Staging the Blues : From Tent Shows to Tourism

297 Pages·2014·1.9 MB·English

by  Paige A. McGinley

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Paige A. McGinley
Staging the Blues
From TenT ShowS To TouriSm
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper ∞
Designed by Natalie F. Smith
Typeset in Chaparral by Graphic Composition, Inc.
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e Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
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P McGinley, Paige A.

y Staging the blues : from tent shows to tourism / Paige A. McGinley.
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i pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.
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r isbn 978- 0- 8223- 5731- 5 (cloth : alk. paper)
e isbn 978- 0- 8223- 5745- 2 (pbk : alk. paper)
v
i 1. Blues (Music) —History and criticism. 2. Performance practice
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u (Music) —Southern States—History—20th century. I. Title.
e ml3521.m33 2014 781.64309—dc23 2014006956
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u
D This book was published with the assistance of
4 The Frederick W. Hilles Publication Fund of Yale University.
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2 Cover art: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973) at the London

© Palladium in 1964. Pictorial Press Ltd. / Alamy.
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Acknowledgments, vii
Introduction
Beale on Broadway, 1
One Real Personality
The Blues Actress, 31
twO Theater Folk
Huddie Ledbetter On Stage, 81
three Southern Exposure
Transatlantic Blues, 129
FOur Highway 61 Revisited
Blues Tourism at Ground Zero, 177
Notes, 221
Bibliography, 257
Index, 271

