©Copyright by Kathryn Damaris Hobgood, 2013 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my Tulane University advising committee, John Baron, John Joyce, and Matt Sakakeeny; and to the friendly Newcomb Department of Music staff, Diane Banfell, Michael Batt, and Kathleen Crago. Thank you to the wonderful staff at the Hogan Jazz Archives, Bruce Raeburn, Lynn Abbott, and Nicole Shibatta; and to my friends at the Louisiana State Museum, Greg Lambousy, Beth Sherwood, and Arthur Smith. Thank you to the National Film Preservation Foundation. This study would not have been possible without the patient guidance of guitarists John Rankin and Chip Henderson. I am grateful. Joe Holland, Don Peterson, Claude Blanchard, Jr., Claudia Lee, Kay Kelly, Sam Brylawski, Jürgen Schwab, and Doug Pomeroy have been invaluable resources. So many others have encouraged me with their interest and given me great boosts in countless ways. The guitarists Leo Kottke, Mundell Lowe, Lloyd Wells, Les Paul, Frank Federico, and Marty Grosz have all been inspirational; special thanks to my buddy Steve Howell for lighting the match. Banjoists Jody Stecher and Steve Baughman, and guitarists John Stropes and Marshall Newman, your advice has been so helpful. Thank you to Mike Peters, Michael Brooks, Guy Van Duser, Tony Russell, Scott Black, Tad and Nancy Kivett, Sue Fischer, David McCain, Karl Koenig, Vince Giordano, George Schmidt, Jack Stewart, Justin Winston, Les Muscutt, Cliff Ocheltree, Don Marquis, George Buck, Charles Chamberlain, Allen Boudreaux, Bob Cassady, Tom Morgan, Dave Raudlaur, Cary Ginnell, Dave Sager, Richard Raichelson, Bill Trumbauer, John Brown, Wiley Hunt, Sara Berensen, Wynona Pollack Mitchell, John Colianni, Rob Hudak, David Garrick, Eric Brock, Joey Kent, and Chris Brown. Special thanks to Sally Asher, John Haffner, and Tom Stagg for the road trips and for cheering me on; to Adrienne Daly for helping me with the soup; and to the Quinn family, especially Foots, for the family resources, the adventures, and the kinship. To Mom, Dad, and my husband David Ray: thanks for having faith in me, and for giving me all the love and support I could ever need. For Eddie. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1 Review of Literature .................................................................................................... 4 Materials on Snoozer Quinn................................................................................. 4 Materials on Jazz Guitar History.......................................................................... 7 Significance of the Present Study................................................................................. 13 II. THE GUITAR’S EMERGENCE IN EARLY JAZZ....................................................... 17 III. MUSICAL ANALYSIS................................................................................................... 28 The Recordings.......................................................................................................... 28 “Pea Pickin’ Papa”............................................................................................. 32 “Out of Nowhere”.............................................................................................. 35 “Georgia on my Mind” ...................................................................................... 42 Roots of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar................................................................................ 46 Film Footage of Snoozer Quinn ................................................................................ 49 Implications ............................................................................................................... 54 IV. BIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 58 A Music-Filled Childhood in Bogalusa, Louisiana ................................................... 58 Blanchard’s Orchestra ............................................................................................... 68 Paul English Players .................................................................................................. 71 Texas Territory Work ................................................................................................ 73 Paul Whiteman, “King of Jazz”................................................................................. 81 An Itinerant Career and a Retreat from the Spotlight................................................ 90 V. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 102 APPENDIX 1. Chip Henderson’s Performance Notes and Biography.......................................... 105 2. Concert Transcription of “Out of Nowhere” ......................................................... 107 3. Jürgen Schwab’s Transcription of “Georgia On My Mind”.................................. 110 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 111 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Snoozer Quinn with Gibson L-5, c. 1927. ......................................................... 21 Figure 2. Discographical entry for the Jimmie Davis recording session of ...................... 29 May 26-28, 1931 for Victor Records. Figure 3. Discographical entry for the Quinn/Wiggs hospital recording.......................... 30 session of 1948-1949, as released by Fat Cat Jazz Records. Figure 4. “Pea Pickin’ Papa” as performed by Snoozer Quinn, transcribed..................... 32 by Chip Henderson. Figure 5. “Out of Nowhere” original melodic line transcribed by Chip ........................... 36 Henderson. Figure 6. “Out of Nowhere” embellished melodic line as performed by.......................... 36 Snoozer Quinn, transcribed by Chip Henderson. Figure 7. Bar 3-4 of “Out of Nowhere” as performed by Snoozer Quinn, ...................... 37 transcribed by Chip Henderson. Figure 8. First two verses of “Out of Nowhere” as performed by Snoozer ...................... 38 Quinn, transcribed by Chip Henderson, transposed into the key of G. Figure 9. Quinn’s performance of “Georgia On My Mind” transcribed by...................... 42 Jürgen Schwab (recreated by Chip Henderson). Figure 10. Top: Quinn in the open chord position. Bottom: Quinn using .......................... 51 moveable chords. Figure 11. Eddie Quinn in the 1924 Bogalusa High School Orchestra............................... 63 Figure 12. Eddie Quinn in 1924.......................................................................................... 65 Figure 13. Eddie Quinn served as business manager for the high school .......................... 66 football team in 1924. Figure 14. Mart Britt’s Sylvan Beach Orchestra of 1928 ................................................... 80 Figure 15. Louis Armstrong and Snoozer Quinn in Shreveport, La.. ................................. 96 Figure 16. Appendix: First two verses of “Out of Nowhere” as performed ..................... 107 by Snoozer Quinn, transcribed by Chip Henderson, concert key of E-flat. Figure 17. Appendix: Quinn’s performance of “Georgia On My Mind” ......................... 110 exactly as transcribed by Jürgen Schwab (with finger charts). iv 1 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Eddie “Snoozer” Quinn (1907-1949) was a pioneer of jazz guitar from Bogalusa, Louisiana. Overlooked in the majority of jazz anthologies and merely footnoted in most guitar history books, nevertheless the sparse information known about Quinn has passed through generations of serious guitar players like mythology, so much so that the great guitarist and inventor Les Paul, in his youth, sought Quinn out for consultation. “The only boy alive who has it on Eddie Lang, I believe,” wrote the saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer in his diary on the night he met Quinn.1 Quinn’s fabled abilities have only grown more mysterious with the passage of time; that modern day guitarists of the caliber of Leo Kottke have continued to pursue information about Quinn’s mythic abilities speaks volumes about how his talent impressed.2 What is known about Quinn is that for a brief period of time he performed with some of the biggest names in early jazz—such as Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Paul Whiteman, and the Dorsey brothers. It is documented that on April 30, 1948, Quinn was inducted into the National Jazz Foundation in New Orleans,3 where he shared top billing with Louis Armstrong and Stella Oliver, widow of Joe “King” Oliver, demonstrating that in his day in New Orleans—the widely acknowledged 1 Philip Evans and Larry Kiner, Tram: The Frank Trumbauer Story (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1994), 582. 2 Mark Hanson, “Leo Kottke: Fingerstyle Visionary Learns From Tradition,” Frets Magazine, May 1987. 3 National Jazz Foundation induction letter written to Quinn by NFJ President John Lester, April 30, 1948, courtesy Louisiana State Museum. 2 birthplace of jazz—Quinn was regarded as an important figure of jazz.4 New Orleans banjoist and guitarist Danny Barker considered Quinn “the best of all time.”5 Anecdotes of Quinn paint a vivid picture