Reconsidering Mckinney's Cotton Pickers, 1927–34: Performing
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Reconsidering McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, 1927–1934: Performing Contexts, Radio Broadcasts, and Sound Recordings A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory of the College-Conservatory of Music by Alyssa Mehnert BM, University of Cincinnati, 2007 MM, Indiana University, 2012 Committee Chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD ABSTRACT Jazz scholars and musicians consider McKinney’s Cotton Pickers (hereafter MKCP), a Detroit-based dance band active from 1923 to 1941, to be one of the important black dance bands of the 1920s.1 However, this band has received little attention in jazz scholarship when compared to its contemporaries, the Ellington, Henderson, and Calloway orchestras.2 John Chilton published a short book on the band, titled McKinney’s Music: A Bio-Discography of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers in 1978, and Gunther Schuller provided detailed analysis of John Nesbitt’s arrangements for the band in his volume The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945. However, Chilton overlooked many details regarding the band’s history, particularly its radio presence, and Schuller espoused a negative view of many of Donald Redman’s arrangements for the band. This study provides new information regarding MKCP’s performing context, radio broadcasts, recordings for Victor, touring schedule, and audience reception. I draw from newspapers (particularly radio schedules, music criticism, and letters from readers), as well as oral histories, sales catalogues published by Victor records, and transcriptions of MKCP’s recordings. In order to move away from a focus on recordings as autonomous objects in jazz historical writing, this study responds to Lydia Goehr’s call to reconcile the aesthetic and 1 John Chilton, McKinney’s Music: A Bio-Discography of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers (London: Bloomsbury Book Shop, 1978), 1. 2 Jeffrey Magee and Mark Tucker’s books on Henderson and early Ellington, respectively, stand out as landmarks in the field. (Jeffrey Magee, The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz [New York: Oxford University Press, 2005]; Mark Tucker, Ellington: The Early Years, Music in American Life [Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991].) ii historical by considering how “empirical space” influenced the musical space of MKCP’s recordings.3 MKCP started as a regional broadcasting dance band and quickly gained status as a nationally recognized dance band and Victor recording artist. After 1930 changes in entertainment industry caused MKCP to shift from its permanent engagement at the Graystone Ballroom and on radio to instead work as a regional touring dance band, like many bands at this time straddling the national and regional. The challenge of these rigorous tours coupled with management problems likely caused the band’s decline. MKCP’s history coincides the developing popularity of radio, the practice of early electrical recording at Victor, and the increase in territory band touring after 1930. Documentation of this band’s popularity as recorded in newspapers and oral histories reveals the nature of audience reception of dance orchestras during this period. Analysis of the MKCP’s recordings shows that the band and its arrangers responded to audience taste for a balance of precision and entertainment. Finally, a revolving door for musicians between the MKCP and the Ellington, Henderson and Calloway Orchestras, coupled with increased touring in the 1930s, contributed to the homogenization of the arranged big band sound that became popular during the Swing Era. 3 Lydia Goehr, “Writing Music History,” History and Theory 31 (1992): 195. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the end of writing this dissertation, I am now convinced that individuals do not write dissertations and earn doctoral degrees alone. This process has been a team effort. Perhaps institutions should consider awarding the degree to groups of family, friends, and mentors rather than to individuals! I want to start by thanking my advisor, bruce mcclung. He has always provided wise research guidance, professional advice, and unwavering support in the discipline. I also thank him for patiently devoting time to provide detailed and constructive comments on this dissertation. I also want to thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Daniel Goldmark, Stephen Meyer, and Jennifer Doctor. Dr. Goldmark volunteered to serve on my committee and has been a supportive sounding board for research ideas and has provided much professional guidance. Words fall short of expressing the extent to which Dr. Meyer has supported all musicology students at CCM since he arrived in 2015. He has provided a kind place to discuss challenges ranging from research and writing to “life outside CCM.” He is attentive to students and is always willing to read a draft or write a recommendation letter at the last minute. Additionally, Dr. Doctor has been endlessly helpful and supportive of my writing and