An Oral History of Marching Band Traditions at Historically Black
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School March 2019 An Oral History of Marching Band Traditions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Claire Milburn Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Music Education Commons Recommended Citation Milburn, Claire, "An Oral History of Marching Band Traditions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities" (2019). LSU Master's Theses. 4906. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/4906 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Oral History of Marching Band Traditions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in The School of Music by Claire Ellen Milburn B.A., Jackson State University, 2017 May 2019 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Personal Vignette- “The game has not even started yet.” ........................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Review of Literature ...................................................................................................... 7 Post-Civil War Rise of Bands ...................................................................................................... 7 Wartime ....................................................................................................................................... 8 FAMU & William P. Foster ...................................................................................................... 10 The Public Arena ....................................................................................................................... 12 The 1960s Onward .................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3. Method ......................................................................................................................... 16 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 16 Researcher Identity and Perspective .......................................................................................... 16 Design ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Consent ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Participants ................................................................................................................................ 19 Rationale for JSU vs. SU Rivalry .............................................................................................. 21 Rationale for the Time Period ................................................................................................... 21 Analysis and Trustworthiness .................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 4. Historical Frame .......................................................................................................... 23 “It Was Like a Human Jukebox” ............................................................................................... 23 1947-1969- T. Leroy Davis and Ludwig Freeman ................................................................ 25 1969- present Isaac Greggs and beyond ................................................................................ 28 “Fine tune your sensory apparatus for the quintessence of contemporary sounds and maneuvers, the summa cum laude of bands, the Sonic Boom of the South.” ........................... 31 1948-1984 William W. Davis and Harold Haughton ............................................................ 35 1984- present: Dowell Taylor and beyond ............................................................................ 36 “There’s a lot of people that turn their nose up at HBCU bands:” The Impact of Segregation .......................................................................................................................... 38 The Influence of PWIs ........................................................................................................... 39 “Everything just has a love. It’s like gumbo, you just cook it with love and its just good”-The Influence of Local Music Cultures ....................................................... 43 Chapter 5. Pre- and Post-Game Traditions .................................................................................... 46 “It’s an event within itself”-The Fifth Quarter .......................................................................... 46 “I’m going to give Southern credit; they caused me to do a lot of things” Origins of The Zero Quarter ...................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 6. HBCU Bands Today .................................................................................................... 55 “It’s a blessing and a curse”: YouTube and Other Social Media .............................................. 55 “They don’t want no close contest, almost better than Southern-they expect you to wipe out the other band”: Pressure to Compete ................................................................... 59 “When the females in the audience start singing the other band’s tune you’re in trouble”: Getting House ............................................................................................. 60 ii “Rap, to me, great stuff. Lots of messages… but the music is woefully inadequate.” ............. 63 “SWAC is more in your face. MEAC is more… friendlier, shall I say” SWAC vs. MEAC ..................................................................................................................... 65 “It’s like a jazz musician is gonna have finesse and a blues musician is necessarily going to have a doggone different type of finesse.” ........................................... 72 Chapter 7. The Directors ............................................................................................................... 75 “HBCUs are musical too.” ........................................................................................................ 75 Proud Moments ......................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 8. Summary, Implications, Research Recommendations, and Final Reflection .............. 82 Implications for Music Educators ............................................................................................ 84 Research Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 85 Final Reflection/Personal Vignette: “In stories told years from now, this will be the game that changed somebody’s life.” ............................................................... 87 Appendix A: YouTube Video Links ............................................................................................. 91 Appendix B: IRB Exemption ........................................................................................................ 92 Appendix C: Interview Transcript Request Information ............................................................... 93 Appendix D: Interview Questions ................................................................................................. 94 References ..................................................................................................................................... 95 Vita ................................................................................................................................................ 97 iii This thesis is dedicated to all band directors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Thank you for your dedication to this craft and to your students. iv There are so many people I would like to thank. First, thank you to my advisor, Dr. Ann Marie Stanley, for encouraging me to pursue this project and guiding me along the way. Additionally, thank you to the other members of my committee: Dr. Jason Bowers and Dr. Kelvin Jones. Thank you for investing your time in my development. To my family, thank you for your support throughout my life and education. Without your abounding love and reassurance, my life would surely not be what it is. To Ashley Hunter, Jasmine Jordan, and Courtney Holmes, thank you for your unwavering friendship and encouragement. I would like to thank all of my professors at JSU, especially Lowell Hollinger and Roderick Little, for your continued guidance and assistance beyond graduation. I would also like to thank all of my participants.