DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GOSPEL PIANO STYLE (1926-1960): A SOCIO-MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF ARIZONA DRANES AND THOMAS A. DORSEY by Idella Lulamae Johnson B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1992 M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1995 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2009 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MUSIC This dissertation was presented by Idella Lulamae Johnson It was defended on June 8, 2009 and approved by Akin Euba, PhD, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music Laurence Glasco, PhD, Associate Professor of History Andrew Weintraub, PhD, Associate Professor of Music Dissertation Advisor: Nathan Davis, PhD, Professor of Music ii Copyright © by Idella L.Johnson 2009 iii DEVELOPMENT OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GOSPEL PIANO STYLE (1926-1960): A SOCIO-MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF ARIZONA DRANES AND THOMAS A. DORSEY Idella Lulamae Johnson, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2009 African-American gospel music has long been recognized as a vocal music, and its piano accompaniment has also been an indispensable and important component in shaping and defining the genre. This dissertation traces and examines the historical and stylistic development of the gospel piano style from 1926 to 1960. Arizona Dranes and Thomas A. Dorsey are highlighted as two of the earliest and formidable practitioners who aided in codifying and promulgating the gospel piano style. The four primary areas of investigation include: 1) explicating the musical development of the piano style from 1926 to 1960 through the pianistic styles of twenty-three gospel pianists; 2) providing biographical information on over twenty-five gospel pianists; 3) examining the sacred versus secular dichotomy through musical similarities and differences that exist between the gospel piano style and other popular, African-American piano styles; and 4) presenting an ethnographic exploration of the musical and sociohistorical roles of gospel pianists. Each area of inquiry is informed by methods in Ethnomusicology and Musicology, and augmented by methodologies in African-American Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology. Wilson’s work on conceptual approaches to African and African-American music-making (1974, 1984, 1992), and Gates’ work on Signifying (1988) provide the major theoretical framework for the musical analysis. Fifty-five recordings of various gospel pianists, representing nine sub-styles, are transcribed and analyzed in order to define and delineate established practices, techniques, iv idiomatic harmonic movement, and shared motives, riffs, and “fill-ins” -- all which are important in establishing a stylistic and performance canon for the gospel piano style. Eleven motivic techniques that are endemic and idiomatic to the foundation and development of the gospel piano style are identified. The gospel piano style is grouped into three historical periods. Dranes and Dorsey define the first period with twenty-six musical characteristics, thirteen musical characteristics define the second period, and ten musical characteristics define the third. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE..............................................................................................................................XVIII 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 1.1 SCOPE OF STUDY.............................................................................................2 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES...............................................................................4 1.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.....................................................................9 1.4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE/STATE OF GOSPEL PIANO RESEARCH12 1.4.1 Reference Tools...........................................................................................15 1.4.2 Books, Dissertations, Theses & Articles....................................................17 1.4.2.1 Musical Analysis.................................................................................17 1.4.2.2 Musical Description............................................................................21 1.4.2.3 Piano Style/Role..................................................................................26 1.4.2.4 Pianists.................................................................................................36 1.4.2.5 Aesthetics/Identity..............................................................................39 1.4.3 Hymnals.......................................................................................................43 1.4.4 Discographies...............................................................................................44 1.4.5 Models of Gospel Piano Research.............................................................45 1.5 IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH TO DISCIPLINARY CONCERNS.......47 1.6 METHODOLOGY............................................................................................48 vi 2.0 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF GOSPEL MUSIC..............................................52 2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF GOSPEL MUSIC.............................52 2.1.1 Historical Foundations of Gospel Music...................................................55 2.1.2 History of the African-America n C hurch in the First-Half of the Twentieth Century - Denominational Differences..................................................87 2.1.3 Cultural Critique of Religious Life...........................................................93 2.1.4 Gospel’s Musical Characteristics..............................................................95 2.2 JUSTIFICATION OF PIANO AS AN AP PROPRIATE FOCAL POINT FOR STUDY.....................................................................................................................101 2.2.1 Brief History of Piano in America...........................................................101 2.2.2 Role and Popularity of Piano among African-Americans.....................107 3.0 BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHT OF KEY PIANISTS.......................................110 3.1 ROLE OF RECORDING INDUS TRY/MEDIA IN THE DEVELOP MENT OF GOSPEL MUSIC.......................................................................................................110 3.1.1 Brief History of the Development of African-American Recording Industry ....................................................................................................................110 3.1.2 The