DOCSLIB.ORG

UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Facing Jazz, Facing Trauma: Modern Trauma and the Jazz Archive Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/79v6m6c0 Author Singleton, Tyfahra Danielle Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Facing Jazz, Facing Trauma: Modern Trauma and the Jazz Archive By Tyfahra Danielle Singleton A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Judith Butler, Chair Professor Chana Kronfeld Professor Linda Williams Fall 2011 Facing Jazz, Facing Trauma: Modern Trauma and the Jazz Archive Copyright © 2011 by Tyfahra Danielle Singleton Abstract Facing Jazz, Facing Trauma: Modern Trauma and the Jazz Archive by Tyfahra Danielle Singleton Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature University of California, Berkeley Professor Judith Butler, Chair ―Facing Jazz, Facing Trauma‖ posits American jazz music as a historical archive of an American history of trauma. By reading texts by Gayl Jones, Ralph Ellison, Franz Kafka; music and performances by Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday; the life, art and films of Josephine Baker, and the film The Jazz Singer (1927), my goal is to give African American experiences of trauma a place within American trauma studies and to offer jazz as an extensive archive of testimony for witnessing and for study. Initially, I explore the pivotal historical moment where trauma and jazz converge on a groundbreaking scale, when Billie Holiday sings ―Strange Fruit‖ in 1939. This moment illuminates the fugitive alliance between American blacks and Jews in forming the historical testimony that is jazz. ―Strange Fruit,‖ written by Jewish American Abel Meeropol, and sung by Billie Holiday, evokes the trauma of lynching in an effort to protest the same. In a career that hinges on her ability to convey the result of a traumatic life musically, Holiday nonetheless breaks from an African American coded tradition of music and participates in a Jewish coded tradition of discourse. She allows the lyrics to speak for themselves and protest the crime of lynching for which ―Strange Fruit‖ was controversial and powerful evidence. I then explore jazz and its connection to trauma, witnessing, and testimony through a literary lens. Juxtaposing larger than life figures with literary counterparts, I focus on vocal jazz where the jazz singer rewrites history from the perspective of the survivors of a legacy of slavery. Gayl Jones‘s Corregidora and Ralph Ellison‘s Invisible Man demonstrate both the trauma of invisibility/inaudibility and the imperative to be acknowledged and heard. Personal and collective traumas are one and the same in these texts. I also analyze a performance of Louis Armstrong to emphasize jazz performance as testimony. 1 Next, Kafka‘s ―Josefine the Singer or The Mouse People‖ serves to demonstrate the role of the performer in the representation and creation of a people or nation, while Josephine Baker appears as a concurrent example of the same. The singer (and/or her song) is the voice of the people and the screen upon which they reflect their collective identity. For Kafka, there is no mouse people without Josefine, and her power to create a people transcends even her abilities as a singer. Josephine Baker, too, manages to create a 1920s Paris with a talent that is contested to this day. Her life and art tell a story of survival and triumph that also reveal the history of trauma that made her story possible. Finally, Al Jolson‘s The Jazz Singer (1927) documents the beginning of the end of a very long tradition of blackface minstrelsy, a tradition which was integral in forming American popular music. Viewing this 1920s conception of ―jazz‖ music as ―black‖ music appropriated by American Jews underscores the complex history and place of jazz music in America‘s modern period. Although blackface minstrelsy has had its history rewritten repeatedly, it will remain implicated in the trauma of American racism. Understanding jazz and its musical legacy as an archive of American trauma should serve two purposes. Recognizing it as traumatic testimony will hopefully call attention to the imperative to witness to it as such. It should also emphasize what exactly is at stake in this witnessing. The survivors of trauma, the inheritors of the legacy of slavery, will continue to testify to that ever-evolving trauma. Perhaps, if we strive to listen, to recognize and be witnesses to that testimony, the careful formation of new unbroken subjectivities can finally begin. 2 —For Lula i ii Acknowledgements Were I to say that it takes a village to write a dissertation, that might easily be misconstrued as a concession to the analogy that writing a dissertation is like giving birth—an analogy I will never concede. So no, mother, it‘s still not the same and I will tell you once again if I ever give birth. However, the village part is true. This already strange text would be absurd without the help of my loving village. Thank you to my advisers Judith Butler, Chana Kronfeld, and Linda Williams for your alchemy, for turning an inkling into a dissertation. Judith, you continue to teach me independence , acceptance and breakthrough thinking. You are, by far, the sharpest black woman I know. Chana, your genius, strength, and kindness made finishing possible; you truly make me want to be a better Jew. Linda, thank you for challenging me to work outside of my discipline and comfort zone. To my secret weapon, Jillian Settle, thank you for lending your eagle-eye to this