Archives of African American Music and Culture

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Let Freedom Ring! is the first state-of-the-art audio restoration of the NBC broadcast to be reissued on CD.

This wonderful new recording was just added to our collections!

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Bodies of Sound: Locating the Beautiful in African American Music (Themester 2016: Beauty)

Hosted by the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC), this panel discussion will explore concepts of beauty in music from two distinct, though related perspectives. Representations of gendered body images, male and female, will serve as one area of focus, while the second topic will explore the body of aesthetic values which distinguish African American performance in ways which not only contrast, but often contradict those preferred by the larger American public.

Panelists include guest speaker and distinguished scholar Dr. Deborah Smith Pollard (University of Michigan–Dearborn), Dr. Alisha Jones (IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology), and Dr. Tyron Cooper (IU Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies).

The panel is followed by a reception and exhibit opening in the Bridgwaters Lounge of the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center. Accompanying playlists are available on Spotify and Youtube.

The exhibit in the Bridgwaters Lounge, curated by the Archives of African American Music and Culture, explores the ways that musicians perform and represent concepts of African American beauty to make broader commentary on history, culture, politics, and social relationships. From the physical perspective, the exhibit will address controversies surrounding the predominant ideals of beauty that showcase and privilege skin color, hair textures, and body shapes that typically exclude the majority of performers of African descent. From the aesthetic perspective, the ways composers and artists have asserted their individual and collective agency in writing, recording, and performing songs that provide a culturally meaningful counter narrative to these views are highlighted. Examples abound across time, space, and musical genre ranging from jazz, soul, funk, and hip hop to gospel.

The Bodies of Sound exhibit will be available from October 24 through December 9 in the Bridgwaters Lounge of the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center.

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Wade in the Water (SC 75) Finding Aid

Our finding aid for the collection Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions is up and live!

The radio series Wade in the Water was conceived and hosted by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon--a singer, composer, scholar, and social activist, as well as the founder of the group Sweet Honey in the Rock. Produced by NPR in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, the 26-part series focuses on the leading composers and lyricists, and on major sacred music traditions, including spirituals, lined hymns, quartets, and gospel music. This highly acclaimed series was the winner of a Peabody Award in 1994.

Our collection consists primarily of audiocassettes of the 26-part radio series Wade in the Water and a published box set that includes an Educator's Guide, publicity materials, and 4 audiocassettes compiled from the original broadcast series. The 4 audiocassettes were later reissued on CD, which are included in our general CD collection.

Contact [email protected] for additional information.

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Liner Notes #20 published!

The 2015-2016 issue of Liner Notes features the article “A Sound Disciple: The Life and Radio Career of Jacquie Gales Webb,” a profile and interview by Doug Peach about Webb’s impactful life and presence in the broadcasting industry. Webb recently visited Indiana University as the AAAMC’s guest to speak about her career. A description and photos of her eventful visit to IU is also featured in this issue.

This issue’s featured collection is the Ericka Blount Danois Collection. The Blount Danois Collection contains materials documenting her life as a writer, author, and journalist. The bulk of the materials relate to her book about Soul Train: Love, Peace, and Soul: Behind the Scenes of America’s Favorite Dance Show, which includes over 100 interviews recorded on audiocassettes with singers, dancers, and music executives affiliated with the show. Accompanying the collection profile is an in-depth interview of Ericka by Matthew Alley.

A one-on-one interview with prolific music writer and gospel music collector Opal Louis Nations can also be found in this issue. From R&B performer in England during his teenage years, to gospel music deejay in California, to writing about and producing music, Opal and interviewer Brenda Nelson-Strauss explore his love for and contributions to gospel and R&B.

Before you close the back cover, you’ll find details and photos from our Google Arts & Culture exhibits published earlier this year, as well as updates about our digital initiatives.

Come by the office and grab a copy if you’re not already on our mailing list! Or check out the entire issue in PDF format on our website here.

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Charles Coleman Papers (SC 9) Finding Aid

Our finding aid for the Charles Coleman Papers, 1929-1991 (SC 9), is now up and live!

Charles DeWitt Coleman, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 29, 1929. He was the founder and director of the Coleman Studio of Music, later known as the Northwestern School of Music, and a member of the Artists Bureau of the National Association of Negro Musicians. Coleman was a pupil of Robert Nolan at the Robert Nolan School of Music and also studied with August Maekelberghe, Robert Cato, and Virgil Fox. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Wayne State University in 1954, and was awarded the degree A.A.G.O. by the American Guild of Organists in 1955. Coleman later studied with renowned organist and composer Marcel Dupre from Paris, France and European piano pedagogy and organ with Lode Van Dessel of the Palestrina Institute. He conducted at many schools in the Detroit Public School System, as well as church ensembles of various age groups and faiths.

The bulk of the collection is made up of manuscript scores of works by Coleman, as well as printed scores of his choral music. See the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?doc.view=entire_text&docId=VAD4977.

