Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds - Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music (Hardcover)

The story of the Dixie Hummingbirds, seen as a case study of post-WWII changes in the record business and in gospel music. They got together in 1928 as a youthful church quartet in segregated Greenville, South Carolina. Their 12-year-old leader, James Davis, was "drawn to the idea that music . . . was a way to connect to people and possibly even earn a decent and respectable living." In 1934, just before Davis was to graduate from high school, the group decided to pursue a career in the burgeoning field of professional spiritual music and dubbed themselves the Dixie Hummingbirds. Defining gospel music as "nothing less than communication about culture . . . intrinsically linked to life experience and the struggle of African-Americans to persevere," Zolten (Communication Arts and Sciences, American Studies/Penn State Univ., Altoona) charts the rise of the group from a regional attraction to a nationally acclaimed band of singers who regularly performed in the '40s at New York's integrated Cafe Society nightclub; by 1955 they were being described in the media as pioneers who combined musical ecstasy with superb salesmanship to give gospel singing economic value and stature. Zolten also describes the evolution of their musical technique from unaccompanied a cappella harmonizing to the '70s addition of a backup band as he evaluates their recordings for the famous Decca label and such later efforts as their Grammy-winning 1974 collaboration with Paul Simon, "Loves Me Like a Rock." The group's commercial fortunes were boosted by the growth of radio, which gave them a national audience, and the popularity of singers like Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles, who brought gospel sound to a mass audience. Although the author conscientiously offers numerous quotes from the singers themselves, other musicians, and the critics who hailed them, he fails to bring the Birds fully to life. Trapped by facts, they seldom step out from behind the music to tell their own stories. Detailed, but disappointingly dry. (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Jim Crow world of 1920s Greenville, South Carolina, to Greenwich Village's Café Society in the '40s, to their 1974 Grammy-winning collaboration on "Loves Me Like a Rock," the Dixie Hummingbirds have been one of gospel's most durable and inspiring groups. Now, Jerry Zolten tells the Hummingbirds' fascinating story and with it the story of a changing music industry and a changing nation. When James Davis and his high-school friends starting singing together in a rural South Carolina church they could not have foreseen the road that was about to unfold before them. They began a ten-year jaunt of "wildcatting," traveling from town to town, working local radio stations, schools, and churches, struggling to make a name for themselves. By 1939 the a cappella singers were recording their four-part harmony spirituals on the prestigious Decca label. By 1942 they had moved north to Philadelphia and then New York where, backed by Lester Young's band, they regularly brought the house down at the city's first integrated nightclub, Café Society. From there the group rode a wave of popularity that would propel them to nation-wide tours, major record contracts, collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, and a career still vibrant today as they approach their seventy-fifth anniversary. Drawing generously on interviews with Hank Ballard, Otis Williams, and other artists who worked with the Hummingbirds, as well as with members James Davis, Ira Tucker, Howard Carroll, and many others, The Dixie Hummingbirds brings vividly to life the growth of a gospel group and of gospel music itself.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	February 2003
First published:	February 2003
Authors:	Jerry Zolten (Assistant Professor of Speech Communication, American Studies, and Integrative Arts)
Dimensions:	243 x 164 x 30mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	384
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-515272-2
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Western music, periods & styles > 20th century music Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Other types of music > Vocal music > Choral music Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Contemporary popular music > Rock & pop > Soul & Gospel Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Music > Contemporary popular music > Rock & pop > Soul & Gospel Books > Music > Other types of music > Vocal music > Choral music Books > Music > Western music, periods & styles > 20th century music Promotions
LSN:	0-19-515272-7
Barcode:	9780195152722

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