Black Musicians in String-Bands in the American South, 1920 – 1950
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Strings Attached: Black Musicians in String-bands in the American South, 1920 – 1950 By Kathleen A. Danser A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Music University of Alberta © Kathleen A. Danser, 2018 ii ABSTRACT Black musicians in string-bands in the American South during the period 1920–1950 were remarkably resilient to social, political, and cultural forces while also actively creating cultural products. The breadth of their musical activities and networks of interconnectivity expands our knowledge and indicates significant contributions to black cultural productions during this period of time. Their imprint on the fabric of American popular music is indelible, characterized by adaptive, innovative, and creative practices. Centering this discussion on black musicians and their activities in string-bands highlights their diversity as it relates to genre, musicianship, and the navigation of varied performance spaces. Black musicians who performed in string-bands had highly developed skills on their instruments and were recognized as experts on their instru- ments and as professionals in the music industry. Those with long music careers had deep networks of connections to and mentorship from other professional musicians, along with a flexible repertoire that would allow them to adapt to any audience in any context, a performative stratagem, an understanding of how to prolong their lives as independent musicians, and the freedom to travel. The early musical career of Gus “Banjo Joe” Cannon from Clarksdale, Mississippi and, later, nearby Memphis, Tennessee is one example iii of many who demonstrate the aforementioned qualities and focus this dissertation. iv This thesis is an original work by Kathleen A. Danser. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “WITH A SKIFFLE & A SHUFFLE: INTEGRATED MUSICAL EXCHANGES IN PRE-BLUES AMERICA”, Pro00061318, JANUARY 21, 2016. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the enduring support, guidance, and encouragement through the years from my advisor, Dr. Michael Frishkopf. Special thanks as well to my committee members who continually went out of their way to challenge me to think deeply and to trust my own ways of knowing: Dr. Christina Gier, Dr. Sharon Romeo, and Dr. Brian Fauteux. Also, much appreciation for Dr. Gregory Reisch and all the staff at the Centre for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University, Dr. Chris Goertzen at the University of Southern Mississippi, Eric Dawson at the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), Knoxville historian and journalist, Jack Kneely, Daniel Koulack, and my external examiner, Dr. Gregory Hansen from Arkansas State University. I would also like to thank the Social Sciences Humanities and Research Council of Canada for three years of funding and the Department of Music together with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Alberta for offering awards, scholarships, assistantships, and teaching opportunities. Thanks to Dr. Renee Polzhein for her early support of my dissertation process and enduring support over the long haul from Dr. David Gramit, Dr. Deanna Davis, Wayne & Bernice Chesley, Marc Colbourne, and Nancy Lewis. Jill Chesley, my best friend and my wife, thank you for being in the trenches with me every single day of this doctoral pursuit. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES OR ILLUSTRATIONS viii GLOSSARY OF TERMS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Statement of Purpose 1 1.2 Background 5 CHAPTER 2: “GROOVE ‘EM SIDES BOYS!:” EARLY STRING-BAND RECORDINGS 41 2.1 Overview 41 2.2 Key Recording Centers 46 Louisville, Kentucky 46 St. Louis, Missouri 50 Charlotte, North Carolina 51 Memphis, Tennessee 56 Atlanta, Georgia 59 CHAPTER 3: AMERICA’S ‘CANNONS’ ON RECORD 63 3.1 Career Overview 63 3.2 Can You Blame the Colored Man? 68 3.3 Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes 80 CHAPTER 4: “HALLELU’, THERE’S BANJO JOE” 89 4.1 Hallelujah (1929): Background 89 4.2 Hallelujah (1929): Soundtrack 96 4.3 The Unnamed Banjo Player: Gus “Banjo Joe” Cannon 99 4.3.1 “Buck Dance Tune” 104 4.3.2 “Waiting at the End of the Road” 108 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 125 REFERENCES 129 Bibliography 129 Discography 136 Archival Collections 139 Interviews 140 vii Newspapers 141 Websites 142 Videos 145 APPENDIX A: LIST OF CD RELEASES OF BLACK MUSICIANS IN STRING-BANDS 1920 – 1950, AUDIO TRACKS AND LINER NOTES CONSULTED FOR THIS DISSERTATION 146 APPENDIX B: SELECTED RECORDINGS OF EARLY BLACK STRING-BANDS 151 APPENDIX C: BAXTER / GEORGIA YELLOW HAMMERS (1929 Contract) 161 APPENDIX D: CAN YOU BLAME THE COLORED MAN? (Transcription) 165 APPENDIX E: JUST BECAUSE SHE MADE DEM GOO-GOO EYES (Transcription) 173 APPENDIX F: BUCK DANCE TUNE (Transcription) 175 APPENDIX G: WAITIN’ AT THE END OF THE ROAD (Transcription) 177 viii LIST OF FIGURES OR ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Black minstrel musicians play instruments outdoors for a group of white soldiers in a camp, during the American Civil War, circa 1863. 