The Music of Donny Hathaway Everything Is Everything Donny Hathaway, 1970
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SUMPTUOUS SOUL: THE MUSIC OF DONNY HATHAWAY EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING DONNY HATHAWAY, 1970 Keisha Hicks A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2014 Committee: Angela Nelson, Advisor Rebecca Mancuso, Graduate Faculty Representative Ellen Berry Radhika Gajjala © 2014 Keisha Hicks All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Angela Nelson, Advisor The song “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway is played only once a year during the holiday season. His presence is so strong during the holidays for African Americans because he is one of the distinctive cultural markers of the season. The question at hand is why is he relegated to the Christmas season but what about the rest of the year. In 2010, National Public Radio (NPR) created the series 50 Great Voices as a way to expose NPR listeners to artists who were not at the forefront of public consciousness. On June 26, 2010 Donny Hathaway debuted as the “Neglected Heart of Soul” but does “neglected” hold up. I believe “neglected” becomes situational depending on who is doing the remembering. The objective of my dissertation is to locate Donny Hathaway as a central figure in 1970s Soul music, to understand his growing influence over contemporary artists, and his musical legacy. I used Stuart Hall’s “representation” as my overarching theoretical framework. I wanted a theory that would be fluid enough to be relevant in the different phases of Donny Hathaway’s musical career. By using representation I was able to identify and understand the musical influences on Donny Hathaway. The use of representation allowed me to understand the cultural production of young Black men and women as they challenged the “politics of respectability” of the times. I have always have loved 1970s Soul music. I never knew my combined passions for music and the narratives of the marginalized. I became interested in the musical legacy of Donny Hathaway because he was one of the major forces in early 1970s Soul iv music. In my dissertation I have situated Donny Hathaway’s music within an African American tradition, which is an amalgamation of Gospel, The Blues, Jazz, and Soul music. I wanted to give a voice to the importance of Donny Hathaway’s music because he often gets overlooked because of who his contemporaries were, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye. My desire for this project is to introduce a new way of understanding the musical legacy of Donny Hathaway. v I would like to dedicate my dissertation to my maternal grandparents. To my Grandfather Reverend Nathaniel Henderson who gave me the gift of modeling “dedicated study over a long period of time” as he read his Bible in his black easy chair. To my Grandmother Nellie Jane Henderson who was an Etymologists (Wordsmith) of the finest degree. The seeds you planted in me are coming into fruition everyday. If they had been born in different times they would have been fine scholars in their own rights. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Angela Nelson, thank you for affording me the freedom to be myself by trusting my process. Dr. Ellen Berry, thank you for the years of encouragement and for introducing me to a plethora of theorems and practices. You have made me a more sophisticated thinker. Dr. Radhika Gajjala, thank you for giving me strategies to navigate academia as a woman of color. Dr. Rebecca Mancuso, thank you for giving me a deeper understanding of time and listening for marginalized voices. The revisions you gave me were like manna from the heavens. Ms. Tori Arthur, thank you for seeing the beauty in my mess as you read my dissertation. I could not have gotten through this process without you. Dr. Thomas Edge, thank you for having a couch and an open door policy. Your unwavering support as you read my dissertation means the world to me. Dr. James Turner (Cornell University), thank you for having the patience to turn me into a world-class intellectual. Dr. Carole Boyce Davies (Cornell University), thank you for telling me to do my work on Donny Hathaway. Professor Abdul Nanji (Cornell and Columbia Universities), I would like to thank you for being willing to share a spot of tea with me on the days when I needed direction and encouragement. Mr. Eric Acree (Cornell University), you are the most well and widely read person I know. Thank you for being willing to help me find rare articles even after I have left Cornell. Dr. Robert Allen (University of California, Berkeley), thank you being my intellectual father and for demanding intellectual fearlessness and excellence. Your guidance has been immeasurable. Dr. Waldo Martin (University of California, Berkeley), thank you for starting every lecture with music. You planted the seed for my dissertation by playing Donny Hathaway in an intellectual space. Heru Setepenra Heq-M-Ta, thank you for being my intellectual brother. We have weathered some storms over the years. Those vii who know, know. Luqman & Ryann Abdullah, Thank you for being my intellectual brother and sister in the beautiful struggle. You are my example that Black love does exit. I would like to acknowledge my Aunt Florence Mayfield for instilling in me utter fabulousness. I would also like to acknowledge my Aunts Kathryn Henderson, Pamela Randall, and Jeannelle Johnson for giving their unconditional love and support. