year of the 1930s with somewhat renewed vigor but with reduced federal government support. Of increasing importance, a group of professional musicians, including Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Burl Ives, and Josh White, emerged to capture a popular interest in folk music, particularly in New York City. Alan Lomax’s CBS programs brought a variety of folk performers into homes and schools throughout the country, and the music’s connection to the Communist Party and organized labor continued as the country edged closer to war. At the same time anti-communism was on the rise.
Ronald D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469628813
- eISBN:
- 9781469628837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628813.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Into 1938 and 1939, folk music took on more popular dimensions. The voice of the “people,” expressed through music as well as plays, art, nightclub skits, stage musicals, literature, poetry, movies, ...
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Into 1938 and 1939, folk music took on more popular dimensions. The voice of the “people,” expressed through music as well as plays, art, nightclub skits, stage musicals, literature, poetry, movies, radio shows, photography, and dance, became increasingly prevalent. Nonetheless, various New Deal programs began to shrink as the country’s political conservatives–northern Republicans allied with southern Democrats–marshalled their forces. Alan Lomax continued to play a creative, vital role, particularly with his radio shows.Less
Into 1938 and 1939, folk music took on more popular dimensions. The voice of the “people,” expressed through music as well as plays, art, nightclub skits, stage musicals, literature, poetry, movies, radio shows, photography, and dance, became increasingly prevalent. Nonetheless, various New Deal programs began to shrink as the country’s political conservatives–northern Republicans allied with southern Democrats–marshalled their forces. Alan Lomax continued to play a creative, vital role, particularly with his radio shows.
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038518
- eISBN:
- 9780252096426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1959 to 1960. Topics covered include Alan Lomax's efforts to capture the complex nature of popular music in 1959; the Kingston Trio's continued ...
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This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1959 to 1960. Topics covered include Alan Lomax's efforts to capture the complex nature of popular music in 1959; the Kingston Trio's continued popularity; Britain's flourishing folk music scene despite the decline of skiffle; increasing popularity of folk music in America as its boundaries disappeared in the flood of new recordings, books, magazines, newsletters, radio programs, and TV shows; the release of the New Lost City Ramblers's album The New Lost City Ramblers; and the folk revival's musical and activist political connections in the South, personified by Guy Carawan's work at Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, and then Knoxville, Tennessee, even before songs became a vital part of the developing civil rights movement.Less
This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1959 to 1960. Topics covered include Alan Lomax's efforts to capture the complex nature of popular music in 1959; the Kingston Trio's continued popularity; Britain's flourishing folk music scene despite the decline of skiffle; increasing popularity of folk music in America as its boundaries disappeared in the flood of new recordings, books, magazines, newsletters, radio programs, and TV shows; the release of the New Lost City Ramblers's album The New Lost City Ramblers; and the folk revival's musical and activist political connections in the South, personified by Guy Carawan's work at Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, and then Knoxville, Tennessee, even before songs became a vital part of the developing civil rights movement.
Ronald D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469628813
- eISBN:
- 9781469628837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628813.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
As the New Deal quickened in 1935, the federal government increasingly emphasized job creation along with the promotion of the arts through the Works Progress Administration. Alan and John Lomax at ...
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As the New Deal quickened in 1935, the federal government increasingly emphasized job creation along with the promotion of the arts through the Works Progress Administration. Alan and John Lomax at the Library of Congress were particularly active in collecting and promoting folk music, including Lead Belly. Pete Seeger began his folk career, part of the radical interest in folk songs.Less
As the New Deal quickened in 1935, the federal government increasingly emphasized job creation along with the promotion of the arts through the Works Progress Administration. Alan and John Lomax at the Library of Congress were particularly active in collecting and promoting folk music, including Lead Belly. Pete Seeger began his folk career, part of the radical interest in folk songs.
Daniel Beaumont
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195395570
- eISBN:
- 9780190268060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195395570.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
This chapter discusses the events pertaining to the 1941 Fisk-Library of Congress recording sessions, a project that came about from a study proposed by John Wesley Work III with respect to the 1940 ...