document. Every word here stands on the foundation of your love and support. To my unlikely miracle, Edward Givens, thank you for doing everything I couldn‘t. To my father Tyrone Singleton, thank you for the jazz gene, your precious musical insight and jazz indoctrination. To my mother Marion Singleton, thank you for your gift of argumentativeness, tirelessness and perfectionism, of which I inherited just enough to get by. I owe you both for multilingualism and writing skills. To my beloved grandmother, Lula Fae Mason, how did you make all of us feel like we were secretly your favorite? I‘m glad I inherited your ability to listen to the same song hundreds of times and never tire of it. I couldn‘t have written this without it. Thank you to the rest of my supportive family for all of your help on this project. Tomeiko and Dennis Givens, Alizé Spencer, Obediah Blaché, and Rosaline Sellers all helped me with invaluable research. Thank you to my extended musical and multilingual family, Robert Settle and Caron Settle-Parnell. To friends and colleagues I also give many thanks: Nicholas Jones, Ana Cara, Ernst van Alphen, Joel Katz, Mark Sandberg, David Copenhafer, Aminah Williams, Erica Roberts, Ahmed Darwish, Shannon Burson, Jackie Stevenson and Karen Checkoway. Thank you to Josephine Moreno and for thirteen years of support from the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. Finally, Emma Rivkah Howell. Emma, we should have (and would have) argued over every word here. Thank you for teaching me that life is beautiful. I guess this is my first book of nightmares. iii iv Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Strange Fruit: Song of a Century 31 Holiday‘s ―Strange Fruit‖ 47 India.Arie Performs ―Strange Fruit‖ 54 Chapter 2: Song to the Devil: The Traumatic Voice of Corregidora, Invisible Man, and Louis Armstrong 65 Corregidora (Gayl Jones) 66 Song to the Devil 71 Invisible Witness (Ralph Ellison) 73 Deconstructing Dinah (Louis Armstrong) 79 Chapter 3: Josefine, Josephine, and the Power of Song 93 Josephine Baker, the Singer, the Dancer, or Paris 1920s 104 Baker on Film 121 Chapter 4: Civil Memory Wars: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Battle over Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer (1927) 135 Blackface and Lynching 155 1927 161 The Jazz Singer 162 Last Words on ―Jazz‖ 181 Bibliography 187 v vi Introduction Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin' on by,a you know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life For me And I'm feeling good — Nina Simone, ―Feeling Good‖1 The sublime tension between ―feeling good‖ and the distempered, anxious dissonance of minor blues chords I hear when Nina Simone sings "Feeling Good" has led me to connect trauma and jazz. "Is this a happy song?" I've asked numerous people and numerous people have said: yes. When I asked my father what he thought, his words summed up the song better than I ever could, which is why I start with them now: "Feeling Good" is a Nina Simone classic that is historical. If you can sit through this song and not be moved emotionally at least a little, then you should get checked to see if you're still alive. Like most blues songs, it is not that technical, musically speaking. It is a standard 12 bar blues which is pretty simple for most musicians. I think one of the gripping aspects of the song is the dichotomy of the lyrics that are so happy, hopeful and positive set against a background of music that is somewhat dark, projects sadness, hopelessness and fear, probably associated with the plight of most Black folk at the time (1960s). Not to mention her subtle yet powerful voice that presents the lyrics almost as a plea. Her plea is filled with determination to have what is in those happy lyrics regardless of the grim reality that is in the music—likewise, the reality of unemployment, homelessness, police brutality, disenfranchisement from society and possibly any number of addictions all around her.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hip-Hop's Diversity and Misperceptions
    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Honors College Summer 8-2020 Hip-Hop's Diversity and Misperceptions Andrew Cashman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors Part of the Music Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HIP-HOP’S DIVERSITY AND MISPERCEPTIONS by Andrew Cashman A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Degree with Honors (Anthropology) The Honors College University of Maine August 2020 Advisory Committee: Joline Blais, Associate Professor of New Media, Advisor Kreg Ettenger, Associate Professor of Anthropology Christine Beitl, Associate Professor of Anthropology Sharon Tisher, Lecturer, School of Economics and Honors Stuart Marrs, Professor of Music 2020 Andrew Cashman All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The misperception that hip-hop is a single entity that glorifies wealth and the selling of drugs, and promotes misogynistic attitudes towards women, as well as advocating gang violence is one that supports a mainstream perspective towards the marginalized.1 The prevalence of drug dealing and drug use is not a picture of inherent actions of members in the hip-hop community, but a reflection of economic opportunities that those in poverty see as a means towards living well. Some artists may glorify that, but other artists either decry it or offer it as a tragic reality. In hip-hop trends build off of music and music builds off of trends in a cyclical manner.
