UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press

Society Blues

Elijah Wald

Winner, Independent Publisher Book Award for Performing Arts, 2001

Selected for Association of American University Presses Book Show, 2001

The first major biography of a legendary performer

A gifted and charismatic entertainer, Josh White (1914–1969) was one of the best-known folk-blues artists of his day. In 1963, a Billboard magazine poll ranked him America's third most popular male folksinger, surpassed only by Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte, and ahead of Bob Dylan. He appeared on national television, performed at numerous college concerts and club dates, and released several dozen albums —all featuring his distinctive guitar style, supple voice, and unique showmanship.

In this compelling biography, Elijah Wald traces White's journey from the "colored" side of Greenville, South Carolina, to the heights of Manhattan café society. He explores the complexities of White's music, his struggles with discrimination and stereotypes, his political involvements, and his sometimes raucous personal life.

White was always drawn to music and by the age of ten was leading blind blues and gospel singers around the South. By the 1930s he had become a blues recording star himself, and in the 1940s he was discovered by a white audience and regularly appeared in New York cabarets alongside such artists as Billie Holiday. He also became an outspoken proponent of civil rights and frequently appeared at rallies and benefits, singing songs against segregation. He was one of the few black figures to star on Broadway and appear in Hollywood films, the only black solo peformer to have his own national tour, and a daring sex symbol with adoring fans on both sides of the color line.

In the 1950s, White won acclaim in Europe, then saw his achievements collapse in the polarized political ferment of the McCarthy era. Attempting to strike a balance that would keep his career afloat, he instead succeeded in alienating both political camps. Although still a star in England, he became the forgotten man at home until his resurrection in the folk revival.

"This is an outstanding contribution to scholarship, presenting a fascinating, broad-based, complex understanding of a seminal musical figure. The scope and detailed information will appeal to a scholarly audience, while the style and subject matter—popular music and twentieth-century politics, society, and racial issues— will appeal to a larger public."

Ronald D. Cohen, Indiana University, Northwest
"Josh White's career made a major—and often overlooked or trivialized— contribution to the folk music revivals of the twentieth century. Elijah Wald's work addresses the serious lack of a full-length biography of this important figure."

Millie Rahn, folklorist

Elijah Wald writes on music for The Boston Globe and is coauthor of Mississippi: River of Song. He also performs regularly as a blues and folk singer and guitarist.

Visit Elijah Wald's website.

Music / Biography / Black Studies / American Studies
328 pp., 32 illus.
$40.00t cloth, ISBN 1-55849-269-0
2000

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