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This chapter discusses the events pertaining to the 1941 Fisk-Library of Congress recording sessions, a project that came about from a study proposed by John Wesley Work III with respect to the 1940 fire incident in Natchez, Mississippi. Work's idea was pitched to the Library of Congress and eventually approved by Alan Lomax. Work and Lomax arrived in Clarksdale and came across Muddy Waters and Son House, possibly by asking for the names of the leading blues musicians. The recording proceeded with House performing five songs, four of them together with his band—Willie Brown on guitar, Leroy Williams on harp, and Fiddlin' Joe Martin on mandolin. Lomax returned to Mississippi the following year and recorded with House once more, spawning ten more tracks. That same year, House headed north and spent the next twenty-one years of his life in musical exile.Less
This chapter discusses the events pertaining to the 1941 Fisk-Library of Congress recording sessions, a project that came about from a study proposed by John Wesley Work III with respect to the 1940 fire incident in Natchez, Mississippi. Work's idea was pitched to the Library of Congress and eventually approved by Alan Lomax. Work and Lomax arrived in Clarksdale and came across Muddy Waters and Son House, possibly by asking for the names of the leading blues musicians. The recording proceeded with House performing five songs, four of them together with his band—Willie Brown on guitar, Leroy Williams on harp, and Fiddlin' Joe Martin on mandolin. Lomax returned to Mississippi the following year and recorded with House once more, spawning ten more tracks. That same year, House headed north and spent the next twenty-one years of his life in musical exile.
Ronald D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469628813
- eISBN:
- 9781469628837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628813.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Folk music’s exposure, publications, and left-wing ties increased through 1937. The Popular Front, with its focus on the folk arts, melded with the New Deal’s cultural programs. John and Alan Lomax, ...
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Folk music’s exposure, publications, and left-wing ties increased through 1937. The Popular Front, with its focus on the folk arts, melded with the New Deal’s cultural programs. John and Alan Lomax, in particular, continued with their field work, joined by numerous others. Woody Guthrie emerged as the dust bowl bard. Greenwich Village in New York City became a magnet for vernacular performers.Less
Folk music’s exposure, publications, and left-wing ties increased through 1937. The Popular Front, with its focus on the folk arts, melded with the New Deal’s cultural programs. John and Alan Lomax, in particular, continued with their field work, joined by numerous others. Woody Guthrie emerged as the dust bowl bard. Greenwich Village in New York City became a magnet for vernacular performers.
Ronald D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469628813
- eISBN:
- 9781469628837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628813.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
The depression’s early years gave way to an upsurge of confidence and an artistic renaissance. This was bolstered by the coming era of the common man, when vernacular culture, including music, gained ...
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The depression’s early years gave way to an upsurge of confidence and an artistic renaissance. This was bolstered by the coming era of the common man, when vernacular culture, including music, gained a renewed vigor spurred by the increasing popularity of the Communist and Socialist Parties, as well as the expanding labor unions. John and Alan Lomax were particularly active in collecting and promoting folk music.Less
The depression’s early years gave way to an upsurge of confidence and an artistic renaissance. This was bolstered by the coming era of the common man, when vernacular culture, including music, gained a renewed vigor spurred by the increasing popularity of the Communist and Socialist Parties, as well as the expanding labor unions. John and Alan Lomax were particularly active in collecting and promoting folk music.
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038518
- eISBN:
- 9780252096426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter discusses the folk music scene from 1950 to 1953. It begins by describing the formation and rise of the Weavers into one of the most popular musical groups in the U.S. by early 1951. ...
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This chapter discusses the folk music scene from 1950 to 1953. It begins by describing the formation and rise of the Weavers into one of the most popular musical groups in the U.S. by early 1951. Their song “On Top of Old Smoky,” landed on the charts in April, reached number 2 for two months, and remained for a total of twenty-three weeks. The group also began appearing at the country's most lavish nightclubs, including Ciro's in Hollywood. The remainder of the chapter details Alan Lomax's move to England where he began an energetic broadcasting, collecting, performing, and traveling career as well as other happenings in the folk music scene.Less
This chapter discusses the folk music scene from 1950 to 1953. It begins by describing the formation and rise of the Weavers into one of the most popular musical groups in the U.S. by early 1951. Their song “On Top of Old Smoky,” landed on the charts in April, reached number 2 for two months, and remained for a total of twenty-three weeks. The group also began appearing at the country's most lavish nightclubs, including Ciro's in Hollywood. The remainder of the chapter details Alan Lomax's move to England where he began an energetic broadcasting, collecting, performing, and traveling career as well as other happenings in the folk music scene.
