Deep Ellum, on the eastern edge of downtown Dallas, retains its character as an alternative to the citys staid image with loft apartments, art galleries, nightclubs, and tattoo shops. It first sprang up as a ramshackle business district with saloons and variety theatres and evolved, during the early decades of the twentieth century, into a place where the black and white worlds of Dallas converged.
This book strips away layers of myth to illuminate the cultural milieu that spawned such seminal blues and jazz musicians as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Buster Smith, and T-Bone Walker and that was also an incubator for the growth of western swing.
Expanding upon the original 1998 publication, this Texas A&M University Press edition offers new research on Deep Ellums vital cross-fertilization of white and black musical styles, many additional rare historical photographs, and an updated account of the area in the early years of the twenty-first century.
Recenzijos
. . . a welcome addition to collections supporting study of the blues and of the US Southwest. - Choice
An informative book about the neighborhoods history . . . - New York Times
| Preface |
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vii | |
| Introduction. Deep Ellum: Fact and Fiction |
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1 | (16) |
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Chapter 1 "Deep Elem Blues": Song of the Street |
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17 | (13) |
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Chapter 2 The Railroads Create Deep Ellum |
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30 | (7) |
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Chapter 3 William Sidney Pittman: Architect of Deep Ellum |
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37 | (8) |
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45 | (21) |
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Chapter 5 Jewish Pawnbrokers and Merchants of Deep Ellum |
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66 | (13) |
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Chapter 6 Blind Lemon Jefferson: Downhome Blues |
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79 | (27) |
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Chapter 7 The Contemporaries of Blind Lemon |
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106 | (13) |
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Chapter 8 Blind Willie Johnson and Arizona Dranes: The "Holy Blues" of Deep Ellum |
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119 | (9) |
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Chapter 9 Alex Moore: Dallas Piano Blues |
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128 | (13) |
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Chapter 10 Buster Smith: Dallas Jazz Goes to Kansas City and New York |
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141 | (17) |
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Chapter 11 Marvin Montgomery: The Cross-Fertilization of White and Black Musical Styles |
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158 | (18) |
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Chapter 12 The Contemporaries of Marvin Montgomery: Western Swing, Texas Fiddling, and the Big "D" Jamboree |
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176 | (16) |
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Chapter 13 Benny Binion: Gambling and the Policy Racket |
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192 | (12) |
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Chapter 14 Deep Ellum's Just Too Doggone Slow: Decline and Rebirth |
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204 | (15) |
| Notes |
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219 | (10) |
| Selected Discography |
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229 | (52) |
| Bibliography |
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281 | (8) |
| Index |
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289 | |
Alan Govenar is an author, folklorist, photographer, and filmmaker, living in Dallas. His recent titles include Everyday Music, Jasper, Texas: The Community Photographs of Alonzo Jordan, Lightnin Hopkins: His Life and Blues, and Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound.Jay Brakefield is a career journalist, freelance writer, and editor. He lives in Bryan, Texas.
