"The Varied Carols I Hear": the Music of the New Deal in the West
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UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 2009 "The Varied carols I hear": The music of the New Deal in the West Peter L. Gough University of Nevada Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Music Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Repository Citation Gough, Peter L., ""The Varied carols I hear": The music of the New Deal in the West" (2009). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 99. http://dx.doi.org/10.34870/1380963 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “THE VARIED CAROLS I HEAR”: THE MUSIC OF THE NEW DEAL IN THE WEST by Peter L. Gough Bachelor of Science The Ohio State University 1986 Master of Arts California State University, Long Beach 1997 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2009 i THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Peter L. Gough entitled “The Varied Carols I Hear”: The Music of the New Deal in the West be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy History David Wrobel, Committee Chair Elizabeth White Nelson, Committee Member Marcia M. Gallo, Committee Member Cheryl Taranto, Graduate Faculty Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College December 2009 ii ABSTRACT “The Varied Carols I Hear”: The Music of the New Deal in the West by Peter L. Gough Dr. David M. Wrobel, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas The Federal Music Project and subsequent WPA Music Programs served as components of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” efforts to combat the economic devastation precipitated by the Great Depression. Operating during the years 1936 to 1943, these programs that engaged unemployed musicians mirrored similar efforts of the Federal Theatre, Art and Writers’ Projects. Though the Federal Music Project proved to be the largest of the cultural programs in terms of both employment and attendance, to date it has received the least attention from scholars. This dissertation demonstrates that, given the societal landscape of 1930s America, a regional perspective is imperative to an analysis of the music programs. And, contrary to earlier histories, the Federal Music Projects and WPA Music Programs of the West were successful in expressing the ethnic and cultural diversity of the region, thus achieving a primary goal of the Roosevelt administration. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 "MUSICIAN'S HAVE TO EAT, TOO": THE NEW DEAL AND THE ARTS .............................................. 58 CHAPTER 3 "OUT WHERE THE WEST BEGINS": ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND NEVADA ................................. 79 CHAPTER 4 THE CAROLS CONTINUE: COLORADO, UTAH, OREGON AND WASHINGTON............. 130 CHAPTER 5 INNOVATION, PARTICIPATION AND "A HORRIBLE MUSIC STEW": CALIFORNIA ......................... 184 CHAPTER 6 "NO ONE SINGS AS CONVINCINGLY AS THE DARKIES DO": SONG AND DIVERSITY................................. 228 CHAPTER 7 "BALLAD FOR AMERICANS": THE MUSIC OF THE POPULAR FRONT................................... 298 CHAPTER 8 "THE FOLK OF THE NATION": NO HORSES NEED APPLY ......................................................... 365 CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 421 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................... 428 VITA ........................................................................................................................ 448 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would have not been possible without the support of my extraordinary committee. I wish to thank Dr. Wrobel for his truly remarkable and unceasing generosity of time, knowledge, and personal library. Dr. White Nelson has provided many insights and remained a consistent advocate for me and this project, and Dr. Gallo, Dr. Taranto and Dr. La Chapelle have given invaluable suggestions along the way. I am grateful to them, the entire history department, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for awarding me the financial support to complete what has been one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences of my life. v I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs. Walt Whitman vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “If President Roosevelt had done nothing else but establish the Federal Music Project, that alone would be sufficient to account him great.” So declared a Southern California musician during the height of the Great Depression. The newspaper editorial in which the statement appeared concluded: “this opinion will be confirmed by thousands of musicians and music lovers.” Initiated in 1935 as an aspect of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” plan for economic recovery, the Federal Music Project (FMP) represented one of four Art Projects (designated Federal Project Number One, or Federal One) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) intended to alleviate unemployment caused by the economic depression.1 Approval of the FMP was widespread. “Since there has been a United States, there has ever been the problem of how to bring the world’s great music to the people of America as it is brought to all classes in Europe,” editorialized the San Diego Union in 1936. The article queried, “after more than 150 years, is the answer here?” Responses in the affirmative came from across the nation, and even from across the Atlantic. A London, England, magazine described the WPA Federal Music Project as “the most important experiment in music ever undertaken by any people.” And the eminent Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold was quoted in 1938 as saying: “Nowhere in Europe is there anything that even compares with the Federal Music Project. Of course, 1 Richard D. Saunders, Hollywood Citizens Journal, June 19, 1937, Administration, Central Files of WPA, 1935-44, Federal Music Project National and Special Reports, 1936-39, Entry 811, box 24, Hierarchical Reference Report by Record Group 69 Work Projects Administration, National Archives and Records Administration; hereafter referred to by file description/Entry or File/box number/NARA. 1 we have state subsidized opera, but no country in Europe has anything to equal this. It is heartwarming to see those splendidly trained musicians performing concerts of high caliber for the public at nominal admissions, and in most cases, free of charge as a phase of governmental activity.” American composer Charles Wakefield Cadman described the FMP as the “finest constructive force that has ever come into American musical life.” 2 Unlike the other aspects of Federal One, the response to the Music Project remained positive, often singularly void of political partisanship. “When the New Deal is mentioned in company, there is sure to be division of opinion, some persons being strongly for it and others strongly against it, for it is not a matter as to which many are neutral or indifferent,” wrote one southern California editorial. Yet, “a few innovations” such as the Federal Music Project “have been generally accepted as good…” And a Republican newspaper argued “the Federal Music Project … is not only free of politics, it is one of the most exciting and hopeful experiments made under the New Deal.” The editorialist concludes: “If it is boondoggling to make America music-conscious, and if the Federal Music Project is an example of politics in the WPA, then I say let us have more of the same.”3 The FMP would in other important ways prove to be the most successful of the WPA cultural ventures. At its peak nearly 16,000 were employed by the FMP, far more than any other Federal One program. By 1941 WPA musicians performed 7300 separate 2 Ruth Tanton, San Diego Union, December 31, 1936, Entry 811, box 24; “Special Report on Sponsorship,” entry 811, box 25; “1938-1938 FMP Activities Report,” November 1938, entry 803, box 1; “National and Special Reports,” entry 811, box 23; all in NARA. 3 Long Beach Press Telegram, May 24, 1936, entry 826, box 46; “Special Report Prepared for the President’s Advisory Committee