Kevin D. Greene
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469646497
- eISBN:
- 9781469646510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646497.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
From 1930 to 1970, a second folk music revival took hold in the United States and Europe, determined to capture and preserve for posterity US and European vernacular music. Critical to this ...
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From 1930 to 1970, a second folk music revival took hold in the United States and Europe, determined to capture and preserve for posterity US and European vernacular music. Critical to this collection of folklorists, academics, political activists, and entrepreneurs was the history and impact of African American music on folklore and culture. Big Bill, quite familiar with the types of country and Delta blues the folk music revival craved stood happy to oblige. Soon, one of the most sophisticated and urbane performers of the age began performing alone accompanied by his guitar for folk audiences from New York to Chicago. Within this community, Broonzy found a culture and environment willing and able to support his transitioning career from black pop star to folk music darling. Along the way, he would meet more individuals who could aid in his career reinvention and he both accepted and rejected their expectations of him and his music.Less
From 1930 to 1970, a second folk music revival took hold in the United States and Europe, determined to capture and preserve for posterity US and European vernacular music. Critical to this collection of folklorists, academics, political activists, and entrepreneurs was the history and impact of African American music on folklore and culture. Big Bill, quite familiar with the types of country and Delta blues the folk music revival craved stood happy to oblige. Soon, one of the most sophisticated and urbane performers of the age began performing alone accompanied by his guitar for folk audiences from New York to Chicago. Within this community, Broonzy found a culture and environment willing and able to support his transitioning career from black pop star to folk music darling. Along the way, he would meet more individuals who could aid in his career reinvention and he both accepted and rejected their expectations of him and his music.
Harry Bolick, Tony Russell, T. DeWayne Moore, Joyce A. Cauthen, and David Evans
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781496835796
- eISBN:
- 9781496835833
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496835796.003.0020
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Sid Hemphill, as an African American and as a musician, reflects the sort of dynamism and versatility that was indicative of so many other African Americans born in the wake of the Civil War, who ...
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Sid Hemphill, as an African American and as a musician, reflects the sort of dynamism and versatility that was indicative of so many other African Americans born in the wake of the Civil War, who defied the gendered cultural construct of the “hill country blues” man, and every other construct of a blues man for that matter. According to music critic Amanda Petrusich in her review of The Devil’s Dream, “Hemphill's work incorporates attributes of the Mississippi Hill Country’s better-known traditions … mastered by [Fred] McDowell, R. L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough, and the fife-and-drum music practiced by Otha Turner, Napoleon Strickland, and Hemphill himself.” All his recorded fiddle tunes with the string band are transcribed here.Less
Sid Hemphill, as an African American and as a musician, reflects the sort of dynamism and versatility that was indicative of so many other African Americans born in the wake of the Civil War, who defied the gendered cultural construct of the “hill country blues” man, and every other construct of a blues man for that matter. According to music critic Amanda Petrusich in her review of The Devil’s Dream, “Hemphill's work incorporates attributes of the Mississippi Hill Country’s better-known traditions … mastered by [Fred] McDowell, R. L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough, and the fife-and-drum music practiced by Otha Turner, Napoleon Strickland, and Hemphill himself.” All his recorded fiddle tunes with the string band are transcribed here.
Jill Terry and Neil A. Wynn (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617032882
- eISBN:
- 9781617032899
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617032882.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
This book presents a collection of essays on the debates about origins, authenticity, and identity in folk and blues music. The essays had their origins in an international conference on the ...
