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Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy
Gennett Records and the Rise of America's Musical Grassroots
Rick Kennedy (Author)
9780253007476
Paperback / softback, published 8 February 2013
304 pages, 31 b&w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.431 kg
Kennedy eloquently and informatively connects all these pieces together to form a clear, informative, and delightfully entertaining read. He breathes new life into the legacy of Gennett Records and fully enmeshes the readers into a world when then unknown musicians rambled to a dusty Midwestern piano factory to record their music. Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy will surely satisfy an audience of jazz buffs, historians, or anyone seeking a revealing account of a greenhorn music industry. Kennedy's book comes highly recommended. His writing style is entertaining and informative. By describing the personal characteristics of Gennett's principal owners, the reader can easily keep all of the various characters straight. Further, Kennedy's wide-ranging appreciation for American music makes the reader want to hear these recordings. The Gennetts may not have fully appreciated the music they recorded, but Rick Kennedy makes up for that many times over.
In a piano factory tucked away in Richmond, Indiana, Gennett Records produced thousands of records featuring obscure musicians from hotel orchestras and backwoods fiddlers to the future icons of jazz, blues, country music, and rock 'n' roll. From 1916 to 1934, the company debuted such future stars as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoagy Carmichael, while also capturing classic performances by Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Uncle Dave Macon, and Gene Autry. While Gennett Records was overshadowed by competitors such as Victor and Columbia, few record companies documented the birth of America's grassroots music as thoroughly as this small-town label. In this newly revised and expanded edition of Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy, Rick Kennedy shares anecdotes from musicians, employees, and family members to trace the colorful history of one of America's most innovative record companies.
Foreword by Ted Gioia 1. A Music Dynasty in Victorian Indiana Suggested Listening: Fifty Classics by Gennett Records
Gennett Records Timeline
Introduction
2. A New Wind Is Blowing through Chicago
3. Jazz Hysteria in the Hoosier State
4. Old-Time Music in the New Electronic Era
5. When Gennett Records Gets the Blues
6. Yet the Music Lives On
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Index of Songs