Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia
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Rural Electrification Administration. 1940. Rural Electrification in West Virginia, June 30, 1939. 1939 Report of the Rural Electrification Administration. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Russell, Ross. 1971. Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Satchmo. 1989. Prod. Tony Byron, dir. Gary Giddins with Kendrick Simmons. Masters of American Music series, no. 2. CMV Enterprises videocassette, 87 min.
Scheidt, Duncan. 1965. “Speed Webb.” Sounds and Fury September-October (1/2): 46–52.
Schuller, Gunther. 1989. The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stowe, David W. 1994. Swing Changes: Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Straw, Will. 1991. “Systems of Articulation, Logics of Change: Communities and Scenes in Popular Music.” Cultural Studies 5/3 (October): 368–88.
Tams, William P., Jr. 1963. The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia: A Brief History. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press.
Taylor, Alrutheus A. 1926. The Negro in the Reconstruction of Virginia. New York: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
Thomas, Jerry Bruce. 1998. An Appalachian New Deal: West Virginia in the Great Depression. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
Tribe, Ivan M. 1984. Mountaineer Jamboree: Country Music in West Virginia. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
Trotter, Joe William Jr. 1990. Coal, Class, and Color: Blacks in Southern West Virginia, 1915–1932. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1941. Sixteenth Census of the United States 1940. Population Second Series: Characteristics of the Population of West Virginia. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Leon E. Truesdell. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
U.S. Congress. Senate. 1925. Report of the United States Coal Commission. Sen. Doc. 195, 68th Congress, 2nd session. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
West Virginia Department of Mines. 1931. Annual Report of the [West Virginia] Department of Mines, 1931. Charleston, WV.
———. 1933. Nationalities of Persons Employed at the Mines and Coke Ovens by Counties. Annual Report of the [West Virginia] Department of Mines, 1933. Charleston, WV.
———. 1941. Comparative Statement of the Number of Men Employed, Men Killed, and the Production of Coal from 1883 to 1941. Annual Report of the [West Virginia] Department of Mines, 1941. Charleston, WV.
Wilkinson, Christopher. 2001. Jazz on the Road: Don Albert’s Musical Life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Williams, John Alexander. 2002. Appalachia: A History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Wriggle, John. 2007. “Chappie Willet, Frank Fairfax, and Phil Edwards’ Collegians: From West Virginia to Philadelphia.” Black Music Research Journal Spring (27/1): 1–22.
Newspapers
Abbreviations used to cite these publications in the main text are given in parentheses.
Beckley Observer (BO)
Bluefield Daily Telegraph (BDT)
Charleston Daily Mail (CDM)
Chicago Defender (CD)
Cincinnati Enquirer (CE)
Pittsburgh Courier (PC)
New York Times (NYT)
News Observer (NO)
Twin State News Observer (TSNO)
Welch Daily News (WDN)
West Virginian (Fairmont, WV) (WV)
Williamson Daily News (WillDN)
Interviews
Belmear, Geraldine Carpenter. 2000. Interview with the author. Morgantown, WV. May 30.
Cranford, Marcus, Hughie Mills, John M. Watson, Ellis Ray Williams, and Christine Neal Williams. 2008. Interview with the author. Morgantown, WV. October 14. Cited as Cranford et al.
Clifford, Lester. 2001. Interview with the author. Piedmont, WV. July 11.
Flippen, Francis Morton and J. Bryan. 2005. Interview with the author. Silver Spring, MD. October 8.
Glover, June. 2005. Interview with the author. Williamson, WV. June 15.
Hall, Herbert. 1980. Interview with Sterlin Holmesly. February 23. Research Library, Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, Texas.
Mack, Thomas H. 2005. Interview with the author. Bluefield, WV. July 14.
Nallen, Hazel. 2001. Telephone interview with the author. May 14.
Wilder, Joe. 2008. Telephone interview with the author. June 7.
Williams, E. Ray and Christine N. 2005. Interview with the author. Welch, WV. July 13.