Development of Radio.......................................................................116 3.1.3 C. Radio and the Black Community......................................................119 3.1.4 Radio and the Black Church....................................................................123 3.1.5 Radio and Black Gospel Music................................................................128 3.2 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.............................................................131 3.2.1 Arizona Dranes (1894-1963).....................................................................132 3.2.2 Thomas A. Dorsey.....................................................................................135 vii 3.2.3 Protégés......................................................................................................139 Roberta Martin (1907-1969)...........................................................................140 Thomas Shelby (1900 -1972)...........................................................................143 Kenneth Morris (1917 – 1988)........................................................................143 Willie Webb (1919-1997).................................................................................144 Margaret Wells Allison (1921-)......................................................................146 Clara Ward (1924-1973) - WARD SINGERS...............................................147 Willa Ward Royster (1921-)............................................................................152 Evelyn Starks (1922-)......................................................................................153 Jeff Banks (1927 – 1997)..................................................................................154 Gwendolyn Cooper Lightner (1927–)............................................................156 Alex Bradford (1927-1978)..............................................................................157 Cora Martin Moore (1927 – 19?)...................................................................158 Dorothy Love Coates (1928 – 2002)...............................................................159 Lucy Smith Collier/”Little Lucy” (1928-)......................................................160 Herman Stevens (1928-1970)..........................................................................162 Curtis Dublin (1928-1965)...............................................................................162 Raymond Rasberry (1930 – October 1995)...................................................163 Robert Wooten (1930-2008)............................................................................165 James Cleveland (1931-1991)..........................................................................166 Maceo Woods (1932-)......................................................................................168 Herbert “Pee Wee” Pickard (1933 –).............................................................169 Edward Robinson (1933-)...............................................................................170 viii Mildred Falls (19? – 1972)..............................................................................171 Louise Overall Weaver (? – 1993?)................................................................172 4.0 SACRED & SECULAR ISSUES............................................................................173 4.1 SECULAR MUSICAL INFLUENCES FOUND IN THE GOSPEL PIANO STYLE ...........................................................................................................................187 4.1.1 Blues...........................................................................................................187 4.1.2 Ragtime......................................................................................................190 4.1.3 Stride/Jazz Piano.......................................................................................198 4.1.4 Barrelhouse................................................................................................199 4.1.5 E. Boogie Woogie......................................................................................200 5.0 MUSICAL ANALYSIS............................................................................................203 5.1 TROPING.........................................................................................................203 5.2 STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF KEY FIGURES..............................................205 5.2.1 Arizona Dranes..........................................................................................207 5.2.2 Thomas A. Dorsey.....................................................................................250 5.3 DELINEATION OF GOSPEL PIANO SUB-STYLES................................263 5.4 MUSICAL ANALYSI S OF THE DE VELOPMENT OF THE GOSPEL PIANO STYLE.................................................................................................................265 6.0 SOCIAL AND MUSICAL ROLE..........................................................................325 6.1 MUSICAL ROLE OF GOSPEL PIANIST...................................................326 6.1.1 Musical Centrality....................................................................................326 6.1.2 Musical Leadership...................................................................................329 6.1.3 Musical Creativity.....................................................................................338 ix 6.1.4 D. Musical Authority................................................................................343 6.2 SOCIAL ROLE OF THE GOSPEL PIANIST.............................................347 6.2.1 Social Centrality........................................................................................348 6.2.2 B. Social Leadership.................................................................................350 6.2.3 Social Creativity/Anointed.......................................................................355 6.2.4 D. Social Authority....................................................................................357 7.0 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION..............................................................................363 APPENDIX A............................................................................................................................373 APPENDIX B............................................................................................................................381 APPENDIX C............................................................................................................................384 BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................388 x