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER ONE: THE GHETTO………………………………………………………..... 1 Introduction…………….…………………………………………………………… 1 Statement of the Problem …..………………………………………………………. 1 Background and Significance ………………………………………………………. 5 Neo-Soul and National Public Radio (NPR)….……………………………. 6 Conflicted Sites of Representation For Donny Hathaway…………………. 6 Scholarly Contribution……...........................………………………………………. 7 Review of Relevant Literature........................………………………………………. 8 Previous Works On Donny Hathaway………………………………………. 8 Enslavement and Black Religious Culture………………………………….. 10 Gospel……………………………………………………………………….. 14 The Blues…………………………………………………………………….. 16 Jazz….……………………………………………………………………….. 18 Soul Aesthetic……………………………………………………………….. 19 Soul Music……………………………………………….………………….. 21 Methodologies and Approaches......................………………………………………. 22 Resources.……………………………………………….…………….…….. 22 Black Media: Soul Train, Ebony Magazine, and Jet Magazine..….… 22 Key Terms.……………………………………………….………………….. 24 Neglect……………………………………………………….....…… 24 Overlook………………………………………………………....…… 24 vii Blackness……………………………………………………....…… 25 Soul Brother…………………………………………………....…… 27 Black Representation…………………………………….………………….. 28 Narrative Analysis……………………………………………....…… 30 Rhetorical Listening…………………………………………....…… 32 Black Masculine Studies.……………………………………....…… 33 Summary of Future Chapters………….......................………………………………. 38 CHAPTER TWO: ROBERTA FLACK, STEVIE WONDER, & MARVIN GAYE: THE SOUL MUSIC LUMINARIES………………………………………………………..... ................ 41 Black Representation……..………….......................………………………………. 41 Black Power………………….......................………………………………. 43 Donny Hathaway…………….......................………………………………. 44 Roberta Flack………………………………………………………………………. 45 Black Female Stereotypes…….......................………………………………. 45 Black Femininity ……....................................………………………………. 47 Black Is Beautiful……….…….......................………………………………. 47 Personal Reflection: Black Womanhood…………………………..………. 50 Personal Reflection: That’s Funky..................……………………..………. 52 The Politics of Respectability….......................………………….…………. 53 Washington DC……………..….......................…………………………….. 54 Mr. Henry’s Victorian Pub................………………………………. 54 You’ve Got A Friend................……….………………………... 54 Killing Me Softly With His Song................……….……………………….. 55 viii Stevie Wonder……………………………….............……….……………………… 57 The Deal: Stevie Wonder’s Independence…………..….........................….. 58 Black Identity …………..……………………………….........................….. 61 Black Power…………..…........................................................................….. 62 Cultural Articulations of Blackness...........................................................….. 63 Innervisions, 1973.....................................................................................….. 64 Marvin Gaye………………………………….............……….……………………. 64 What’s Going On (Album Cover).............................................................….. 65 What’s Going On (Album), 1971.............................................................….. 66 What’s Going On (Song)………….............................................................…. 67 Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)..............................................................….. 68 Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler).............................................….. 68 Make It Funky..............................................................……………………… 69 Donny Hathaway and His Contemporaries..….............……….……………………. 69 CHAPTER THREE: DONNY HATHAWAY: “NO OTHER ONE BUT YOU”…………. 71 The Black Church and Cultural Transmission…...........……….……………………. 72 Donny Hathaway and The Black Church..........……….……………………. 76 Howard University…………………………….............……….……………………. 77 Blackness………...…………………………….............……….……………………. 80 Soul Music..……...…………………………….............……….……………………. 82 The Aesthetics of Soul…………………...........……….……………………. 83 Personal Reflection: Soul………………..........……….……………………. 84 Black Popular Music Tradition…..…………….............……….…………………….