ARCHIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE liner notes NO. 13 / WINTER 2008-2009 Rock, Rhythm, & Soul: The Black Roots of Popular Music liner notes final 031009.indd 1 3/10/09 5:37:14 PM aaamc mission From the Desk of the Director The AAAMC is devoted to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of materials for the purpose of research and I write this column on January music critics and scholars to discuss study of African American 20, 2009, the day our country and the socio-political history, musical music and culture. the world witnessed history being developments, and the future of black www.indiana.edu/~aaamc made with the swearing-in of the 44th rock musicians and their music. The President of the United States, Barack AAAMC will host one panel followed Obama, the first African American by a light reception on the Friday elected to the nation’s highest office. afternoon of the conference and two Table of Contents The slogan “Yes We Can” that ushered panels on Saturday. The tentative in a new vision for America also fulfills titles and order of the three panels are From the Desk of part of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “What Is Rock: Conceptualization and the Director ......................................2 dream for a different America—one Cultural Origins of Black Rock,” “The that embraces all of its people and Politics of Rock: Race, Class, Gender, Featured Collection: judges them by the content of their Generation,” and “The Face of Rock Patricia Turner ................................4 character rather than the color or their in the 21st Century.” In conjunction skin. The broadcast of Dr. King’s entire with the conference we are planning In the Vault: “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered concerts, film screenings, workshops, Recent Donations .........................5 on August 28, 1963 from the steps and an exhibit. For an update of details of Lincoln Memorial as part of the as they develop, please visit our website inaugural activities, was both timely (www.indiana.edu/~aaamc). This AMGP Book Series .......................6 and fitting, as was the celebration of Dr. project is partially funded by Indiana Martin Luther King, Jr. the day before University’s New Frontiers in the Arts Ronda L. Sewald Joins this momentous event. and Humanities through the Lilly AAAMC Staff ...................................7 Against the excitement of today, I Endowment and is administered by the recount the activities of the AAAMC Office of the Vice Provost for Research. AAAMC Receives Award over the past twelve months. We The AAAMC’s collections continue from the GRAMMY Foundation® focused our energies on three major to attract the attention of scholars Grant Program ...............................8 projects: developing a traveling and journalists. In August 2008, Scot exhibit, securing a grant to digitize Brown, Associate Professor of History The Bishop of the and African American Studies at Airwaves: An Interview selected collections, and planning a UCLA, returned to the AAAMC to with Al Hobbs ..............................10 conference on black rock music. The exhibit Rock, Rhythm, & Soul: The perform research for an article on Black Roots of Popular Music, which Roger Troutman and a chapter for a showcases materials from AAAMC’s book on SOLAR Records. To support collections, opened in Bloomington his research, Brown revisited the at City Hall on January 3, 2009 Dayton Funk Collection, but much and will travel to various venues in of his time was devoted to exploring Indiana and as far away as San Diego the Karen Shearer Collection, which (see inside story). Our second major contains transcripts for over 500 project, Pioneers of Rhythm & Blues, separate interviews with performers involves the digitization of recorded and other music industry personnel. interviews from two of our collections Additionally, Brown’s expertise in funk Rock, Rhythm, & Soul: A New and is supported by a grant from the enabled him to give the AAAMC staff Exhibit Traces and Shares the GRAMMY Foundation® (see inside some valuable feedback on the funk Influence of Black Musicians on story). banners during the production phase Popular