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My first debt of gratitude is to the performers, living and o
dead, whose works infuse these pages, and whose creativity, w
professionalism, and humor I hope to have at least partially
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captured. Likewise, this work would not be possible with-
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out some of the pioneering scholarship produced in the last
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ten years by scholars of black performance, popular music,
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and theater history, particularly Daphne A. Brooks, Jayna
Brown, David Savran, and Gayle Wald. m
Most of this book was written during my time at Yale
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University, which generously supported my work with a
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Morse Fellowship in the year 2010–11. The Frederick W.
Hilles Publication Fund of Yale University also aided in t
bringing this book to fruition. My colleagues and stu- s
dents, graduate and undergraduate alike, in theater studies,
American studies, and African American studies challenged
every bit of my thinking in the best possible way; I could
not have asked for a better set of interlocutors at such a
crucial time. Hazel Carby, Glenda Gilmore, Matthew Frye
Jacobson, Steve Pitti, Marc Robinson, and Laura Wexler all
read and commented on portions of the manuscript. Jona-
than Holloway did, too; his suggestion that we team- teach a
graduate seminar together allowed me to refine some of the
book’s arguments in conversation with him and a fantas-
tic group of students. Elizabeth Alexander, Toni Dorfman,
Jackie Goldsby, Alicia Schmidt- Camacho, and Michele and
Robert Stepto provided lively meals and warm mentorship
just when I needed them most. Ryan Davis, Helen Jaksch,
and Jamie Kallestad were cheerful and able research as-
sistants, and May Brantley and Alexa Schlieker graciously
stepped in to provide eleventh- hour assistance. I extend a
heartfelt thanks to Joseph Roach. He has been a fierce and
unwavering advocate for this work, and his scholarship on
circum- Atlantic performance has profoundly influenced my
own. I also thank my colleagues at Washington University in
St. Louis, particularly Iver Bernstein, Rob Henke, Bill Max-
well, Jeffrey McCune, Mark Rollins, Henry Schvey, and Julia Walker. I’m so
grateful for their support of my scholarship, for their warm welcome when
I arrived in 2014, and for their curation of lively intellectual communities
in both Performing Arts and American Culture Studies.
It feels impossible to adequately thank one’s teachers. Arthur Feinsod
and Katharine Power whetted my appetite for theater and for scholarship;
their example led me to contemplate a career in academia, something I
never would have considered without their prompting. As with so many
of the most important and rewarding pieces of my adult life, the seeds
of this project were sown in Providence, Rhode Island. I hope that John
Emigh, Spencer Golub, Don Wilmeth, and Patricia Ybarra, all of whom nur-
tured my intellectual and professional development in the early days of this
project, can see their profound influence at work in these pages. I express
special thanks to Rebecca Schneider, my graduate advisor and friend, who
brought me along, intellectually and institutionally. I am grateful to her for
setting the bar so high and for the many hours she spent helping me expand
my thinking and hone my writing.
Scholars beyond my home institutions have also contributed to this
book’s development in significant ways. Patrick Anderson, Robin Bern-
stein, Daphne A. Brooks, E. Patrick Johnson, Ric Knowles, Josh Kun, Jill
Lane, Eng- Beng Lim, Ana Puga, Ramón Rivera- Servera, Mariellen Sand-
ford, Richard Schechner, and Harvey Young all read and commented on
various portions of the manuscript. Kate Elswit invited me to present ma-
terial on The Blues and Gospel Train at the Centre for Research in the Arts,
Social Sciences, and Humanities at the University of Cambridge. I always
look forward to thinking out loud and at length with Joel Anderson and
Louise Owen. In the course of one conversation, Nick Ridout asked the
key question that changed the trajectory of the book. I also thank Martyn
Bone and Brian Ward, who hosted an extraordinarily productive meeting,
“Creating and Consuming the South,” at the University of Copenhagen, for
which I developed much of the material in chapter 1.
An earlier version of part of chapter 2 appeared in “The Magic of Song!,”
in Performance in the Borderlands, edited by Ramón Rivera- Servera and Har-
vey Young (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), and portions of chapter 4 originally
appeared in “Highway 61 Revisited,” tdr 51, no. 3, 2007.
Many librarians, musicians, critics, and fans shared sources that I did
not know existed, granted me interviews, and pointed me in new direc-
tions. I am grateful to them all, particularly Todd Harvey and the staff of
the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress; Greg Johnson
and the staff of the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi; Louise
viii acknowLeDgmenTS
Bernard, Nancy Kuhl, and the staff of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manu-
script Library at Yale University; and the cheerful and helpful staffs of the
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Dolph Briscoe Center
for American History at the University of Texas, and the Carnegie Public
Library in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Conversations with Sam Carr, Johnnie
Hamp, C. P. Lee, Matthew Norman, Kim Massie, George Messenger, Joe
and Dorothy Middleton, Bill Talbot, Frank Ratliff, John Reynolds, and
Roger Stolle were similarly invaluable.
Working with Duke University Press has been a great pleasure. Ken Wis-
soker’s enthusiasm for the project has been matched only by the wisdom
of his editorial advice. Elizabeth Ault and Danielle Szulczewski shepherded
the book through review and production and answered my many questions
with alacrity and warmth. I am deeply beholden to the two anonymous
readers whose detailed comments on and criticism of the manuscript en-
couraged me to clarify and strengthen the book’s arguments at a critical
point in its development.
Many friends, among them Christian DuComb, Christine Evans, Jeff
Foye, Jocelyn Foye, Elise Morrison, Caitlin Nye, and Ken Prestininzi, pa-
tiently listened to my monologues about the book and provided joyous re-
spite from its trials. John and Shannon Mackey have buoyed and nourished
me over many evenings of food, wine, and conversation. Molly Brunson,
Bella Grigoryan, Katie Lofton, and Sam See were, and remain, my New Ha-
ven family. Matthew Glassman, Megan Shea, and I have been on this road
together longer than seems possible.
Words can do little to express my gratitude to my large and loving family
of Camps, Tices, Stephenses, Kavanaghs, and McGinleys. My siblings and
their spouses—Laura, Will, Paul, and Julia—have always offered uncon-
ditional love and acceptance. My parents, Carol K. McGinley and Paul A.
McGinley, lovingly encouraged me throughout my very long education, and
never let me forget how much they prized curiosity, debate, and inquiry.
Wayne T. Stephens and Shirley Coffey have both graced my life with their
love and laughter. Melissa and Vicki Camp welcomed me with open arms
into the warmth of their family.
In the years that I have been writing this book, Pannill Camp and I have
built a life together—a journey that has offered richer rewards than any
book. Pannill’s intellectual companionship, reserves of patience, and capac-
ity for laughter have immeasurably enriched my life. I dedicate this book
to him.
acknowLeDgmenTS ix