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This book presents a collection of essays on the debates about origins, authenticity, and identity in folk and blues music. The essays had their origins in an international conference on the Transatlantic routes of American roots music, out of which emerged common themes and questions of origins and authenticity in folk music, black and white, American and British. The central theme is musical influences, but issues of identity—national, local, and racial—are also recurring subjects. The extent to which these identities were invented, imagined, or constructed by the performers, or by those who recorded their work for posterity, is also a prominent concern, and questions of racial identity are particularly central. The book features a new essay on the blues by Paul Oliver alongside an essay on Oliver’s seminal blues scholarship. There are also several essays on British blues and the links between performers and styles in the United States and Britain, and new essays on critical figures such as Alan Lomax and Woody Guthrie. The book offers perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic on the connections and interplay of influences in roots music and the debates about these subjects, drawing on the work of eminent established scholars and emerging young academics who are already making a contribution to the field.Less
This book presents a collection of essays on the debates about origins, authenticity, and identity in folk and blues music. The essays had their origins in an international conference on the Transatlantic routes of American roots music, out of which emerged common themes and questions of origins and authenticity in folk music, black and white, American and British. The central theme is musical influences, but issues of identity—national, local, and racial—are also recurring subjects. The extent to which these identities were invented, imagined, or constructed by the performers, or by those who recorded their work for posterity, is also a prominent concern, and questions of racial identity are particularly central. The book features a new essay on the blues by Paul Oliver alongside an essay on Oliver’s seminal blues scholarship. There are also several essays on British blues and the links between performers and styles in the United States and Britain, and new essays on critical figures such as Alan Lomax and Woody Guthrie. The book offers perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic on the connections and interplay of influences in roots music and the debates about these subjects, drawing on the work of eminent established scholars and emerging young academics who are already making a contribution to the field.
Kevin D. Greene
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469646497
- eISBN:
- 9781469646510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646497.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Beginning in 1950, Broonzy would tour Europe and the United Kingdom for much of the 1950s while new generations in Britatin, Holland, France, Belgium, and more began discovering and rediscovering ...
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Beginning in 1950, Broonzy would tour Europe and the United Kingdom for much of the 1950s while new generations in Britatin, Holland, France, Belgium, and more began discovering and rediscovering African American music from the pre-war period. Big Bill became one of the first African American blues artists to tour there, quickly becoming a fan favorite, especially in England. A subculture of continental Europeans from the period developed a lively community of jazz enthusiasts whose record collections and academic writings connected these post-war devotees across borders and languages. Central to their fascinations and curiosities was the juxtaposition between Bebop and traditional, New Orleans jazz. Many traditionalists loathed Bebop and through Big Bill, discovered the blues impact on but delineation from the music they loved so much. In the UK, the folk music revival spread, thanks in large part to Alan Lomax, and Lomax, by this point a good friend, found in Big Bill a treasure who could highlight his and the revival’s pretensions on black blues. In effect, Broonzy began navigating these audiences, essentially reinvigorating his career and building celebrity across the Atlantic.Less
Beginning in 1950, Broonzy would tour Europe and the United Kingdom for much of the 1950s while new generations in Britatin, Holland, France, Belgium, and more began discovering and rediscovering African American music from the pre-war period. Big Bill became one of the first African American blues artists to tour there, quickly becoming a fan favorite, especially in England. A subculture of continental Europeans from the period developed a lively community of jazz enthusiasts whose record collections and academic writings connected these post-war devotees across borders and languages. Central to their fascinations and curiosities was the juxtaposition between Bebop and traditional, New Orleans jazz. Many traditionalists loathed Bebop and through Big Bill, discovered the blues impact on but delineation from the music they loved so much. In the UK, the folk music revival spread, thanks in large part to Alan Lomax, and Lomax, by this point a good friend, found in Big Bill a treasure who could highlight his and the revival’s pretensions on black blues. In effect, Broonzy began navigating these audiences, essentially reinvigorating his career and building celebrity across the Atlantic.
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038518
- eISBN:
- 9780252096426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1957 to 1958. It discusses the emergence of the Kingston Trio that energized the folk revival; folk festivals and recordings; the continued popularity ...