    [Show full text]
  • Singer Luciana Souza Interprets Chet Baker and Further Explores Her Brazilian Roots on Two New Albums
    Singer Luciana Souza interprets Chet Baker and further explores her Brazilian roots on two new albums. By Ted Panken • Photos by Bob Wolfenson 46 fall 2012 jazziz “I have a little story to tell you,” says vocalist Luciana Souza, Music from 1984 to 1988. “I became smitten by him — not as a recalling the third and final studio session that generated The man, but by his voice and music,” she recalls. “I dug his mood, Book of Chet (Sunnyside), a CD released in August comprising his sense of pitch, where he places the note in his voice and the 10 renderings of American Songbook jewels upon which Chet fact that he dealt with vibrato differently than other American Baker placed his distinctive stamp. “Right after lunch I decided singers — a straight tone, with a fast vibrato and a slower to sing ‘I Get Along Without You Very Well.’ We had rehearsed it, one.” During the early ’90s, while pursuing graduate studies at so I thought it would come out as easy as everything else. I was New England Conservatory, she augmented her knowledge by on mic, everybody wearing headphones, tuned, ready to go. They transcribing scat solos from several Baker recordings. All the started playing, and I froze. It felt so slow, and I didn’t know how to while, Souza adds, she was well aware of Baker’s influence on fit the words into the meter. I had a moment of feeling like death.” the way bossa nova trailblazer João Gilberto conceptualized the Souza’s producer, Larry Klein, her husband since 2006 and the projection of saudade, the famously untranslatable Portuguese father of their 3-year-old son, made a quick suggestion.
    [Show full text]
  • AN ANALYSIS of the MUSICAL INTERPRETATIONS of NINA SIMONE by JESSIE L. FREYERMUTH B.M., Kansas State University, 2008 a THESIS S
    AN ANALYSIS OF THE MUSICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF NINA SIMONE by JESSIE L. FREYERMUTH B.M., Kansas State University, 2008 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MUSIC Department of Music College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2010 Approved by: Major Professor Dale Ganz Copyright JESSIE L. FREYERMUTH 2010 Abstract Nina Simone was a prominent jazz musician of the late 1950s and 60s. Beyond her fame as a jazz musician, Nina Simone reached even greater status as a civil rights activist. Her music spoke to the hearts of hundreds of thousands in the black community who were struggling to rise above their status as a second-class citizen. Simone’s powerful anthems were a reminder that change was going to come. Nina Simone’s musical interpretation and approach was very unique because of her background as a classical pianist. Nina’s untrained vocal chops were a perfect blend of rough growl and smooth straight-tone, which provided an unquestionable feeling of heartache to the songs in her repertoire. Simone also had a knack for word painting, and the emotional climax in her songs is absolutely stunning. Nina Simone did not have a typical jazz style. Critics often described her as a “jazz-and-something-else-singer.” She moved effortlessly through genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, folk, classical, and even European classical. Probably her biggest mark, however, was on the genre of protest songs. Simone was one of the most outspoken and influential musicians throughout the civil rights movement. Her music spoke to the hundreds of thousands of African American men and women fighting for their rights during the 1960s.