Music ..............................13 The AAAMC’s third project is a of our Rock, Rhythm, & Soul exhibit. conference on black rock—entitled RJ Smith, the senior editor for Los Getting to Know Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Angeles magazine and the author of The Linda Tillery.....................................16 Experiences in Rock Music—and is Great Black Way: L.A. in the 1940s and designed to initiate archival collections the Lost African-American Renaissance Index for Black Grooves, and facilitate scholarly research on (PublicAffairs 2006), also visited the Nov. 2007-Oct. 2008 ..............19 this genre. Scheduled for November AAAMC. Smith’s latest project, a 13-14, 2009 at Indiana University, biography of James Brown, brought On the Cover: this conference will bring together him to the Archives in November to Image of the lead banner for black rock musicians from different explore related holdings, including Rock, Rhythm, & Soul generations and regions along with an interview with Brown in the 2 liner notes final 031009.indd 2 3/10/09 5:37:16 PM ENINMUSIC MUSICCRITICISM MUSICALAESTHET ÊÀÊÌ iÊ iÃÊ ICS ANDREGIONALSTUDIES4HESERIESWILLALSO vÊÌ iÊ `ÌÀ PROMOTETHEPUBLICATIONOFBIOGRAPHIESAND >>>VÊÃÃ\ AUTOBIOGRAPHIES OF !FRICAN !MERICAN MU 4HE!!!-#ISDEVOTEDTOTHECOL LECTION PRESERVATION ANDDISSEMINA Ê /N *ULY THE WORLD LOST ANOTHER SICIANSINANEFFORTTODOCUMENTMOREFULLY TIONOF MATERIALSFORTHEPURPOSE !FRICAN !MERICAN MUSICAL LEGEND,UTHER THECONTRIBUTIONSOFINDIVIDUALARTISTSTOTHE OF RESEARCHANDSTUDYOF !FRICAN 6ANDROSS WHO BEGAN HIS PROFESSIONAL CA DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION OF !FRICAN !MERICANMUSICANDCULTURE REERINTHESASABACKGROUNDSINGERFOR !MERICANMUSIC4WOBOOKSARECURRENTLYIN WWWINDIANAEDU^AAAMC MANYRENOWNEDARTISTSANDASAVOCALISTON PRODUCTIONFORTHESERIES.EW0ERSPECTIVESON COMMERCIALJINGLES)NTHESHEQUICKLY THE"LUES EDITEDBY$AVID%VANSAND"LACK ADVANCEDTOSUPERSTARSTATUSASASOLOISTAND 7OMENAND-USIC-ORETHANTHE"LUES EDITED °Ê£ä]Ê>ÊÓääx BALLADEER %VEN WHEN HIP HOP DOMINATED BY%ILEEN-(AYESAND,INDA&7ILLIAMS THE!MERICANSOUNDSCAPEINTHES 6AN 4HESEARESCHEDULEDFORRELEASEIN DROSSREMAINEDPOPULARAMONGTHEMASSES 3INCETHEMID S THE!!!-#HASCOL ).4()3)335% ATESTIMONYOFTHEPOWERANDINFLUENCEOF LABORATED WITH THE !FRICAN !MERICAN !RTS HISSONGS!GIFTEDSONGWRITER PERFORMER HE )NSTITUTEANDTHE3CHOOLOF-USICTOSPON iÌÌiÀ ISBESTKNOWNFORHISSMOOTHVOCALTIMBRE SORh%XTENSIONSOFTHE4RADITION vACONCERT s&ROMTHE$ESKOF AND PASSIONATE DELIVERY OF LOVE SONGS AS SERIESINITIATEDBYFORMER2ESEARCH!SSOCI THE$IRECTOR WELLASHISSPECTACULARLIVEPERFORMANCESTHAT ATE$R7ILLIAM"ANFIELDTHATSHOWCASESTHE ÊÌ iÊ6>ÕÌ FEATUREDANARRAYOFSTAGEPROPS4HETROPI ¸ ÛiÊÜ iÊ « «Ê WORKSOF!FRICAN!MERICANCOMPOSERS/UR s$ONATIONS CALSCENERYINCLUSIVEOFPALMTREES LIVING `>Ìi`ÊÌ iÊÊ CONCERTISSLATEDFOR&EBRUARY ROOM BEDROOM ANDDININGROOMFURNITURE iÀV>ÊÃÕ`ÃV>«iÊ AT PM IN THE )5 3CHOOL OF -USICS s&EATURED#OLLECTIONS ANDTHEELEGANTFORMALGOWNSWORNBYHIS ÊÌ iÊ£äÃ]Ê6>`ÀÃÃÊ !UER(ALL4HEPROGRAMWILLBEANNOUNCED /TIS 'RIFFITH6IDEOS BACKGROUNDSINGERSGAVEEACHSONGITSOWN Ài>i`Ê««Õ>ÀÊ>}Ê AT A LATER DATE ! 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Sewald, OF Brenda MATERIALS Nelson-Strauss,IN#HICAGOIN-AY SHEASSISTEDINOR Portia K. Maultsby, Shilan Douglas, Rich Walter, OUR STATELangston HAVE Wilkins. RECEIVED PHOTO: NATIONAL Ronda L. AND Sewald INTER THE!!!-#TARGETSTRADITIONSTHATAREUN GANIZINGASESSIONONh3PREADINGTHE'OS NATIONALACCLAIMSUCHAS$AVID"AKER 7ES DERREPRESENTEDINTHESCHOLARSHIPON!FRICAN PEL $OCUMENTING !FRICAN !MERICAN 2ELI s$OCUMENTING4ECHNO -ONTGOMERY &REDDY (UBBARD * * *OHN !MERICANMUSIC!FORMINPARTICULARINNEED GIOUS-USICvANDPRESENTEDAPAPERDURING s5NEARTHING)NDIANAPOLIS SON +ETRAh+EKEv7YATT +ENNETHh"ABY Smithsonian Black Radio Collection andOFFURTHERSTUDYISELECTRONICDANCEMUSIC Maureen Mahon’s book, Right to THISSESSIONONh!RIZONA$RANESAND%ARLYInstruments at the Musical Instrument FACEv%DMONDS !FTER 4HE*ACKSONALSOan extensive interview with Bobby Byrd,!LTHOUGHTHEEARLYSTYLESOFTHISMUSICWERE Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and 'OSPEL-USIC2ECORDINGSv/THERSPEAKERSMuseum in Phoenix last spring. Sunni &UNK3OUL KNOWNAS4HE*ACKSONS ,A-AR#AMPBELL former vocalist and keyboardist with CREATEDPRIMARILYBY!FRICAN!MERICANS