Two Steps from the Blues: Creating Discourse and Constructing Canons in Blues Criticism
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2001 Two steps from the blues: Creating discourse and constructing canons in blues criticism John M. Dougan College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Literature Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Music Commons Recommended Citation Dougan, John M., "Two steps from the blues: Creating discourse and constructing canons in blues criticism" (2001). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623381. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-nqf0-d245 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. TWO STEPS FROM THE BLUES: CREATING DISCOURSE AND CONSTRUCTING CANONS IN BLUES CRITICISM A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of American Studies The College of William & Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by John M. Dougan 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3026404 Copyright 2001 by Dougan, John M. All rights reserved. UMI___ ® UMI Microform 3026404 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dotfgan Approved, June 200, ur Dale Cockrell Vanderbilt University Jp Lomell George Washington University Kimberley Phillips Anne Rasmussen Department of Music Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In Memory Richard Dougan and Mark Tucker II miglior fcibbro Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT viii INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I: UPLIFTING THE BLUES: MAKING HISTORY AND CREATING DISCOURSE 11 CHAPTER II: (RECONSTRUCTING A MUSIC "WILD AND UNACCOUNTABLE": SAMUEL CHARTERS. PAUL OLIVER. AND THE (RE)BIRTH OF BLUES CRITICISM 99 CHAPTER III: OBJECTS OF DESIRE: COLLECTING BLUES RECORDS 156 CHAPTER IV: I AIN'T GOIN' TO PLAY NO SECOND FIDDLE: WOMEN WRITE THE BLUES 236 CONCLUSION 289 BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gonna get my Ph.D. Em a teenage lobotomy. Joey Ramone (1951 -2001) "One of us" I am the boogie man John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) I have often (perhaps too often) referred to my tenure in graduate school as my "midlife crisis.” I had no idea what I would encounter or how it would all turn out. but 1 felt that, despite my relatively advanced age, it was worth the risk. Thankfully. I was right. I can say that now because I had the good fortune to attend William & Mary when I did. and meet a group of scholars who. almost from the moment I arrived, treated me more like a peer than a student, and taught me more than I could have possibly imagined. Principal among this group is Arthur Knight. As my advisor and project director. Arthur was (and remains) unwaveringly supportive of my work. I envy the qualities that make him a fine teacher and scholar: analytical precision, thoughtfulness, insight, and his Zen- like ability to remain calm when I was anything but. There are few people from whom I have learned so much, and even fewer I admire more. While I recognize that this is a frequently overused expression, I can honestly say that I couldn't have done this without him. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Many students may make this claim, however I am confident that, from the start. I had the best dissertation committee: Dale Cockrell. Kip Lomell. Kimberley Phillips, and Anne Rasmussen who. along with Arthur, provided me with encouragement and enormously helpful criticism. My efforts were made better by their involvement. During my tenure at William & Mary, I was extremely fortunate to leam from so many talented faculty: Joanne Braxton. Mel Ely, Philip Funigiello. Grey Gundaker. Cindy Hahamovitch. Rich Lowry (whose comprehensive knowledge of basketball is second only to mine), and Scott Nelson. I would especially like to thank Bob Gross for not only being a great teacher, but for convincing me to attend William & Mary. I also greatly benefitted from befriending an incredibly intelligent group of fellow' grad students: Jody Allen, Anthony DeStefanis, Wendy Gonaver. Amy Howard. Jen Luff. Emily Mieras. and James Spady. I will see you all on the other side. Thanks to Scott Barretta at Living Blues for the book loans and advice, and to all of my students at William & Mary and Thomas Nelson Community College. It is not overstating the case one bit to say that I would not be in the position to write this had I not met Tom Shea over twenty years ago. Although my resume at the time read: college dropout, record store clerk, and rock drummer, Tom thought I had the skills and attitude to be a rock critic, and managed to talk an editor at theSpringfield Daily News into giving me a job. Whatever intellectual life I now have had its beginnings there. Thanks Tommy, I owe you one. * * * Sadly, there are two very important and influential people not here to share in the completion of this project. First is my father Richard, who passed on to me his love of v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. music and was directly responsible for my first memorable musical experience which consisted of my singing and dancing to Louis Armstrong as a toddler. Not surprisingly, our musical paths diverged wildly around the time the Beatles appeared on Edthe Sullivan Show — my rock and roll was his “noise"— but as we both got older, we discovered how much common musical ground we had. And while he never really understood exactly why I was doing this (certainly keeping the career I had beat going to grad school) he was proud of me in his own taciturn, quintessential^ Irish way. Mark Tucker also was not able to see this project through, one he had an enormous hand in shaping. It was my extreme good fortune to work with him for the short time he was at William & Mary, and had it not been for Mark this dissertation would have never gotten off the ground. While I was thrashing about offering up one unwieldy idea after another, it was Mark who helped me define the topic and kept me focused as I struggled with the early writing. I miss his advice, wit, insight, and intelligence. His chapter comments always concluded “victory is assured." a sentiment I wish had been true of the far more serious struggle he faced. * * * My deepest and most profound debt, however, goes to my wife Carol Smith. Carol had the hardest job, being the principal breadwinner while I was indulging my intellectual proclivities. I hope that now, with the breadwinning roles reversed. I can somehow begin to pay her back. She inspires me and remains at the center of my life, as she has from that life-changing moment on Pratt Street in Boston many years ago. It was her encouragement and understanding (not to mention her organizational skills) that helped me get through the worst of times (and there were plenty), and I am ever grateful vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that she has been with me on what has turned into a long, strange trip. I wouldn't have wanted to make the journey with anyone else. Lastly, there is our son Eamon whose interests are more inclined to Scooby Doo and Pokemon than the blues. He is a constant source of pride and joy and though only five, has taught me so much about what it means to be a man. VI i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the development of blues criticism in its myriad forms from the 1920s to 1990s. its role in the emergence of a blues discourse and history, and the codification of a blues canon. I analyze blues discourse principally as the creation of critics, historians, and musicologists, but also as the result of series of complex, imbricated relationships among writers, musicians, fans, record collectors, and independent entrepreneurs. Beginning in the 1920s, I outline a pre-history of blues discourse by examining the metamorphosis of the blues as a cultural text shaped by the folklore scholarship, criticism and reportage in the popular press, and the commercial ascendancy of the blues on record. Of special interest is the blues writing in the African American press and how these writers debated the cultural politics of music and interpretations of racial uplift ideology. In the post-World War II era, I focus on the works of Samuel Charters and Paul Oliver, specifically the former's The Country Blues and the latter'sBlues Fell This Morning. I examine how their writing influenced the blues revivalists of the 1960s.