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This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1957 to 1958. It discusses the emergence of the Kingston Trio that energized the folk revival; folk festivals and recordings; the continued popularity of skiffle in Great Britain; magazines the covered the folk music scene, including Sing Out! and Caravan; and Alan Lomax's return to the United States after seven years of folk-song collecting across Europe. According to Greenwich Village musician Dave Van Ronk, “the last years of the 1950s were a great time to be in the Village.” “It was not too crazy yet, but there was an exhilarating sense of something big right around the corner. As for the folk scene, it was beginning to look as if it might have a future, and me with it.” What was happening in Greenwich Village was rapidly spreading around the country. Folk music, broadly defined, appeared to have a bright future, while spanning the Atlantic Ocean.Less
This chapter describes the folk music scene from 1957 to 1958. It discusses the emergence of the Kingston Trio that energized the folk revival; folk festivals and recordings; the continued popularity of skiffle in Great Britain; magazines the covered the folk music scene, including Sing Out! and Caravan; and Alan Lomax's return to the United States after seven years of folk-song collecting across Europe. According to Greenwich Village musician Dave Van Ronk, “the last years of the 1950s were a great time to be in the Village.” “It was not too crazy yet, but there was an exhilarating sense of something big right around the corner. As for the folk scene, it was beginning to look as if it might have a future, and me with it.” What was happening in Greenwich Village was rapidly spreading around the country. Folk music, broadly defined, appeared to have a bright future, while spanning the Atlantic Ocean.
Kevin D. Greene
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469646497
- eISBN:
- 9781469646510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646497.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Since 1955, when a Belgian jazz writer helped scribe the first book investigating Big Bill’s life and music, dozens of artists, scholars, journalists, and enthusiasts have left a long trail of ...
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Since 1955, when a Belgian jazz writer helped scribe the first book investigating Big Bill’s life and music, dozens of artists, scholars, journalists, and enthusiasts have left a long trail of written work dedicated to Broonzy and his past. Well into the twenty-first century, this trend continues. These brokers of Broonzy’s life, music, and public memory have shaped and reshaped his story reflecting each respective generation’s own understandings of race, celebrity, blues music, and the black experience in the United States, among other themes. In a sense, Broonzy has become a cipher for unlocking important questions about authenticity, folklore, black identity, music history, and more to a large field of predominately white authors. For nearly sixty-five years, Big Bill and his history pop up along a long trajectory of studies that have viewed him as an object of intrigue and mystery rather than how he wanted to be remembered. Big Bill was an African American, pre-war, pop music celebrity who built and reached the height of that celebrity recording and performing for black audiences. Unearthing his vague, working class past has prevented history from accepting Big Bill for what he was—an agent of black modernity.Less
Since 1955, when a Belgian jazz writer helped scribe the first book investigating Big Bill’s life and music, dozens of artists, scholars, journalists, and enthusiasts have left a long trail of written work dedicated to Broonzy and his past. Well into the twenty-first century, this trend continues. These brokers of Broonzy’s life, music, and public memory have shaped and reshaped his story reflecting each respective generation’s own understandings of race, celebrity, blues music, and the black experience in the United States, among other themes. In a sense, Broonzy has become a cipher for unlocking important questions about authenticity, folklore, black identity, music history, and more to a large field of predominately white authors. For nearly sixty-five years, Big Bill and his history pop up along a long trajectory of studies that have viewed him as an object of intrigue and mystery rather than how he wanted to be remembered. Big Bill was an African American, pre-war, pop music celebrity who built and reached the height of that celebrity recording and performing for black audiences. Unearthing his vague, working class past has prevented history from accepting Big Bill for what he was—an agent of black modernity.
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038518
- eISBN:
- 9780252096426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Throughout the twentieth century, folk music has had many definitions and incarnations in the United States and Great Britain. The public has been most aware of its commercial substance and appeal, ...
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Throughout the twentieth century, folk music has had many definitions and incarnations in the United States and Great Britain. The public has been most aware of its commercial substance and appeal, with the focus on recording artists and their repertoires, but there has been so much more, including a political agenda, folklore theories, grassroots styles, regional promoters, and discussions on what musical forms—blues, hillbilly, gospel, Anglo-Saxon, pop, singer-songwriters, instrumental and/or vocal, international—should be included. These contrasting and conflicting interpretations were particularly evident during the 1950s. This chapter begins by focusing on Alan Lomax (1915–2002), one of the most active folk music collectors, radio promoters, and organizers during the 1940s. Lomax had a major influence on folk music in both the United States and Great Britain, tying together what had come before and what would follow. The chapter then discusses folk festivals and performers; British folk music, musicians, and trans-Atlantic musical connections; and Carl Sandburg's publication of the The American Songbag in 1927.Less
Throughout the twentieth century, folk music has had many definitions and incarnations in the United States and Great Britain. The public has been most aware of its commercial substance and appeal, with the focus on recording artists and their repertoires, but there has been so much more, including a political agenda, folklore theories, grassroots styles, regional promoters, and discussions on what musical forms—blues, hillbilly, gospel, Anglo-Saxon, pop, singer-songwriters, instrumental and/or vocal, international—should be included. These contrasting and conflicting interpretations were particularly evident during the 1950s. This chapter begins by focusing on Alan Lomax (1915–2002), one of the most active folk music collectors, radio promoters, and organizers during the 1940s. Lomax had a major influence on folk music in both the United States and Great Britain, tying together what had come before and what would follow. The chapter then discusses folk festivals and performers; British folk music, musicians, and trans-Atlantic musical connections; and Carl Sandburg's publication of the The American Songbag in 1927.