    [Show full text]
  • Automotive List Price No
    Automotive List Price No. PL21.1WL Effective: September 1, 2021 Void: December 14, 2021 Order Anytime Day or Night by E-mail: [email protected] Many products listed in this price list meet or exceed AMECA, SAE and California Title XIII requirements. For details contact your regional sales office. Every effort will be made to hold prices through the end date. We reserve the right to increase prices on certain and/or all products. Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. is not responsible for typographical errors. ISO 9001 Registered QMS Follow us on WE'RE A GROUP OF PIONEERS WHO THRIVE ON CREATIVE INNOVATIONS Trusted to Perform means superior design, meticulous production, rigorous testing and total reliability in the field—where lives are on the line. 51 Winthrop Road, Chester, Connecticut 06412-0684 • (860) 526-9504 • www.whelen.com © 2021 Whelen Engineering Company, Inc “Made-To-Order Products” are defined as either models listed in this price sheet with a “††” symbol in front of the model field of each “made-to-order” model; or any model not listed in this price sheet. TABLE OF All such “††” noted models or those not listed in this price sheet are NCNR (special order, non-cancelable, non-returnable). Please allow sufficient time for production, as these models may require multiple CONTENTS machines for the processing of these special parts. Dash/ Deck/ Visor ............................................................1 Lightbars, Mini ..............................................................40 Dash/ Deck/ Visor, Directional .......................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Kronos Quartet Performing Three from Its Fifty for the Future Initiative, Including the World Premiere of New Work by Anna Meredith
    CONTACT: Louisa Spier Jeanette Peach Cal Performances Cal Performances (510) 643-6714 (510) 642-9121 [email protected] [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2016 Press Room CAL PERFORMANCES AT UC BERKELEY PRESENTS KRONOS QUARTET PERFORMING THREE FROM ITS FIFTY FOR THE FUTURE INITIATIVE, INCLUDING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF NEW WORK BY ANNA MEREDITH COMMEMORATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN’S SILENT CRANES RECEIVES BAY AREA PREMIERE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2016 Berkeley, November 10, 2016 — Cal Performances welcomes back the Kronos Quartet for a concert featuring three works by composers from Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, on Saturday, December 3, at 8pm in Zellerbach Hall. Through its Fifty for the Future initiative, Kronos is commissioning a collection of 50 new works—10 per year for five years—from an eclectic group of 50 composers (25 men and 25 women); the new works explore contemporary approaches to the string quartet, designed for student players and emerging professional ensembles. Cal Performances is a major project partner for Fifty for the Future, which aligns closely with its Berkeley RADICAL initiative to cultivate artistic literacy in future generations. Of Fifty for the Future, Kronos Quartet artistic director, violinist and founder David Harrington told NPR, “What I hope will happen is that the art form is just going to expand. And the explorations that will be possible from this body of work will just bring a lot of new energy into the field.” The score for each of Kronos’ Fifty for the Future commissions will be made available to musicians free of charge, along with accompanying digital learning materials, recordings, and performance notes.
    [Show full text]
  • Blues Tribute Poems in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century American Poetry Emily Rutter
    Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2014 Constructions of the Muse: Blues Tribute Poems in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century American Poetry Emily Rutter Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Rutter, E. (2014). Constructions of the Muse: Blues Tribute Poems in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century American Poetry (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1136 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE MUSE: BLUES TRIBUTE POEMS IN TWENTIETH- AND TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY AMERICAN POETRY A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Emily Ruth Rutter March 2014 Copyright by Emily Ruth Rutter 2014 ii CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE MUSE: BLUES TRIBUTE POEMS IN TWENTIETH- AND TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY AMERICAN POETRY By Emily Ruth Rutter Approved March 12, 2014 ________________________________ ________________________________ Linda A. Kinnahan Kathy L. Glass Professor of English Associate Professor of English (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Laura Engel Thomas P. Kinnahan Associate Professor of English Assistant Professor of English (Committee Member) (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ James Swindal Greg Barnhisel Dean, McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Chair, English Department Professor of Philosophy Associate Professor of English iii ABSTRACT CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE MUSE: BLUES TRIBUTE POEMS IN TWENTIETH- AND TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY AMERICAN POETRY By Emily Ruth Rutter March 2014 Dissertation supervised by Professor Linda A.