Index
African Americans in West Virginia: as coal miners, 6–7, 24, 29
educational opportunities for, 27
as members of the middle class, 26–27
migration patterns of, 5, 12–13, 14–15, 24
political benefits, 24–26
as railroad workers, 12–14, 23–24
Akron, Ohio, 94, 139
Alabama, 24
Albert, Don, 3, 69–70, 88, 164
Alhambra Night Club, 45, 141
Alleghenian Orogeny. See West Virginia: geologic history of
Allegheny Mountains, 9
Allegheny plateau, 9
Alpha Kappa Alpha, 73, 119
Alpha Phi Alpha, 73, 119
Amusement Kings, 129–30, 140–43, 148, 158
Anderson, Elmer, and his Rhythm Kings, 119, 149
Appalachian Agreement. See Bituminous Coal Code
Arkansas, 3
Armstrong, Lil Hardin, 145
Armstrong, Louis, 80, 88, 96, 99, 127, 132
Ashland, Kentucky, 53, 92
Associated Booking Artists, 46, 132
Audience reception. See Musical taste of black audiences
Bailey, Pearl, 76
Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, 29
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 10, 74, 75, 113, 138
Band popularity contest. See Pittsburgh Courier: Most Popular Dance Band contest of
Barnes, Paul D. “Polo,” 4, 48
gig book of, 48–50, 53, 54–56, 57–58, 67, 70, 106
Barnes, Walter, and his Royal Creolians, 45, 91, 92, 97, 125
Basie, William “Count,” and his
Orchestra, 57, 62, 69, 136, 139, 145
Bears Club, 45, 96
Beckley, West Virginia, 16, 23, 26, 44, 66, 72, 82, 89, 95, 100, 109, 128, 131, 133, 136, 145, 161
Belton, C. S., and his Society Syncopators, 91, 94–95, 99
Berlin, Irving, 84, 159
Billups, Eddie, 82
Biloxi, Mississippi, 54
Bittner, Van Amberg, 30
Bituminous Coal Code, 30–31, 43, 46, 51, 67, 88, 144
impact on coal industry, 30–31, 102, 106, 171
Black Mountaineers. See African Americans in West Virginia
Bluefield, West Virginia, 16, 17, 22, 25, 26, 29, 72, 83, 95, 99, 109, 131, 133, 136, 140, 142, 159, 160, 161
Bluefield State College, 73, 81, 83, 104, 140, 160, 175
Bradshaw, Myron “Tiny,” and his Orchestra, 132, 136, 161
Bramwell, West Virginia, 17
Brooks, Henry, 147
Buckhannon, West Virginia, 27
Byrd, Odell, 146
Cabell County, 45
Cabin Creek, West Virginia, 161
Calloway, Blanche, and her Orchestra, 45–46, 91, 94, 99
Calloway, Cab, and his Orchestra, 66, 68, 88, 99, 107, 111, 112, 121, 125, 128, 131, 136, 141, 144, 149
Campus Nighthawks, 45, 82
Campus Revelers, 70, 82, 84, 107, 113
Capehart, Hugh J., 26, 133
Capehart Anti-Lynch Law, 26
Carmichael, Hoagy, 79, 81, 159
Carpenter, Samuel, 45–46, 130, 137–39, 163
Carter, Ardelia, 143
Carter, Benny, 70, 111
Cassville, West Virginia, 22
Celestin, Oscar “Papa,” 48
Charleston, West Virginia, 4, 23, 26, 45, 65, 70, 82, 86, 95, 100, 104, 107, 109, 129, 130, 133,
136, 140, 141, 148, 157, 158, 160, 161, 162, 174
Charlottesville, Virginia, 136
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), 10–13, 14, 24, 36, 175
Chicago, Illinois, 87, 94, 96, 108, 111
Chicago Defender, 97
Chula Vista, California, 64
Cincinnati, Ohio, 12, 51, 64, 86, 88, 95, 98, 100, 104, 157, 159
Cincinnati Enquirer, 98
Circuses. See Musical Life in Black West Virginia before the 1930s
Clark, Viola, 73
Clarksburg, West Virginia, 77, 83, 113, 138
Clemson College, 161
Cleveland, Ohio, 87, 94
Clifford, Lester, 74, 77, 79, 118
Clifford, Mack, 76
Coal camps. See Company Towns
Coal mining: description of the work involved in, 38–40, 43
economic benefits of, 24, 43
impact of mechanization, 165–66
safety issues of, 40–42
size of black workforce in, 6–7
Coalwood, West Virginia, 19
College dance bands, 81–83
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 65, 174
Columbus, Ohio, 94, 132
“Commonwealth” principle, 53–54, 79
