Reclaiming the Right to Rock

ARCHIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE liner notes NO. 14 / 2009-2010 Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music aaamc mission From the Desk of the Director The AAAMC is devoted to the collection, preservation, and This issue of Liner Notes follows Michael Lydon and Portia Maultsby for dissemination of materials for several months of engagement with three his forthcoming book A Hundred Dollars the purpose of research and major projects. From January through Crooked: The Chitlin’ Circuit and the study of African American August 2009, the Archives’ traveling Road to Rock-N-Roll. Professor J. Andrew music and culture. exhibit Rock, Rhythm, & Soul: The Black Flory (Shenandoah Conservatory, www.indiana.edu/~aaamc Roots of Popular Music attracted large Virginia) researched the George and audiences at City Hall (Bloomington, Maultsby collections for his forthcoming IN), the Crispus Attucks Museum book I Hear a Symphony: Listening to (Indianapolis), the Black Cultural Center the Music of Motown. Emily C. Morry at Purdue University (Lafayette, IN), the (University of Rochester) conducted Evansville African American Museum research for her dissertation, “‘I Too Sing Table of Contents (IN), the San Diego County Fair, the America’: The Sense of Place in African Indianapolis Black Expo, and the Paul W. American Music, 1927-1992,” using the From the Desk of Ogle Cultural and Community Center at Nelson George, Karen Shearer, Charles the Director ......................................3 Indiana University Southeast (see story Sykes, Michael Lydon, William Barlow, in Liner Notes no.13). Portia Maultsby, Smithsonian Black Featured Collection: The Archives hosted a major Radio, and Dayton Funk collections. Roni Sarig ...........................................4 conference, Reclaiming the Right to The staff of the AAAMC contributed Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music, to scholarly and service initiatives of In the Vault: in November 2009 on the Indiana national institutions and organizations Recent Donations .........................5 University Bloomington campus. as well as those at Indiana University. The purpose was to document black Head of Collections Brenda Nelson- Regina Jones’ experiences in rock music, to explore Strauss was appointed director of the Soul Legacy .......................................6 rock’s roots in and relationship to Library of Congress National Recorded African American traditions, to initiate Sound Preservation Plan (June 2009- Reclaiming the archival collections, and to facilitate June 2010) and she served as consultant Right to Rock .................................10 scholarly research on this genre. The for the Resources in American Music lively two-day conference and week History II Project. Nelson-Strauss was Reclaiming the of pre-conference events featured also appointed chair of the Music Library Right to Rock— musicians, critics, and scholars from the Association’s Black Music Roundtable Student Coverage ......................12 East and West Coasts as panelists and and her chapter on “Religious Music” will performers. This historic event attracted appear in the Association’s forthcoming In Their Own Words: over one-hundred participants of all Basic Music Library (4th ed.). At Interviews with the ages and ethnicities from throughout the Indiana University, she is a member of Panelists .........................................16 country (see inside story). the Archives and Special Collections The Archives’ technical staff Month Planning Committee, the Media completed the GRAMMY Foundation® Preservation Survey Taskforce, and the Grant project, Pioneers of Rhythm Wells Library Special Collections Group. & Blues. This project digitized the Nelson-Strauss also edits the Archives’ On the Cover: interviews from the Michael Lydon music review website Black Grooves collection and my personal collection (www.blackgrooves.org). We encourage ARCHIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE (see story in Liner Notes no.13). Our staff your submission of materials for review liner notes currently is creating digital preservation and participation as reviewers of CDs, NO. 14 / 2009-2010 files for at-risk materials in the William DVDs, and books. Barlow (black radio), Mellonee Burnim Administrator/Project Manager (gospel), and Phyl Garland collections Ronda Sewald is a member of the Reclaiming the Right to Rock: (jazz, classical, and popular music). Association for Recorded Sound Black Experiences in Rock Music The Archives’ special collections Collections’ DACS for Archival Sound continue to attract visiting researchers Recordings subcommittee and Travel to campus. Michael Murphy (Wayne Grant Award committee. She also serves State University) conducted research for as the discographer for the Society for his dissertation on Detroit blues women Ethnomusicology and compiled the using the Nelson George, Karen Shearer, 2009 volume of the Ethnomusicology Suzanne Thomas Charles Sykes, and Portia Maultsby discography. At Indiana University, Photo by Hsinwen Hsu collections. Memphis writer Preston she is a member of the Encoded Artistic rendering by Dennis Laffoon Lauterbach examined the collections of Archival Description Working Group 2 en in music, music criticism, musical aesthet- From the Desk ics, and regional studies. The series will also of the Editor promote the publication of biographies and �� autobiographies of African American mu- �� On July 1, 2005, the world lost another sicians in an effort to document more fully �� African American musical legend—Luther the contributions of individual artists to the �� Vandross, who began his professional ca- development and proliferation of African �� reer in the 1970s as a background singer for American music. Two books are currently in �� many renowned artists and as a vocalist on production for the series: New Perspectives on commercial jingles. In the 1980s he quickly the Blues, edited by David Evans; and Black advanced to superstar status as a soloist and Women and Music: More than the Blues, edited �� balladeer. Even when hip-hop dominated by Eileen M. Hayes and Linda F. Williams. the American soundscape in the 1990s, Van- These are scheduled for release in 2006. dross remained popular among the masses, Since the mid-1990s, the AAAMC has col- �� a testimony of the power and influence of laborated with the African American Arts his songs. A gifted songwriter-performer, he Institute and the School of Music to spon- �� is best known for his smooth vocal timbre sor “Extensions of the Tradition,” a concert �� and passionate delivery of love songs, as series initiated by former Research Associ- � �� well as his spectacular live performances that ate Dr. William Banfield that showcases the �� featured an array of stage props. The tropi- �� works of African American composers. Our �� cal scenery (inclusive of palm trees); living �� 2006 concert is slated for February 26, 2006, room, bedroom, and dining room furniture; �� at 4:00 p.m. in the IU School of Music’s �� and the elegant formal gowns worn by his �� Auer Hall. The program will be announced � �� background singers gave each song its own �� at a later date. A corresponding exhibit is �� personal touch. Vandross simply was a clas- also planned for display in the Cook Music �� sic act. Similar to other musical legends such �� Library. �� as Ray Charles, who died in 2004, Vandross’s Over the past year, the staff of the live performances, original compositions, AAAMC participated in several publica- and distinctive vocal style will remain central tion projects and professional conferences. to the American soundscape through his re- Head of Collections Brenda Nelson-Strauss cordings, videos, radio and television com- attended the Music Library Association an- mercials, and movie soundtracks (see tribute nual conference in Vancouver, B.C. (Febru- inside). ary 2005) and the Association for Recorded As the AAAMC continues to document Sound Collections conference (in her ca- the contributions of nationally renowned pacity as president of ARSC) in Austin, African American musicians, we also rec- tives of Indiana musicians who specialized in Texas (March 2005). At the spring meeting ognize the need Dr.to Portiaacknowledge Maultsby announces Indiana the startreligious of the Saturday and contemporary morning conference popular session with forms. (left to right)of theReebee Midwest Garofalo, Tamar-kali,Archives MoeConference Mitchell, and held Greg Tate. artists. While some of the musicians from In our ongoing acquisition of materials, in Chicago in May 2005, she assisted in or- and the Metadata Discussion Group. our state have received national and inter- the AAAMCA Sustaining targets Vtraditionsoice,” the thatculminating are un- ganizingprovides a session critical on insight“Spreading into thethe Gos-role Sewald recently completed her Ph.D. event of the year-long series, Dr. of music and lesbian community national acclaim—such

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