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The mistakes of yesterday, the hopes of tomorrow : the story of the Prisonaires / John Dougan.
Van Pelt - Albrecht Music Library ML421.P755 D68 2012
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Dougan, John M., 1954-
- Series:
- American popular music (Amherst, Mass.)
- American popular music
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Prisonaires (Musical group).
- Vocal groups--United States.
- Vocal groups.
- African American singers--United States--Biography.
- African American singers.
- Singers--United States--Biography.
- Singers.
- Popular music.
- Music in prisons.
- Prisoners.
- African American prisoners.
- United States.
- Tennessee--Nashville.
- Tennessee.
- African American prisoners--Tennessee--Biography.
- Prisoners--Tennessee--Biography.
- Music in prisons--United States.
- Popular music--Tennessee--Nashville--History and criticism.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- x, 128 pages ; 23 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2012]
- Summary:
- Early on June 1, 1953, five African American men boarded a van to travel 200 miles from Nashville to Memphis for a daylong recording session at the legendary Sun Studios. The resulting "Just Walkin' in the Rain" became Sun Records' biggest pre-Elvis song-and the group's only hit. The men were the Prisonaires, a vocal quintet who honed their skills while inmates at the Tennessee State Penitentiary.
- The Prisonaires' story represents a compelling concept: imprisoned men using music as a means of cultural and personal survival. The song itself expresses the deep emotions that came from creating music in a hostile, controlled environment. Later, the song was re-recorded by white singer Johnnie Ray, who made it a huge hit. Over the years, other singers and groups moved the song further and further away from its origins.
- For all of its triumphs, this story reflects the disappointment of men caught in a paradoxical search for personal independence while fully cognizant of a future in prison and sheds light on the harsh realities of race relations in the pre-Civil Rights South. The book also provides a portrait of Nashville just as it was gaining traction as a nationally recognized music center. Book jacket.
- Contents:
- 1 Nashville 8
- 2 The Prisonaires 19
- 3 The Prison, the Governor, and the Warden 31
- 4 Men Singing Together 48
- 5 Music City, USA 56
- 6 "Just Walkin' in the Rain" 64
- 7 What'll You Do Next? 101.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9781558499690
- 1558499695
- 9781558499683
- 1558499687
- OCLC:
- 794709396
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