Selling the Sounds of the South: the Visual and Verbal Rhetoric of Race Records and Old Time Records Marketing, 1920-1929
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Selling the Sounds of the South: The visual and verbal rhetoric of Race Records and Old Time Records marketing, 1920-1929 Luke Horton Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dec, 2011 School of Historical and Philosophical Studies University of Melbourne Abstract In the early 1920s, the phonograph industry in America began producing two very distinct record catalogues of racially segregated Southern vernacular music, one called Race Records and the other called Old Time (or 'Old Time Tunes', 'Songs of the Hills and Plains', 'Familiar Tunes Old and New' and towards the end of the decade simply 'hillbilly' records). In the marketing for these new catalogues, two completely separate streams of Southern music were presented, one purely white and one purely black, a separation that denied any possibility or history of the intermingling of the races, a bifurcation of a shared tradition which became a revision of Southern history, and a segregation in keeping with the race policy of the Jim Crow era. ‘Selling the Sounds of the South’ argues that the verbal and visual rhetoric of the marketing for these new catalogues of music (contained not only in catalogues themselves, but in advertisements, window displays, and other promotional material), presented a unique utilisation of Southern images that offered a new definition of Southern black and white music. While heavily reliant on existing constructions of white and black musical culture, the creation of these catalogues involved the recasting of major cultural tropes and resulted in an intertextual construct that itself was something new. The record industry's Old Time artist remained at the mercy of Southern stereotypes, but these musicians were neither simply the pious folk relics projected by folklorists nor the comic caricatures of the radio hillbillies, but rather more complex characters, personified by the dignified mountain entertainer who sometimes sang contemporary songs as well as traditional material and who was a product of both the modernist and anti-modernist impulse. Likewise, the verbal and visual rhetoric of Race Records drew heavily on existing models for selling black music, such as minstrelsy and songbooks of folklorists, and yet the mostly sophisticated, professional, urban, vaudeville performers who became the first Race Records artists, and the music they made, also had a significant impact on the marketing images of Race Records. While these rhetorics were decidedly Northern white conceptions, the fact that both catalogues were created in response to consumer enthusiasm for a vernacular musical culture had a huge impact on their marketing, and it is the matrix of cultural and commercial forces that makes these constructs such interesting examples of the commodification of culture in the burgeoning consumer culture of the 1920s. Put another way, the record industry's marketing imagery for these musics ultimately combined well-worn stereotypes with modern images that were inspired by, and to some degree produced by, this music and its practitioners, and this created a new version of Southern black and Southern white musical culture in 1920s consumer culture. This is to certify that: (I) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated in the Preface, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices or the thesis is [number of words] as approved by the RHD Committee. Acknowledgements It has been my greatest pleasure and privilege over the past four years to work closely with my supervisors in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne, David Goodman and Barbara Keys. Besides reading countless versions of these chapters, and assisting me with every stage of the PhD writing process, their enthusiasm, encouragement, and academic rigour, has sustained me through this project and I have learnt a great deal from both of them. One of the great things about writing a PhD is that, over a period of several years, you get to share your project with many people, and through papers given at conferences etc., I have had feedback from countless academics that has helped sharpen my ideas and clarify my arguments. Among the many great scholars that have commented on my work, I must make special mention of Susan Smulyan and Patrick Huber, whose enthusiasm for the project and whose advice I appreciate a great deal. I must also thank the staff at the libraries and archival collections where I did my research in the USA. The staff at the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and at the Recorded Sound Archives at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., were incredibly helpful and patient. While it is customary in acknowledgements to thank ones parents for their support and encouragement, I would have to thank my parents, John and Judy Horton, regardless of familial bonds, as this project would not exist if not for them. It was in my parent’s bookshelves and record collection that I found my love for both history and music. These treasure troves have provided me with the initial inspiration for much of my scholarship. My honours thesis at Latrobe University on Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music was inspired by the copy of the Anthology in my father’s record collection (and his expert commentary on much of its contents). Again, with this project, it was my parent’s record collection and their excellent library, which contains a large section of historical works on early blues and country music, that awakened me to the visual and verbal rhetoric of the advertising for these records and their import . Therefore, I owe my parents a huge debt of gratitude for the passion for books and music they have instilled in me, as well as for their constant encouragement and support. I am also in the incredibly fortunate position of having several brilliant academics in the family. Jessica Horton’s passion for good history has been a constant inspiration to me, and her insights into my own work vastly improved it. Undine Sellbach, with a PhD in Philosophy, has always offered new perspectives on the material of this study, and our many conversations over the years about the process of writing a PhD have been incredibly helpful. Lastly, and most importantly, I must thank Antonia Sellbach, whose love and support I could not have done this without, and whose experience with completing a Masters helped both of us keep perspective through all the ups and downs of writing a PhD. i Contents Illustrations......................................................................................................................ii Introduction.....................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Southern Vernacular Music Enters the Mainstream……………….24 Chapter Two: Out From Behind the Minstrel Mask: Race Records Advertisements in the Black Press in the 1920s……………………………………………………….50 Chapter Three: The Curious Character of the Old Time Artist as Presented by the Record Industry……………………………………………………………….90 Chapter Four: Cultural Uplift and the Talking Machine World …………………..117 Chapter Five: The Accommodation of a Commercial Reality: Race Records and Old Time in the Talking Machine World …………………………………………...139 Chapter Six: In the Press: The Reception of Race Records in the Black Press….168 Epilogue: What the Depression Did to the Marketing of Southern Vernacular Music ………………………………………………………………………………………...194 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………....201 Bibliography.................................................................................................................205 ii Illustrations 1.1 Victor ‘Race Records’ catalogue 1930……………………………………………..1 1.2 OKeh ‘Old Time Tunes’ catalogue 1927…………………………………………...2 2.1 Victor Talking Machine Company's 'New Victor Records' supplement, June 1907...................................................................................................................33 2.2 'A Musical Galaxy', Victor supplement, 1927........................................................37 3.1 Minstrel and Coon Song covers…………………………………………………..61 3.2 ‘Argufying’ and ‘Oh Boy’, Chicago Defender, September 21, 1927 and March 21, 1928…………………………………………………………………………….63 3.3 ‘Mr Freddie’s Blues’, Chicago Defender, October 11, 1924……………………..65 3.4 ‘Jazzbo Brown’ and ‘Mean Papa turn in your Key’, Chicago Defender , July 10, 1926, and June 21, 1924……………………………………………………...66 3.5 Columbia Ethel Waters ad, Chicago Defender , July 4, 1925…………………...69 3.6 ‘Sorrowful Blues’, Chicago Defender , May 24, 1924…………………………...71 3.7 ‘Organ Grinder Blues’ and ‘Aint Nothin’ Cookin’ what you’re Smelling’, Chicago Defender , November 17, 1928, and October 23, 1926………………..72 3.8 ‘Roamin’ Blues’, Baltimore Afro-American , January 4, 1924………………….76 3.9 ‘Brownskin Mama Blues’, Chicago Defender, April 21, 1928………………….80 3.10 ‘Hard Road Blues’, Chicago Defender , February 4, 1928……………………..80 3.11 ‘Ash Tray Blues’, Chicago Defender , September 1, 1928……………………...82 3.12 ‘He’s in the Jailhouse Now’, Chicago Defender , December 31, 1927………....83 3.13 ‘Jonah in the Belly of the Whale’, Chicago Defender , October 1, 1927………85 3.14 ‘Reverend J.M Gates’, Chicago Defender, Oct 20, 1928………………………86 3.15 ‘The Prodigal Son’, Chicago Defender , September 10, 1927………………….87