    [Show full text]
  • Strange Fruit
    Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Strange Fruit antithetical to the South's purported values. The poem thus SUMMARY forcefully argues that no society can call itself civil and also be capable of acts like lynching; the South can’t be an idyllic The trees in the southern United States hang heavy with an “pastoral” place if black people’s corpses swing in the breeze. unusual fruit. These trees have blood on their leaves and at According to the poem, notions of progress and civilization are their roots. The dead bodies of black lynching victims sway nothing but hollow lies if such racism is allowed to thrive. back and forth in the gentle southern wind; these bodies are the strange fruit that hang from the branches of poplar trees. And, importantly, this racist hatred affects the entire tree—which becomes covered in blood “on the leaves” “at Picture the natural beauty and chivalry of the American South, and the root.” Just as a tree must suck up water from the ground where corpses hang with swollen eyes and contorted mouths. and spread it all the way through its branches, the poem implies The sweet, fresh smell of magnolia flowers floats on the air, that the "blood" shed by racism works its way through until suddenly interrupted by the smell of burning flesh. humanity. Lynching is thus a failure of humanity that results in Crows will eat the flesh from these bodies. The rain will fall on the rotting of the human family tree. them, the wind will suck them dry, and the sun will rot them.
    [Show full text]
  • Planning Board 1-17-2017
    PB 1/17/17 - Page 1 CHILI PLANNING BOARD January 17, 2017 A meeting of the Chili Planning Board was held on January 17, 2017 at the Chili Town Hall, 3333 Chili Avenue, Rochester, New York 14624 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairperson John Hellaby. PRESENT: David Cross, Matt Emens, John Nowicki, Ron Richmond and Vice Chairperson John Hellaby. Chairperson Michael Nyhan and Paul Bloser were excused. ALSO PRESENT: Michael Hanscom, Town Engineering Representative; David Lindsay, Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways; Eric Stowe, Assistant Counsel for the Town; Paul Wanzenried, Building Department Manger; Larry Lazenby, Conservation Board Representative. Vice Chairperson John Hellaby declared this to be a legally constituted meeting of the Chili Planning Board. He explained the meeting's procedures and introduced the Board and front table. He announced the fire safety exits. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Application of American Packaging, c/o Lee Foerster, 100 APC Way, Columbus, Wisconsin 53925 for resubdivision approval of Lot ARB1 of the 100 Beaver Road Resubdivision into two lots at property located at 100 Beaver Road in L.I. zone. 2. Application of American Packaging, c/o Lee Foerster, 100 APC Way, Columbus, Wisconsin 53925 for preliminary site plan approval to erect a 400,000 sq. ft. Light Manufacturing warehouse at property located at 100 Beaver Road in L.I. zone. JOHN HELLABY:I would remind everyone this application was presented at a December 13th Public Hearing where it was tabled at that time to allow for coordinate review of SEQR by other approving agencies, and I would also like to note this is an allowed use in the LI zone.
    [Show full text]
  • Singing in English in the 21St Century: a Study Comparing
    SINGING IN ENGLISH IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A STUDY COMPARING AND APPLYING THE TENETS OF MADELEINE MARSHALL AND KATHRYN LABOUFF Helen Dewey Reikofski Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2015 APPROVED:….……………….. Jeffrey Snider, Major Professor Stephen Dubberly, Committee Member Benjamin Brand, Committee Member Stephen Austin, Committee Member and Chair of the Department of Vocal Studies … James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music Costas Tsatsoulis, Interim Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Reikofski, Helen Dewey. Singing in English in the 21st Century: A Study Comparing and Applying the Tenets of Madeleine Marshall and Kathryn LaBouff. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), August 2015, 171 pp., 6 tables, 21 figures, bibliography, 141 titles. The English diction texts by Madeleine Marshall and Kathryn LaBouff are two of the most acclaimed manuals on singing in this language. Differences in style between the two have separated proponents to be primarily devoted to one or the other. An in- depth study, comparing the precepts of both authors, and applying their principles, has resulted in an understanding of their common ground, as well as the need for the more comprehensive information, included by LaBouff, on singing in the dialect of American Standard, and changes in current Received Pronunciation, for British works, and Mid- Atlantic dialect, for English language works not specifically North American or British. Chapter 1 introduces Marshall and The Singer’s Manual of English Diction, and LaBouff and Singing and Communicating in English. An overview of selected works from Opera America’s resources exemplifies the need for three dialects in standardized English training.
