To borrow words from Stan “The Record Man” Lewis, Shreveport, Louisiana, is one of this nation's most important “regional-sound cities.” Its musical distinctiveness has been shaped by individuals and ensembles, record label and radio station owners, announcers and disc jockeys, club owners and sound engineers, music journalists and musicians. The area's output cannot be described by a single genre or style. Rather, its music is a kaleidoscope of country, blues, R&B, rockabilly, and rock. Shreveport Sounds in Black and White presents that evolution in a collection of scholarly and popular writing that covers institutions and people who nurtured the musical life of the city and surroundings. The contributions of icons like Leadbelly and Hank Williams, and such lesser-known names as Taylor-Griggs Melody Makers and Eddie Giles come to light. New writing explores the famed Louisiana Hayride, musicians Jimmie Davis and Dale Hawkins, local disc jockey “Dandy Don” Logan, and KWKH studio sound engineer Bob Sullivan. With glimpses into the lives of original creators, Shreveport Sounds in Black and White reveals the mix that emerges from the ongoing interaction between the city's black and white musicians.
On a Saturday night in 1948, Hank Williams stepped onto the stage of the Louisiana Hayride and sang "Lovesick Blues." Up to that point, Williams's yodeling style had been pigeon-holed as hillbilly music, cutting him off from the mainstream of popular music. Taking a chance on this untried artist, the Hayride--a radio "barn dance" or country music variety show like the Grand Ole Opry--not only launched Williams's career, but went on to launch the careers of well-known performers such as Jim Reeves, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Johnny Cash, and Slim Whitman.Broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana, the local station KWKH's 50,000-watt signal reached listeners in over 28 states and lured them to packed performances of the Hayride's road show. By tracing the dynamic history of the Hayride and its sponsoring station, ethnomusicologist Tracey Laird reveals the critical role that this part of northwestern Louisiana played in the development of both country music and rock and roll. Delving into the past of this Red River city, she probes the vibrant historical, cultural, and social backdrop for its dynamic musical scene. Sitting between the Old South and the West, this one-time frontier town provided an ideal setting for the cross-fertilization of musical styles. The scene was shaped by the region's easy mobility, the presence of a legal "red-light" district from 1903-17, and musical interchanges between blacks and whites, who lived in close proximity and in nearly equal numbers. The region nurtured such varied talents as Huddie Ledbetter, the "king of the twelve-string guitar," and Jimmie Davis, the two term "singing governor" of Louisiana who penned "You Are My Sunshine."Against the backdrop of the colorful history of Shreveport, the unique contribution of this radio barn dance is revealed. Radio shaped musical tastes, and the Hayride's frontier-spirit producers took risks with artists whose reputations may have been shaky or whose styles did not neatly fit musical categories (both Hank Williams and Elvis Presley were rejected by the Opry before they came to Shreveport). The Hayride also served as a training ground for a generation of studio sidemen and producers who steered popular music for decades after the Hayride's final broadcast. While only a few years separated the Hayride appearances of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley--who made his national radio debut on the show in 1954--those years encompassed seismic shifts in the tastes, perceptions, and self-consciousness of American youth. Though the Hayride is often overshadowed by the Grand Ole Opry in country music scholarship, Laird balances the record and reveals how this remarkable show both documented and contributed to a powerful transformation in American popular music.
A city's history is made by its people, and for over 165 years the people of Shreveport, Louisiana have been building a rich heritage. From everyday residents to community leaders, from educators and clergy to entertainers and celebrities, Shreveport's citizens have created a lasting legacy. Here, readers are presented with a collective portrait of the city, including images from both its distant and not-so-distant past. Photographs of ordinary as well as extraordinary people, revealing their lives and their culture, preserve significant moments in time. While it is not possible to include them all in a single book, this volume does much to create a picture of the numerous talented, industrious, and spirited citizens who have contributed to the community's development. Their names are found on local streets, parks, buildings, and monuments; yet, their stories are often unknown. In this volume, readers will meet some of these colorful figures, putting faces with the names that present-day Shreveport residents know so well.
The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio is an essential single-volume reference guide to this vital and evolving medium. Comprised of more than 300 entries spanning the invention of radio to the Internet, this refernce work addresses personalities, music genres, regulations, technology, programming and stations, the "golden age" of radio and other topics relating to radio broadcasting throughout its history. The entries are updated throughout and the volume includes nine new entries on topics ranging from podcasting to the decline of radio.
Today, Shreveport boasts the largest collection of important twentieth-century buildings in the state of Louisiana, and is surpassed only by New Orleans in the number of locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Well-known Shreveport historian Eric J. Brock details the history of the city's commerce, civic development, neighborhoods, architecture, cemeteries, peculiar events, culture, religion, and education. Based on his columns for the long-running series, "The Presence of the Past," which appeared weekly in the Shreveport JournalPage, it is the result of many years of documentation and research. One can witness the breakup of the Great Raft, relive the yellow fever epidemic of 1873, sing along at the Louisiana Hayride, and retrace the steps of Martin Luther King, Jr. Written in response to an overwhelming number of requests and suggestions for a book of its kind, Eric Brock's Shreveport should fill the void for academic books depicting the area.
Volume II picks up in 1943-44, right where Volume I left off, with Hank’s courtship and marriage to first wife, Audrey (Sheppard) Guy Williams, his rise to fame at the Louisiana Hayride, 1948-49, and at the Grand Ole Opry, 1949-50, before success began closing in on him by December 1950. Hank was only 27 years old at the time, and no one knew that he had only two more years to live. Despite Hank’s growing alcoholism, marital and health problems, and eventual addiction to prescription drugs, his last two years were perhaps the most productive and successful of his career. “A special feature of Volume II is that Dr. Nail devotes an entire chapter to the art and craft of songwriting. Here, Nail provides what I believe is the most accurate and comprehensive analysis to date of the relative contributions of Hank and his publisher/song editor, Fred Rose, to Hank’s songs. Like Volume I, Volume II is a must-read for anyone seeking greater understanding and insight into the short but fabulous life and career of the legendary Hank Williams. I wholeheartedly recommend it.” – Ed Guy, noted Hank Williams expert
- Long considered the last word on Hank Williams, this biography has remained continuously in print since its first publication in 1994.- This new edition has been completely updated and includes many previously unpublished photographs, as well as a complete catalog detailing all the songs Hank Williams ever wrote, even those he never recorded.- Colin Escott is codirector and cowriter of the forth-coming two-hour PBS/BBC television documentary on Hank Williams, set to broadcast in spring 2004, and coauthor of "Hank Williams: Snapshots from the Lost Highway.- HANK WILLIAMS was the third-prize winner of the prestigious Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award.