Company towns, 15, 18, 19, 21, 31, 35–36, 44, 62–63, 66, 118, 143, 173
Cotton Club, Harlem, New York, 111, 121
“Cotton Club Parade,” 111
County seats. See individual places
Crider, Beatrice, 143
Crider, Samuel, 143, 148
Crystal Caverns Ballroom, Martinsburg, West Virginia, 161
Cumberland, Maryland, 72, 75, 113, 138
Dallas, Texas, 70
Dalton, Quenton, 46
Dances: promotion by local bands of, 77
social function of, 171–72
Davis, John W., 119, 156
Decca Records, 152
Delta Sigma Theta, 73
Detroit, Michigan, 87
DuBois, W. E. B., 73, 82
Dubois High School, 45, 82, 133, 145
Eckstein, Allen E., 65, 66, 70, 149
Edwards, Philip H., 83, 91
Edwards’s Collegians, 82, 83–84, 88, 95, 97–100, 120, 159
Electricity, availability of, in West Virginia, 62–63
Elkhorn, West Virginia, 78, 113
Elkins, West Virginia, 78, 113
Elks Rest, 45, 72, 78, 138
Ellington, Edward Kennedy “Duke,” 57, 62, 66, 69, 79, 84, 88, 99, 110, 111, 115, 121, 149, 157, 161, 167, 177
broadcast from the Crystal Ballroom, Fargo, North Dakota, 156–57
Ellington, Ruth, and her Orchestra, 46, 139
Embry, Jordan, 91, 92, 104
Fairfax, Frank, 84
Fairmont, West Virginia, 4, 23, 26, 45– 46, 61, 65, 72, 74, 77, 78, 86, 96, 100, 106, 107, 110, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121, 125, 128, 130, 133, 137, 138, 157, 159, 160, 177
Fargo, North Dakota, 156–58
Fayette County, West Virginia, 11
Ferguson Hotel, 45, 111
Fitzgerald, Ella, 57, 136, 158
Fisk University, 27, 160
Florida, 56
Fonteneau, Leroy “Tex,” 130, 141, 158
Fox Trot, 22, 163
Gains, Walter, 146–47
Gale, Moe, 132, 136, 169
Garnett High School, 70
Gary, West Virginia, 17, 19, 27, 104, 131
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., 75
Georgia, 56
Gershwin, George and Ira, 79, 85
Gilmore, James, 74, 77, 79, 88
Gilmore’s Midnighters, 74, 76–79, 84, 113
repertory of, 79–80, 115, 118, 120
Glaser, Joe, 46, 53, 89, 112, 126, 132, 136, 169
Goodman, Benny, 65, 79, 110, 121, 125, 126, 151
Grafton, West Virginia, 138
Grear, Cal, and his Sweet Swing Orchestra, 79, 84, 88, 141
Great Depression: on black miners, 29
impact on coal industry, 29
Great Migration, 175–76
Green, Major, 146
Greenbrier County, West Virginia, 26
Greystone Ballroom, Cincinnati, Ohio, 84, 88, 95, 98
Grider, Joseph, 70, 82
Griffith, D. W., The Birth of a Nation, law prohibiting showing in West Virginia, 26
Guffey-Snyder Act, 31
Guffey-Vinson Act, 31
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 64
Hall, Herbert, 34, 47–48, 57, 67, 85, 100, 145, 163, 164
Hampton, Lionel, and his Orchestra, 25, 132
Harlan, Kentucky, 53
Harlem Hotshots. See Watkins, Edward
Harrison County, West Virginia, 6, 113, 137
Hart, C. W., 130, 141, 148
Havana, Cuba, 64
Hawkins, Erskine, and his Orchestra, 57, 136, 154
Henderson, Fletcher, and his Orchestra, 66, 68–69, 72, 76, 99, 104, 110, 111, 112, 125, 149, 156
Hines, Earl “Fatha,” and his Grand Terrace Orchestra, 66, 91, 92, 128, 131, 145, 149
Hinton, West Virginia, 131
Hite, Les, 167
Holden, West Virginia, 20
Holmesly, Sterlin, 3
Hopkins, Claude, 23, 70, 98, 107, 143, 149
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 50
Hotchkiss, Jedediah, 12, 16, 175
Hotels owned by black West Virginians, 133
Huntington, Collis Potter, 10
Huntington, West Virginia, 12, 17, 45, 46, 50–51, 54, 56, 65, 70, 86, 95, 100, 106, 108, 125, 131, 160, 161, 163
“I Got Rhythm,” 79–80
Iaeger, West Virginia, 17
Illinois, 50
Indiana, 50
Indianapolis, Indiana, 37, 87
Institute, West Virginia, 66, 162
International Sweethearts of Rhythm, 131
Itmann, West Virginia, 16, 19, 21
Ivy Leaf Club, 119
Jackson, James, 45