    [Show full text]
  • The Untold Story About the "Easy Living" Lyricist's Rendezvous with Billie During the United States Vs
    The Untold Story About the "Easy Living" Lyricist's Rendezvous with Billie During The United States vs. Billie Holiday; This Lyricist Is Embattled with Hollywood Chamber Over Installing the Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Awarded to Him 30 Years Ago SHERMAN OAKS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / The ongoing controversy carries on during the 2021 awards season between Leo Robin Music and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce over the star awarded to Oscar- winning lyricist Leo Robin on the Hollywood Walk of Fame more than 30 years ago but never installed. The Hollywood Chamber abandoned its obligation to install the star awarded to Leo Robin by the 1990 Walk of Fame Committee. With the upcoming Oscars ceremony on April 25, 2021, Leo Robin Music is going to share a fascinating story by Leo's niece never told before about how Leo Robin stood by the side of his dear friend Billie Holiday while the elites abandoned her. This back story was not covered by the film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, which is up for an Academy Award - Best Actress. Billie Holiday sings Havin Myself a Time In the independent spirit of the way she would lead her life, here is a recording in 1938, accompanied by a collage of photos, of Billie Holiday singing "Havin' Myself a Time," composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin More than 30 years ago, in 1988, both Cherie Robin, and actor, Bob Hope, wanted to see to it that Leo would be acknowledged for the legacy that Roy Trakin reported on in his Variety article, "Thanks for the Memory: How Leo Robin Helped Usher In the Golden Age of Song in Film." To this end, Cherie Robin and Bob Hope sponsored Leo for a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
    [Show full text]
  • Gloria Swanson
    Gloria Swanson: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Harry Ransom Center Descriptive Summary Creator: Swanson, Gloria, 1899-1983 Title: Gloria Swanson Papers [18--]-1988 (bulk 1920-1983) Dates: [18--]-1988 Extent: 620 boxes, artwork, audio discs, bound volumes, film, galleys, microfilm, posters, and realia (292.5 linear feet) Abstract: The papers of this well-known American actress encompass her long film and theater career, her extensive business interests, and her interest in health and nutrition, as well as personal and family matters. Call Number: Film Collection FI-041 Language English. Access Open for research. Please note that an appointment is required to view items in Series VII. Formats, Subseries I. Realia. Administrative Information Acquisition Purchase (1982) and gift (1983-1988) Processed by Joan Sibley, with assistance from Kerry Bohannon, David Sparks, Steve Mielke, Jimmy Rittenberry, Eve Grauer, 1990-1993 Repository: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin Swanson, Gloria, 1899-1983 Film Collection FI-041 Biographical Sketch Actress Gloria Swanson was born Gloria May Josephine Swanson on March 27, 1899, in Chicago, the only child of Joseph Theodore and Adelaide Klanowsky Swanson. Her father's position as a civilian supply officer with the army took the family to Key West, FL and San Juan, Puerto Rico, but the majority of Swanson's childhood was spent in Chicago. It was in Chicago at Essanay Studios in 1914 that she began her lifelong association with the motion picture industry. She moved to California where she worked for Sennett/Keystone Studios before rising to stardom at Paramount in such Cecil B.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CULTURE and MUSIC of AMERICAN CABARET Katherine Yachinich
    Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Music Honors Theses Music Department 5-2014 The ulturC e and Music of American Cabaret Katherine Anne Yachinich Trinity University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/music_honors Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Yachinich, Katherine Anne, "The ulturC e and Music of American Cabaret" (2014). Music Honors Theses. 5. http://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/music_honors/5 This Thesis open access is brought to you for free and open access by the Music Department at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Music Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 2 THE CULTURE AND MUSIC OF AMERICAN CABARET Katherine Yachinich A DEPARTMENT HONORS THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AT TRINITY UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION WITH DEPARTMENTAL HONORS DATE 04/16/2014 Dr. Kimberlyn Montford Dr. David Heller THESIS ADVISOR DEPARTMENT CHAIR Dr. Sheryl Tynes ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, CURRICULUM AND STUDENT ISSUES Student Copyright Declaration: the author has selected the following copyright provision (select only one): [X] This thesis is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which allows some noncommercial copying and distribution of the thesis, given proper attribution. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. [ ] This thesis is protected under the provisions of U.S. Code Title 17. Any copying of this work other than “fair use” (17 USC 107) is prohibited without the copyright holder’s permission.
    [Show full text]