The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age (American Made Music)

249 Pages·2008·4.06 MB·English

by  Jeffrey J. Noonan

The
G
UITAR
in
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MERICA

The

G
UITAR
in
A
MERICA
Victorian Era to Jazz Age
Jeffrey J. Noonan
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON
AMERICAN MADE MUSIC SERIES
Advisory Board
David Evans, General Editor
Barry Jean Ancelet
Edward A. Berlin
Joyce J. Bolden
Rob Bowman
Susan C. Cook
Curtis Ellison
William Ferris
Michael Harris
John Edward Hasse
Kip Lornell
Frank McArthur
Bill Malone
Eddie S. Meadows
Manuel H. Peña
David Sanjek
Wayne D. Shirley
Robert Walser
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American
University Presses.
Unless noted otherwise, illustrations reproduced in this book have been drawn from
BMG magazines held at the Library of Congress.
Copyright © 2008 by University Press of Mississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing 2008
(cid:1)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Noonan, Jeffrey.
The guitar in America : Victorian era to jazz age / Jeffrey J. Noonan.
p. cm. — (American made music series)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ), discography (p. ), and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-934110-18-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-934110-18-3 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Guitar—United States—History.
2. Guitarists—United States. 3. Guitar music—United States—History and criticism.
I. Title.
ML1015.G9N66 2008
787.870973—dc22 2007021095
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
- vii -
Introduction
- 3 -
Chapter One
The Guitar in America to 1880
- 7 -
Chapter Two
Interlude: The BMG Movement—The Sources
- 21 -
Chapter Three
The Guitar in the BMG Movement 1880—1900
- 41 -
Chapter Four
Interlude: A New Generation of Guitarists
- 61 -
Chapter Five
Transitions: From the Parlor to the Concert Hall
- 77 -
Chapter Six
Interlude: The Guitar as Icon
- 96 -
CONTENTS
Chapter Seven
A New Instrument
- 117 -
Chapter Eight
Interlude: The Wizard and The Grand Lady
- 138 -
Chapter Nine
The Old World Reclaims Its Instrument
- 155 -
Chapter Ten
Summary and Conclusions
- 172 -
Notes
- 179 -
Works Cited
- 215 -
Discography
- 223 -
Index
- 227 -
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book began as my doctoral dissertation and I reiterate the thanks
and acknowledgments I offered in the opening pages of that document
several years ago. Craig Monson, principal reader on that project, has
continued to go above and beyond his offi cial duties, offering sound profes-
sional advice and pointed criticism of my ideas and writing. I do not exaggerate
when I say that without his help this book would not have deserved to see the
light of day.
My initial research took place in and with the cooperation of numerous
libraries and I thank these institutions and their staffs for their assistance.
These libraries include the Music Division of the Library of Congress, Kent
Library of Southeast Missouri State University, the Newberry Library, and
the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Much of my research,
writing, and revising took place in the Gaylord Music Library of Washington
University and I thank Music Librarian Brad Short and his staff for their pleasant
and professional assistance.
In the early stages of my research, Peter Danner and Thomas Heck, two
of this country’s most respected scholars of the classical guitar, offered criti-
cal commentary and collegial encouragement. I thank them for both. The
College of Liberal Arts at Southeast Missouri State University supported sev-
eral research trips and I thank Emeritus Dean Martin Jones, Associate Dean
Gary Miller of the Holland School for Visual and Performing Arts, and the
Committee for Faculty Development for their fi nancial assistance and profes-
sional interest. My colleagues at Southeast Missouri State University deserve
my thanks for allowing me to occasionally bend their ears and for their encour-
aging questions. These folks include Steve Hendricks and Brandon Christensen
in the Department of Music and Marc Strauss in the Department of Theater
and Dance.
As I began work on turning my dissertation into a book, I had the good
fortune to meet two gentlemen whose collections of instruments, books, and
ephemera related to the banjo in America are surpassed only by their knowledge
- vii -
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
of the subject. Eli Kaufman and Jim Bollman graciously opened their homes
and their collections to me, sharing not only their spectacular holdings but
their encyclopedic knowledge of the period, the music, and the personalities.
As a guitarist, I suppose I can provide little in return that real banjo experts
like Eli and Jim want, but I offer them my sincere thanks. I include Madeleine
Kaufman in that thanks, too.
In the rewriting process, I imposed on friends and colleagues to read bits
and pieces of this book. Warren Anderson, a fi ne banjoist and professor of
anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University, encouraged me to “tell
the story.” I thank him for his scholarly suggestions, professional example, and
our weekly lunches. Tim Brookes, an author cited in this book, played a major
role in the direction of parts of my dissertation. More recently, he found the
time to read enough of my book manuscript to immediately pinpoint a begin-
ner’s errors. His professional critique has improved the book immensely. I only
hope the revision comes up to his expectations. Robert Ferguson, a friend and
scholar, not only shared his unpublished research with me but also read an
early draft of this book with an eye to grammatical, bibliographic, and factual
detail that overwhelmed me. As I incorporated his suggestions, I sometimes
wondered if perhaps Bob should have written this book.
Thanks, too, to Craig Gill, Anne Stascavage, Will Rigby, and the staff at
University Press of Mississippi for their encouragement and hard work. I sin-
cerely appreciate the Press taking this project on and hope that my part in the
process has met their expectations. Thanks, as well, to the Press’s anonymous
reader whose comments perfectly balanced scholarly criticism with collegial
encouragement.
I offer a general “thank you” to other friends, colleagues, and family who
supported the completion of this book. And while I wish I could shift the
blame, any errors—factual, grammatical, and otherwise—in the following pages
are my responsibility. I dedicate this book to Nancy Bristol and our blended/
extended family—Erin and Brian, Brendan and Sarah, and Joe. Their hard work
and well-deserved successes in their respective fi elds continue to impress
and inspire me, as I try to keep up with them. Nancy’s contribution to this
book transcends her toleration of my paper trails, hours in the library, and
absent-minded disregard for the day-to-day. Her patience, good humor, and
encourage ment allowed it to happen. Love you all.
- viii -
The
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