Sacred steel : inside an African American steel guitar tradition / Robert L. Stone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stone, Robert L., 1944-

Series:

Music in American life.

Music in American life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church music--African American churches.

Church music.

Hawaiian guitar music--History and criticism.

Hawaiian guitar music.

African American guitarists.

African American church musicians.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this book, Robert L. Stone follows the sound of steel guitar into the music-driven Pentecostal worship of two related churches: the House of God and the Church of the Living God. A rare outsider who has gained the trust of members and musicians inside the church, Stone uses nearly two decades of research, interviews, and fieldwork to tell the story of a vibrant musical tradition that straddles sacred and secular contexts. Most often identified with country and western bands, steel guitar is almost unheard of in African American churches--except for the House of God and the Church of the Living God, where it has been part of worship since the 1930s. Sacred Steel traces the tradition through four generations of musicians and in some two hundred churches extending across the country from Florida to California, Michigan to Alabama. Presenting detailed portraits of musical pioneers such as brothers Troman and Willie Eason and contemporary masters such as Chuck Campbell, Glenn Lee, and Robert Randolph, Stone expertly outlines the fundamental tensions between sacred steel musicians and church hierarchy. In this thorough analysis of the tradition, Stone explores the function of the music in church meetings and its effect on the congregations. He also examines recent developments such as the growing number of female performers, the commercial appeal of the music, and younger musicians' controversial move of the music from the church to secular contexts.

Contents:

Discovery

The churches : beliefs, social milieu, and the development of the steel guitar

Traditions

Church meetings and the steel guitarist's role in them

The steel guitar

The Eason Brothers

Little Willie and his talking guitar

Henry Nelson : the liberace of sacred steel

The Jewell Dominion

Motor city steel

Calvin Cooke

Shaping the modern sound : pedal-steel guitar innovators Chuck Campbell and Glenn Lee

Negotiating the new millennium.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-254), discography (p. [259]-263), and index.

ISBN:

9786613028839

9781283028837

1283028832

9780252090301

0252090306

OCLC:

709664739