Harlem Renaissance

In twentieth-century African American fiction, music has been elevated to the level of religion primarily because of its Orphic, magical power to unsettle oppressive realities, to liberate the soul and to create, at least temporarily, a medium of freedom. This collection explores literary invocations of music from the Harlem Renaissance to Toni Morrison. Essays include Tom Lut's "Claude McKay: music, sexuality, and literary cosmopolitanism."

Blues music spawned legendary performers whose influence has been felt in many musical forms here and around the world. Until now the important role of the great women blues singers has largely gone unexplored. This book tells of the cultural and social impact of the blues during the 1920s when the genre was dominated by women, both on stage and on record.

Details the political development of the jazz movement, from its roots at the turn of the 19th century to its “discovery” by the white music industry in the 1920s. Focusing on pioneers at each stage of its development, Vincent illustrates the importance of Black activists to the evolution of jazz, and its links with the broader spectrum of Black politics. Includes interviews with early members of the jazz community.

Jon Michael Spencer challenges the emphasis of earlier historical studies, which have tended to bypass music in favor of literature. Spencer's discussion encompasses the music and writings of a wide range of important figures, including James Weldon Johnson, Harry T. Burleigh, Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson, Alain Locke, William Grant Still, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Dorothy Maynor. He argues that the singular accomplishment of the Harlem Renaissance composers and musicians was to achieve a "two-tiered mastery" promoted by Johnson, Locke, the Harmon award, and Crisis and Opportunity magazines.

The song, "Strange Fruit," became one of Holiday's signature pieces, eliciting strong emotions in black and white audiences alike. Now Margolick, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, has written a history of the song that Q, a British music publication, counted among the "ten songs that actually changed the world." Following "Strange Fruit" from its birth at the hand of Jewish schoolteacher and Communist Abel Meeropol through its occasional present-day revivals by a smattering of intrepid musicians, Margolick culls the opinions of music scholars on the influential ballad's cultural and musical impact and quotes critics from Holiday's era.

Covers the major players in the history of popular music in the twentieth century.