Harry Bolick, Tony Russell, T. DeWayne Moore, Joyce A. Cauthen, and David Evans
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781496835796
- eISBN:
- 9781496835833
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496835796.003.0037
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Fiddler Bob Pratcher(04/07/1893–08/1968) was born near Glenville in Panola County. Alan Lomax recorded Bob with his brother Miles on guitar in Como, MS, on September 21, 1959. Their recordings can be ...
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Fiddler Bob Pratcher(04/07/1893–08/1968) was born near Glenville in Panola County. Alan Lomax recorded Bob with his brother Miles on guitar in Como, MS, on September 21, 1959. Their recordings can be heard at: www.culturalequity.org. There appears to have been no interview recorded by Lomax and thus little is known about the Pratchers.Less
Fiddler Bob Pratcher(04/07/1893–08/1968) was born near Glenville in Panola County. Alan Lomax recorded Bob with his brother Miles on guitar in Como, MS, on September 21, 1959. Their recordings can be heard at: www.culturalequity.org. There appears to have been no interview recorded by Lomax and thus little is known about the Pratchers.
Britta Sweers
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195174786
- eISBN:
- 9780199864348
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174786.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
A hybrid revival genre like electric folk illustrates the difficulty of a strict separation of art, folk, and popular music. This is also corroborated by a deeper analysis of the relationship between ...
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A hybrid revival genre like electric folk illustrates the difficulty of a strict separation of art, folk, and popular music. This is also corroborated by a deeper analysis of the relationship between electric folk and traditional English music. This chapter starts out with a picture of traditional music as depicted by the collectors of the First Revival, Cecil Sharp in particular, whose definition was also adapted by the International Folk Music Council in 1954. Issues discussed here include: the ideal of a “pure” English folk music tradition, the separation of traditional music from popular/commercial music, the disappearance of the tradition, exclusiveness of oral transmission, the ideal of unaccompanied singing, editorial changes and notational aspects. Discussing several modern controversial perspectives on the relationship of traditional and popular music, including Dave Harker, Karl Dallas, Alan Lomax, and Simon Frith, the chapter argues for more a flexible application of the various concepts.Less
A hybrid revival genre like electric folk illustrates the difficulty of a strict separation of art, folk, and popular music. This is also corroborated by a deeper analysis of the relationship between electric folk and traditional English music. This chapter starts out with a picture of traditional music as depicted by the collectors of the First Revival, Cecil Sharp in particular, whose definition was also adapted by the International Folk Music Council in 1954. Issues discussed here include: the ideal of a “pure” English folk music tradition, the separation of traditional music from popular/commercial music, the disappearance of the tradition, exclusiveness of oral transmission, the ideal of unaccompanied singing, editorial changes and notational aspects. Discussing several modern controversial perspectives on the relationship of traditional and popular music, including Dave Harker, Karl Dallas, Alan Lomax, and Simon Frith, the chapter argues for more a flexible application of the various concepts.
Phil Pastras
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520215238
- eISBN:
- 9780520929739
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520215238.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
When Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton sat at the piano in the Library of Congress in May of 1938 to begin his monumental series of interviews with Alan Lomax, he spoke of his years on the West Coast ...
