Spirituals and the birth of a black entertainment industry
By: Sandra Jean Graham
Series: Music in American life; Music in American life
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 330
ISBN-13: 9780252041631; 9780252083273
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: History; Music; Minstrel shows; History and criticism; African Americans; Jubilee singers; Spirituals (Songs)
Description: In the first book-length treatment of postbellum spirituals in theatrical entertainments, Sandra Jean Graham mines a trove of resources to chart the spiritual's journey from the private lives of slaves to the concert stage. Graham navigates the conflicting agendas of those who, in adapting spirituals for their own ends, sold conceptions of racial identity to their patrons. In so doing they laid the foundation for a black entertainment industry whose artistic, financial, and cultural practices extended into the twentieth century.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-312) and index.