Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy

by Kennedy, Rick

• ISBN13: 9780253331366
• ISBN10: 0253331366
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-04-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Some of the earliest performances by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Bix Beiderbecke were preserved on recordings produced at Gennett Studios, an independent company operating in Richmond, Indiana, from 1917 to 1932. Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" debuted on Gennett as a dance stomp. The Gennetts made music history by recording young jazz pioneers in the Midwest and folk musicians from the Appalachian hills at a time when major record labels in the East couldn't be bothered. Gennett featured such country music stars as Gene Autry, Chubby Parker, and Bradley Kincaid and early blues artists Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Roosevelt Sykes; and during a period of rigid segregation, Gennett freely recorded black musicians. Jelly Roll, Hoagy, and Bix is the first detailed account of the people and events behind this unique company. Personalized by anecdotes from musicians, employees, and family members, it traces the colorful history of this innovative business until its demise during the Great Depression.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

A Music Dynasty in Victorian

Indiana Starr Piano Company

Courtroom Showdown: Victor vs. Starr Piano

Halcyon Days in Starr Valley

A New Wind is Blowing through Chicago

The Origins of Jazz Recording

The New Orleans Rhythm Kings

King Oliver and His Legendary Creole Jazz Band

The Music of Jelly Roll Morton

Just Passing Through: Other Jazz Debuts in Richmond, 1923-25

Louis Armstrong and the Red Onion Jazz Babies

Jazz Hysteria in the Hoosier State Bix and the Wolverines

Hoagy and Bix: Soulmate in Jazz Shaping the Beiderbecke

Legend From Obscurity to Stardust

Rural Recordings in the Electronic Era From Electrobeam to Budget Labels Scouting the Hills of Appalachia for That Old-Time Music

The WLS -National Barn Dance+ and Its -Kentucky Mountain Boy+

The Golden Era of the Old-Time Singing Country Blues Recording Gennett+s Last Hurrah in Jazz

Yet the Music Lives On

The Noisemaker: Harry Gennett, Jr., and His Sound Effects Records

The Final Accounting

Appendix: Gennett on Reissue Anthologies

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Topical Index

Index of Music

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