Jacksonville, Florida, 104
James, Harry, 80
Jenkinjones, West Virginia, 18
Jenkins, Kentucky, 53
“Jim Crow” (railroad passenger) car, 25
Joy, Joseph F., 165
Joy Loading Machine, 165–66, 176
Kanawha County, West Virginia, 5, 6, 11, 136
Kansas City, Missouri, 99
Kapp, Jack, 152
Kappa Alpha Psi, 160, 162
Kappa Kappa Psi, 83
Kaye, Sammy, and his Orchestra, 65
KDKA (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, radio station), 64, 65
Kennedy, John F., 3
Kentucky, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 44, 51, 53, 95
Keyser, West Virginia, 78, 138
Keystone, West Virginia, 17, 72, 131
Kimball, Frederick J., 13, 14
Kimball, West Virginia, 17, 131, 140, 143
King, Wayne, 23, 143, 149
Kings of Amusement. See Amusement Kings
Kirk, Andy, and his Twelve Clouds of Joy, 4, 57, 62, 68, 132, 139, 152, 155, 161, 163
Kodak #8 Cirkut Outfit (camera), 36
Lanes, Maude Wanzer, 70
Lee, Clarence, 137
Les Precieuses Club, 72, 73, 140, 143
Lewis, John L., 30
Lewis, Willie, 111
Lexington, Kentucky, 53
Lindy (hop), 22, 151, 154, 156, 161, 163
Locklayer’s Virginians, 162
Logan, West Virginia, 26, 109, 128, 131, 136, 140, 154, 161
Logan Banner, 65
Logan County, West Virginia, 20, 30, 45, 65, 109, 140
Lomax, Alan, 21
Lombardo, Guy, and his Royal Canadians, 79, 118, 149, 150–51, 153, 157, 162, 172, 174
Los Angeles, California, 125, 126
Louisiana, 56
Louisville, Kentucky, 108
Lunceford, Jimmie, and the Harlem Express, 4, 57, 62, 69, 107–8, 109–13, 115, 120, 136, 137, 138, 140, 145, 152, 158–61, 174
recordings by, 113–14, 116–18, 125, 159
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br /> repertory played, 115–18, 120, 158, 161
Lunceford, Joan, 4
Mabscott, West Virginia, 143
Marion County, West Virginia, 6, 113, 137
Market Auditorium, 107, 159
Marrow, Vernon, 46
Martin, James Ernest, 130, 142
Maryland, 74, 113
Massey, Price, 146
Massey, Sylvester, 46, 51, 84
Maybeury, West Virginia, 17
Maysville, Kentucky, 53
McConnell, Ross, 50, 51, 106
McDowell County, West Virginia, 6, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27, 30, 44, 64, 72, 99, 104, 133, 136, 140
McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, 66, 76, 149
McQuity, Mose, 16
Mechanization of coal mining. See Coal
mining: impact of mechanization Mercer County, West Virginia, 14, 30, 109
Merman, Ethel, 79
Miami, Florida, 46, 132
Michigan, 50
Mike, Gladys, 118, 162
Millinder, Lucky, and his Band, 83, 111
Mills, Irving, 111, 112, 120, 121
Mills Blue Rhythm Band, 94, 99
Mineral County, West Virginia, 74
Mingo County, West Virginia, 14, 21, 30, 64
Minstrel shows, 16
Mississippi, 56
Mitchell, Thomas L., 130, 141–42
Monongalia County, West Virginia, 6, 22, 113, 137
Montgomery, West Virginia, 131, 161
Moore, Richard, 107, 144
Morgantown, West Virginia, 77, 113, 138
Morris, William, 112
Morrow, Vernon, 46, 137
Morton, Edward LeRoy, 27, 128, 160
Morton, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll,” 48
Morton, George, 27, 46, 89, 126, 128–36, 138, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 158, 160
Moten, Bennie, and his Kansas City Orchestra, 61, 88, 94, 99
Mount Hope, West Virginia, 36, 45, 82, 131, 133, 136, 145, 160, 177
Mullins, West Virginia, 16, 17, 78
Musical life in black West Virginia
before the 1930s, 176
blues, 16, 18–19
circuses, 16
commercial music including popular songs, 23–24
in company towns, 15, 22–23
in county seats, 15, 23
gospel, 16, 19–20
parade bands, 19
piano “professors,” 21
square dancing, 22–23
string bands, 19
tent shows, 16–17, 18
work songs, 16
Musical taste of black audiences, 116, 161, 162–63