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When Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton sat at the piano in the Library of Congress in May of 1938 to begin his monumental series of interviews with Alan Lomax, he spoke of his years on the West Coast with great nostalgia. He had arrived in Los Angeles more than twenty years earlier, but he recounted his losses as vividly as though they had occurred just recently. The greatest loss was his separation from Anita Gonzales, by his own account “the only woman I ever loved,” to whom he left almost all of his royalties in his will. This book sets the record straight on the two periods (1917–1923 and 1940–1941) that Jelly Roll Morton spent on the West Coast. In addition to rechecking sources, correcting mistakes in scholarly accounts, and situating eyewitness narratives within the histories of New Orleans or Los Angeles, the book offers an interpretation of the life and work of Morton, one of the most important and influential early practitioners of jazz. The discovery of a previously unknown collection of memorabilia—including a 58-page scrapbook compiled by Morton himself—sheds new light on Morton's personal and artistic development, as well as on the crucial role played by Anita Gonzales. Morton's artistic development as a pianist, composer, and bandleader is traced. The book examines the complexities of racial identity for Morton and his circle, his belief in voodoo, his relationships with women, his style of performance, and his roots in black musical traditions.Less
When Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton sat at the piano in the Library of Congress in May of 1938 to begin his monumental series of interviews with Alan Lomax, he spoke of his years on the West Coast with great nostalgia. He had arrived in Los Angeles more than twenty years earlier, but he recounted his losses as vividly as though they had occurred just recently. The greatest loss was his separation from Anita Gonzales, by his own account “the only woman I ever loved,” to whom he left almost all of his royalties in his will. This book sets the record straight on the two periods (1917–1923 and 1940–1941) that Jelly Roll Morton spent on the West Coast. In addition to rechecking sources, correcting mistakes in scholarly accounts, and situating eyewitness narratives within the histories of New Orleans or Los Angeles, the book offers an interpretation of the life and work of Morton, one of the most important and influential early practitioners of jazz. The discovery of a previously unknown collection of memorabilia—including a 58-page scrapbook compiled by Morton himself—sheds new light on Morton's personal and artistic development, as well as on the crucial role played by Anita Gonzales. Morton's artistic development as a pianist, composer, and bandleader is traced. The book examines the complexities of racial identity for Morton and his circle, his belief in voodoo, his relationships with women, his style of performance, and his roots in black musical traditions.
Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038518
- eISBN:
- 9780252096426
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038518.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This book presents a transatlantic history of folk's midcentury resurgence that juxtaposes the related but distinct revivals that took place in the United States and Great Britain. After setting the ...
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This book presents a transatlantic history of folk's midcentury resurgence that juxtaposes the related but distinct revivals that took place in the United States and Great Britain. After setting the stage with the work of music collectors in the nineteenth century, the book explores the so-called recovery of folk music practices and performers by Alan Lomax and others, including journeys to and within the British Isles that allowed artists and folk music advocates to absorb native forms and facilitate the music's transatlantic exchange. The book places the musical and cultural connections of the twin revivals within the decade's social and musical milieu and grapple with the performers' leftist political agendas and artistic challenges, including the fierce debates over “authenticity” in practice and repertoire that erupted when artists like Harry Belafonte and the Kingston Trio carried folk into the popular music mainstream. From work songs to skiffle, from the Weavers in Greenwich Village to Burl Ives on the BBC, the book offers a frank and wide-ranging consideration of a time, a movement, and a transformative period in American and British pop culture.Less
This book presents a transatlantic history of folk's midcentury resurgence that juxtaposes the related but distinct revivals that took place in the United States and Great Britain. After setting the stage with the work of music collectors in the nineteenth century, the book explores the so-called recovery of folk music practices and performers by Alan Lomax and others, including journeys to and within the British Isles that allowed artists and folk music advocates to absorb native forms and facilitate the music's transatlantic exchange. The book places the musical and cultural connections of the twin revivals within the decade's social and musical milieu and grapple with the performers' leftist political agendas and artistic challenges, including the fierce debates over “authenticity” in practice and repertoire that erupted when artists like Harry Belafonte and the Kingston Trio carried folk into the popular music mainstream. From work songs to skiffle, from the Weavers in Greenwich Village to Burl Ives on the BBC, the book offers a frank and wide-ranging consideration of a time, a movement, and a transformative period in American and British pop culture.