19 Figure 2. Traveling medicine staging a minstrel show outside The Lumpkin County Courthouse, Dahlonega, Georgia, Circa 1942. 30 Figure 3. Memphis Medicine Show, circa 1920 31 Figure 4. Farmers listening to sales talk of patent medicine Vendor in warehouse during tobacco auctions, Durham, North Carolina, circa 1939. 32 Figure 5. Doctor Franklin Streets’ Washaw Indian Medicine Company from Kansas City, Missouri. In blackface, Jim Jackson (left) and Gus “Banjo Joe” Cannon (right) both recording artists and longtime med-show veterans. 33 Figure 6. North Mississippi multi-instrumentalist, Sid Hemphill (fiddle) and Lucius Smith (banjo). 37 Figure 7. Clifford Hayes & the Dixieland Jug Blowers. 38 Figure 8. Ohio River. 43 Figure 9. Map of the American South. 44 Figure 10. Map of Migration Routes followed by African Americans during the Great Migration. 45 Figure 11. Map of Key Recording Locations 46 Figure 12. “Jug Band” Arrested Noise Complaints. 47 Figure 13. Whistler & His Jug Band – Fox-Movietone Footage – Foldin’ Bed. 49 Figure 14. Gus “Banjo Joe” Cannon Musical Network (Danser 2018). 65 ix Figure 15. Gus Cannon in Blackface, circa 1935. 66 Figure 16. Cannon’s Jug Stompers, circa 1928. 67 Figure 17. Columbia Record Label, circa 1902. 81 Figure 18. Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes – Cover of Sheet Music. 82 Figure 19. Cast and Singers of Hallelujah! 98 Figure 20. Cast Member Playing the Banjo. 100 Figure 21. Cast Member Playing the Banjo (enlarged). 101 Figure 22. Gus Cannon at the Cotton Harvest Frolic. 102 Figure 23. Gus Cannon & Young Dancer. 103 Figure 24. Gus Cannon & Unidentified Jug Players. 103 Figure 25. Jim Jackson & King Vidor. 104 Figure 26. Sheet Music Cover of Waiting At The End of the Road 105 x GLOSSARY OF TERMS Black – this term is complex but was commonly accepted and preferred throughout my field and archival research among musicians, academics, and community members in the American South. It refers to a person with black skin who lives in the United States and whose lineage includes being a descendant of African slaves and free immigrants. It appears to be the term of greatest respect despite racial and ethnic complexities that the meaning can hold. Where possible, a musician’s ethnic background is discussed as fully as possible. Critical black theorist, Paul Gilroy, is a place to begin further exploration of the complexities of being a black person in America.1 Coon Songs – refers to a classification of music that was a part of racial stereotypes that formed the foundation of blackface minstrelsy.2 Downhome Blues – denotes rural blues musical styles whereby solo musicians often sang and played a stringed instrument. The performer - often black and male in early rural blues performances – wrote lyrics to song structures that were easily adaptable for improvisation.3 In my experience as a musician, this term is currently used to delineate between acoustic and 1 Paul Gilroy, Darker Than Blue: On the Moral Economies of Black Atlantic Culture, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010). 2 Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff, Ragged But Right: Black Traveling Shows, Coon Songs, and the Dark Pathway to Blues and Jazz, (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007). 3 Jeff Todd Titon. Downhome Blues: A Musical and Cultural Analysis (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1977), xvi. xi Chicago or electric blues styles. This style overlaps with string bands as many downhome blues musicians also played in string bands and adapted their repertoire to that type of ensemble. Folk music – Volkslied meaning folksong in German was first coined in the mid-16th century. Initially the term implied a ‘communal composition’ and an aesthetic of ‘dignity.’4 Through the centuries folk music remains relatively undefined although in the United States, the genre represents songs, song texts, oral and aural transmissions of her people whether they are rural or urban, blue or white collar workers. Folk music at this time in history seems to be that of cultural, sound construction that can be used for political or personal agendas worldwide.5 Some American ethnomusicologists have indicated that American folk music practices include but are not limited to (and varying greatly depending upon geographical region); gives the appearance of minimal structural and textual changes over time; unknown authorship of songs; disseminated orally and aurally through mentorship; songs that largely contain predictable patterns and short forms; and, songs that are added to the repertoire either directly from commercially driven mediated forms (e.g., radio, sheet music) or created in response to popular music 4 Carole Pegg, Folk Music, Grove Music Online, 2001. http://www.oxfordmusiconline. com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.00 01/omo-9781561592630-e-0000009933?rskey=cGS5iQ&result=1.