THE EVOLUTION OF HILL COUNTRY MUSIC: AN EXAMINATION OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND MARKETING OF R.L. BURNSIDE AND JUNIOR KIMBROUGH By GREENBERRY B. TAYLOR III A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 1 © 2015 Greenberry B. Taylor III 2 To my loving and encouraging parents, Ann and G.B., and to the Hill Country bluesmen, R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS None of this would have been possible without my family. To my parents, Ann and G.B., my three sisters, Mallory, Shai, and Lauren, and my brother, Justin: You all provided me with unconditional support and words of encouragement during this process, and throughout my graduate school career. To my parents: I love you to the moon and back. To Mal: You always told me it wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when. Thank you for that. To my Gainesville family, Gary and Jeanette Green: I am forever grateful for you welcoming me as a member of your family, and the constant reassurance you both offered whenever I was weary. To Heather Perez: Your enthusiasm to read all of my writings always lifted my spirits and kept me confident in my decision to pursue academia. Furthermore, I want to thank the chair of my supervisory committee, Dr. Bernell Tripp, for not only her unwavering faith in my abilities as a writer and researcher, but for her belief in me as a person. Whenever I became overwhelmed by this thesis, or matters outside of academia, she was always there to provide a calming, and reassuring voice. Without her, I would not have been able to shape this thesis into the final product it became. I am also indebted to my other committee members, Professors Ted Spiker and Dave Carlson. To Professor Spiker: I cannot thank you enough for joining my committee without hesitation, and for your patience while I worked to complete this body of work. The Department of Journalism is very fortunate to have a chair so passionate about seeing students succeed. To Professor Carlson: From the moment I mentioned the word music you were on board, and your enthusiasm for my topic helped keep me motivated throughout this whole process. The insight you offered was invaluable, and I also thank you for your patience. Finally, I’d like to thank all of the people who gave their time to so willingly to speak with me about the Hill Country, and their experiences with R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. 4 The people are as follows: Cedric Burnside, Garry Burnside, Kenny Brown, Joe Ayers, Amos Harvey, Jim O’Neal, Dr. David Evans, Mark Camarigg, and Greg Johnson. Without you all, this thesis would not have been possible. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 10 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 13 Purpose of Study .................................................................................................................... 19 Review of Literature .............................................................................................................. 21 A Brief History of the Blues ........................................................................................... 22 The Artists: R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough ........................................................ 27 R.L. Burnside .......................................................................................................... 27 Junior Kimbrough ................................................................................................... 30 The Delta: Geography, History and Musical Style ........................................................ 33 The Hill Country: Geography, History and Musical Style ............................................. 38 African Origins and Their Influence on Hill Country Tradition: The Banjo and Fiddle .......................................................................................................................... 42 African origins: Senegambia region and the Wolof Tribe ...................................... 42 African links: fiddle and banjo ................................................................................ 44 African Origins and Their Influence on Hill Country Tradition: Fife and Drum Tradition ...................................................................................................................... 51 Military influence .................................................................................................... 51 African Origins: Senegambia, Bantu, Sudan – instruments and talking. ................ 52 Significance of Study ..................................................................................................... 61 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 62 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 65 Oral history interviews ............................................................................................ 65 Transcription and coding ......................................................................................... 66 Primary resources .................................................................................................... 68 Analysis and coding ................................................................................................ 71 Significance of Study ..................................................................................................... 74 Structure of Thesis ................................................................................................................. 75 2 NOT YOUR SAME OLD BLUES CRAP: FAT POSSUM, MARKETING AND ARTIST PORTRAYAL ........................................................................................................ 78 The Label ............................................................................................................................... 78 Not Your Same Old Blues Crap ............................................................................................ 80 Rough, Tough and Gritty: Fact or Fiction? ........................................................................... 87 Album Art ....................................................................................................................... 87 6 In the Media .................................................................................................................... 93 3 MEDIA COVERAGE: SHAKIN’ “DELTA” THROUGH THREE PHASES ................... 101 Pre-Fat Possum: Delta, A Convenient Catchall ................................................................... 102 Priming the Possum: Deep Blues and Robert Palmer ......................................................... 114 Post-Fat Possum: Shakin’ The Delta ................................................................................... 116 4 ORAL HISTORIES ............................................................................................................. 121 Narrative: Cedric Burnside .................................................................................................. 121 Biography ..................................................................................................................... 121 Growing Up In The Hill Country With Big Daddy ...................................................... 121 Big Daddy Loved To Play And Share His Music ........................................................ 123 The Sound Of Hill Country Blues ................................................................................ 124 Learning The Drums ..................................................................................................... 125 Defining A Juke Joint ................................................................................................... 127 Playing Junior’s Juke Joint Underage .......................................................................... 128 Junior Kimbrough ......................................................................................................... 128 Fat Possum .................................................................................................................... 130 Narrative: Garry Burnside ................................................................................................... 130 Biography ..................................................................................................................... 130 Learning Too Play ........................................................................................................ 131 Dad Loved Too Play And Share His Music ................................................................. 132 Relationship With Junior Kimbrough .......................................................................... 133 Junior’s Juke Joint .......................................................................................................