Staging the blues : from tent shows to tourism / Paige A. McGinley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGinley, Paige A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Blues (Music)--History and criticism.

Blues (Music).

Performance practice (Music)--Southern States--History--20th century.

Performance practice (Music).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 p.)

Place of Publication:

Durham : Duke University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

<div>Singing was just one element of blues performance in the early twentieth century. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and other classic blues singers also tapped, joked, and flaunted extravagant costumes on tent show and black vaudeville stages. Even though folklorists, record producers, and festival promoters downplayed the theatricality of early blues in favor of notions of authenticity, virtuoso blues artists used dance, comedy, costume, and other theatrical conventions to great effect throughout the twentieth century.<BR></div>

Contents:

Introduction: Beale on broadway

Real personality: the blues actress

Theater folk: Huddie ledbetter on the stage

Southern exposure: transatlantic blues

Highway 61 revisited: blues tourism at ground zero.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780822357452

0822357453

9780822376316

0822376318

OCLC:

877448176