professional development. She has been willing to set aside time to discuss literature and research challenges and provide guidance, as well as provide detailed feedback on my writing. I’d also like to thank all the other CCM faculty that I have studied with during my time at the college for their time and support. In order to produce this study, I have had wonderful opportunities to do archival research. I would like to express my appreciation to the Cincinnati Branch of the English Speaking Union, the Institute for Jazz Studies (IJS), and the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs for grants supporting v this travel. In particular I thank Tad Hershorn and the staff members at IJS for their enthusiastic assistance and sharing of ideas during my time there. I would also like to thank the audio engineers at the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive at Syracuse University for creating high- quality digital copies of MKCP’s recordings from the original 78s. Additionally, I thank Carleton Gholz and the Detroit Sound Conservancy for providing advice on finding materials, making Graystone Ballroom materials available before completion of indexing, and for serving as a sounding board on how to contribute to the revitalization of Detroit’s music history from before the Motown era. I want to thank my musicology and music theory student colleagues inside and outside CCM. My peers, who are at various points in this program, have always been eager and willing to read a draft, to offer feedback to work out new intellectual ideas, and to provide excellent company during the long, sometimes isolating periods of writing. The colleagues who I have met during my time in this program have been one of the best parts of my experience, and so I must take the space to honor these other young music scholars at the beginning of their careers. My husband, Eli Gallegos, has provided boundless emotional support and tolerated my odd schedule and habits during the long dissertation writing process. He has never once complained about the sacrifices we both had to make so I could complete this degree. I could not have finished without him. In addition to Eli, my parents have also provided crucial emotional support, encouragement to stay on track, and the occasional casserole. vi Table of Contents Introduction 1 Background 3 Literature review 15 Methodology 38 Part I: Rise of MKCP 1921–26 Chapter 1. Formation of MKCP and its Contract with the NAC, 1921–26 44 Economic conditions for forming a dance orchestra 44 The Synco Trio’s early formation 46 The Synco’s early style 51 Jean Goldkette, Charles Horvath, and the NAC 52 Making McKinney’s Cotton Pickers 60 MKCP at the Graystone Ballroom 61 Part II: MKCP as a Nationally Recognized Dance Orchestra, 1927–30 Chapter 2. MKCP’s Radio Presence, 1927–30 67 WJR and the Detroit Free Press 68 Listening to MKCP live on WJR 77 Summary of MKCP radio presence 79 MKCP, radio, and race 81 Construction of blackness on the radio 83 Radio, black music, and the domestic sphere 85 Constructed race and transgressed boundaries: Black music in the public sphere 91 Chapter 3. MKCP’s Recordings for Victor, 1928–31 97 Recordings as vernacular practice 98 MKCP records in Victor’s studios 99 Listening to Victor’s recordings 106 Victor’s marketing practices 109 MKCP and Victor’s race and mainstream labels 112 Chapter 4. MKCP on Record 125 Transcribing and analyzing recordings 127 Music criticism in the black press 130 The “partitioned” arrangement 136 Entertainment 144 Musical variety as entertainment 153 Arranging inside the strain 174 Part III: Decline of MKCP as a Regional Touring Dance Orchestra, 1930–34 Chapter 5. MKCP’s Touring Activity and Decline, 1930–34 185 Time period and materials 189 Newspaper advertisements 190 vii Touring bands and state highway infrastructure 193 MKCP touring activities: Locations and venues 195 Touring benefits 202 Touring difficulties 210 MKCP’s decline 219 Conclusion: Towards a New Historiography of the Swing Era 222 Bibliography 227 Appendix A. Items of Relevance in the Detroit Free Press, 1927–35 235 Appendix B. MKCP Victor Recordings, 1928–31 248 Appendix C. MKCP Tour Dates, 1929–33 251 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: MKCP NYC and Camden Recording Locations, 1929–31 104 Table 3.2: MKCP Southern Music Copyright Holdings 111 Table 4.1: Pittsburgh Courier Letters to the Contest Editor Discussing “Jungle” Music 171 Table 4.2: “To Whom It May Concern,” Orchestration Diagram of 1'52"–2'47" 180 Table 5.1: MKCP Tour Spring 1930 196 Table 5.2: MKCP Selected College Dance Date Announcements 199 Table 5.3: Press Coverage of MKCP West Coast Tour 206 ix LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 4.1: George W. Meyer, Sidney D. Mitchell, “To Whom It May Concern,” recorded by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, December 17, 1930, Victor 23035, transcription of first eight measures of opening chorus, 0'09"–0'21" 143 Example 4.2: Joe Grey and Arthur Gibbs, “Rocky Road,” recorded by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, November 3, 1930, Victor 22932, transcription of out chorus lead lines, 1'52"–2'04" 143 Example 4.3: J.