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Our September issue of Black Grooves now available at www.blackgrooves.org. This month we're featuring new releases by Scott Tixier, Allen Toussaint, Pretty Yenda, Catherine Russell, Will Calhoun, Marquis Hill, Incognito, Anthony David, Macy Gray, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bob Baldwin, Vaneese Thomas, the Mike Wheeler Band, Hard Proof, Jimi Hendrix, the Isley Brothers and more! Most of these albums have been added to our CD collection.

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Vy Higginsen (SC 81) Finding Aid

Our finding aid for the Vy Higginsen Collection is now up and live!

Vy Higginsen is an award-winning author, playwright, and radio and television personality. She worked in broadcasting for a decade and turned to writing in 1983, when she co-wrote, produced and directed the off-broadway gospel musical Mama, I Want To Sing!, a play that ran for 8 years in New York and toured nationally and internationally. Higginsen has continued her involvement in the theater, writing and producing new plays.

The collection consists primarily of materials related to the gospel musicals Mama, I Want to Sing!; Mama, I Want to Sing II ; and Born to Sing! Mama 3. Included are scripts, programs, promotional materials, posters, photographs, videos, and sound recordings. Records of the Mama Foundation include programs, press clippings, publicity and posters.

See the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=VAD7619.xml&doc.view=entire_text

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The Black Composer Speaks (SC 35) Finding Aid

Our finding aid for The Black Composer Speaks, SC 35, is up and live!

This collection includes interviews and research materials used for the production of the book The Black Composer Speaks (1978), a project initiated by the Afro-American Arts Institute (now the African American Arts Institute) at Indiana University, and co-edited by Lida M. Belt, David N. Baker and Herman C. Hudson. The majority of the interviews were conducted by Lida Belt (Baker).

The original interview open reel tapes from this project have been digitized and may be listened to for research or educational purposes at the AAAMC.  See the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=VAD5091.xml&doc.view=entire_text

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Blondell Hill Gospel Music Collection (SC 158) Finding Aid

The finding aid for Blondell Hill Gospel Music Collection is up and live!

The bulk of this collection consists of gospel songbooks, sheet music and song texts collected by Hill for use with choirs in Richmond, Indiana and Petoskey, Michigan. Programs, ephemera and photographs pertain primarily to the Gospel Volunteers choir and Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Blondell Harris Hill was born in Marianna, Arkansas on February 9, 1904. At the age of 19 she was recruited to attend Earlham College and moved to Richmond, Indiana. At Earlham she completed two years of study, including music, piano, and other required course work. She then married Roy Hill, whose mother owned the Mary E. Hill Nursing Home in Richmond, Indiana. Blondell Hill was active as a church musician and played for the Sunday School and the Sr. Choir at the Bethel A.M.E. church in Richmond. She passed her love of music on to her daughter, Rochelle, who sang in the children’s choir and the Jr. choir.

Hill also worked for the Leeds family in Richmond as a cook. They spent the summers of 1952-1956 in the resort town of Petoskey, Michigan, where Hill performed with a local gospel choir. Originally formed by a seasonal domestic worker from Dayton, Ohio, the choir was comprised of African Americans in the Petoskey area who came from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kentucky to work in the resort town.  Since there was no African American church in Petoskey and most of the domestics had been accustomed to singing in gospel choirs, the employers in the area made sure their help became familiar with the other Black domestics and directed them to a church that was preferred by the seasonal workers. Hill and her daughter both performed in the Petoskey Gospel Volunteer choir and are pictured in the photograph included in the collection.

Blondell Hill passed away at the age of 101 on August 26, 2005, and is buried in Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, Indiana.  Rochelle Hill Tinsley attended Indiana University, graduating with a BS in 1976 and an MS in 1978. See the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=VAD4793.xml&doc.view=entire_text.

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What Must Be Done radio series (SC 157) Finding Aid

Our newest finding aid for the What Must Be Done radio series is up and live!  

The radio program “What Must Be Done” examined the conditions faced by African Americans and was moderated by pioneering civil rights attorney Percy E. Sutton. The series of 13 public-service broadcasts aired every Monday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on WLIB radio in New York, beginning July 1, 1968 and concluding September 23, 1968. Produced by Peabody Award winner Sam Chase, the series was  based on a November 20, 1967 civil rights editorial in Newsweek magazine,  "The Negro in America: What Must Be Done.“  The article, initiated by legendary Newsweek editor Osborn Elliott, questioned traditional notions of journalistic objectivity as part of Elliot’s campaign towards "advocacy journalism,” in which facts are tempered by a subjective view or political stance.  Offering an in-depth report on the racial crisis in America, the article analyzed the underlying causes of the recent ghetto riots, the hostile reactions of whites, and the failure of Americans to make a total commitment to social justice.

The complete series has now been digitized, and there are CD copies available at the AAAMC for research and educational purposes. See the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=VAD4979.xml&doc.view=entire_text

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On March 9, award-winning producer and gospel music announcer Jacquie Gales Webb will present a free public lecture in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center’s Grand Hall at 4:00 p.m.

The lecture will be followed by a reception honoring her distinguished career and the establishment of the Jacquie Gales Webb Collection at Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music and Culture. The collection will provide an invaluable resource for scholarly research and course development on Black-oriented radio, radio documentary production, media history, African American music—including gospel and jazz—as well as broader issues on music, communication and culture.

Please join us!

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Archive Spotlights The "Golden Age" Of Black Radio

Indiana University added an exhibit to the online platform that features audio and photos from the early days of radio — from when black-oriented stations started popping up in the 1940s and beyond.

On Saturday, Feb. 27th, NPR’s Weekend Edition featured the AAAMC’s Black Radio exhibits on the Google Cultural Institute! Listen to AAAMC Head of Collections Brenda Nelson-Strauss and radio deejay and producer Jacquie Gales Webb discuss the exhibit and importance of Black Radio. You’ll also hear legendary Black radio deejay “Jockey” Jack Gibson, including an aircheck of Gibson not included in the online exhibit. The exhibits were created as part of the Google Cultural Institute’s focus on Black History Month, but just because February is over doesn’t mean it’s too late. The exhibits will stay up indefinitely. Listen to the NPR feature to learn more, and don’t forget to visit the exhibits!

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Announcing a new collection of photographs now online! Musicians and recording industry giants recording hits, conducting business, eating giant cookies, performing, riding bicycles, making movies....

The photographs in the Nelson George Collection consist primarily of materials collected during research for his book, Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound (St. Martin's Press, 1985).

Click here to view all images in the Nelson George Collection on Indiana University’s Image Collections Online site.

Other materials in this collection include interviews (audiocassettes and transcripts), newspaper clippings, magazines, photocopies of legal documents, manuscripts, and correspondence. The full collection finding aid is accessible at: http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/findingaids/aaamc/VAD5161.        

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In honor of UNESCO World Radio Day, the AAAMC is providing online streaming access for the first time, via IU Media Collections Online, to the 1968 radio series, “What Must Be Done?”

Moderated by pioneering civil rights attorney Percy E. Sutton, the 30-minute panel discussion aired weekly over WLIB (“the leading voice of New York’s black residents”), beginning July 1, 1968, just three months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Click here to listen to all thirteen original broadcasts

The radio program “What Must Be Done” examined the conditions faced by African Americans and was moderated by pioneering civil rights attorney Percy E. Sutton. The series of 13 public-service broadcasts aired every Monday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on WLIB radio in New York, beginning July 1, 1968 and concluding September 23, 1968.

Produced by Peabody Award winner Sam Chase, the series was based on a November 20, 1967 civil rights editorial in Newsweek magazine, "The Negro in America: What Must Be Done." The article, initiated by legendary Newsweek editor Osborn Elliott, questioned traditional notions of journalistic objectivity as part of Elliot's campaign towards "advocacy journalism," in which facts are tempered by a subjective view or political stance. Offering an in-depth report on the racial crisis in America, the article analyzed the underlying causes of the recent ghetto riots, the hostile reactions of whites, and the failure of Americans to make a total commitment to social justice.

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The Portia K. Maultsby Collection at the AAAMC

We’re introducing the Portia K. Maultsby Collection via our latest video (watch at HD 1080p for best results). As many of you know, Dr. Maultsby was the founding director of the AAAMC, which was established in 1991. Her collection includes many interviews with music and radio industry executives, documenting the voices of individuals instrumental in shaping Black music and culture (see the finding aid at http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?doc.view=entire_text&docId=VAB9025). Her collection also illuminates her activities as an Indiana University professor, where she developed some of the first courses on post-WWII popular music and hip hop, and served as the founding director of the IU Soul Revue. Many of the songs in the soundtrack were composed by Maultsby and recorded with the IU Soul Revue in 1977.

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Finding Aid for the Tom Draper Collection Published

Our newest finding aid, The Tom Draper Collection SC 160, is up and live! We had a great time looking through the photos and processing this collection (Draper is standing on the left in the photo above).

Draper's collection documents the career of an African American music executive and covers his tenures at RCA Records and Warner Bros. Records. The bulk of the collection consists of 80 publicity photographs taken during music industry events. Also included is correspondence, press clippings, and programs for concerts produced by Draper. In addition, Dr. Portia K. Maultsby interviewed Draper about his career and the audio file is available at the AAAMC.

All of the photos in this collection are available as thumbnails on IU’s Image Collections Online!             

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#GivingTuesday

While there are thousands of worthy organizations for your consideration, this photo shows some recent gifts to the AAAMC - it's not all about money! Let us know if you're interested in donating magazines, photographs, film and video footage, interviews, recordings, scores, etc. ([email protected]). Financial donations are also welcome, and support the collection, preservation and processing of our holdings.