Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Kennedy's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on JFK

Kennedy's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on JFK

Ward, Brian
Rijn, Guido Van
Van Rijn, Guido

Paperback

Series: American Made Music

Black American StudiesBlues & SoulGospel

ISBN10: 1604738588
ISBN13: 9781604738582
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: May 20 2010
Pages: 252
Weight: 0.81
Height: 0.56 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A compilation and analysis of the many blues and gospel songs written about the inspirational president Kennedy's Blues: African American Blues and Gospel Songs on JFK collects in a single volume the blues and gospel songs written by African Americans about the presidency of John F. Kennedy and offers a close analysis of Kennedy's hold upon the African American imagination. These blues and gospel songs have never been transcribed and analyzed in a systematic way, so this volume provides a hitherto untapped source on the perception of one of the most intriguing American presidents. After eight years of Republican rule the young Democratic president received a warm welcome from African Americans. However, with the Cold War military draft and the slow pace of civil rights measures, inspiration temporarily gave way to impatience. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, the March on Washington, the groundbreaking civil rights bill--all found their way into blues and gospel songs. The many blues numbers devoted to the assassination and the president's legacy are evidence of JFK's near-canonization by African Americans. Blues historian Guido van Rijn shows that John F. Kennedy became a mythical hero to blues songwriters despite what was left unaccomplished. Guido van Rijn is teacher of English at Kennemer Lyceum in Overveen, the Netherlands. His previous books include The Truman and Eisenhower Blues: African American Blues and Gospel Songs, 1945-1960.

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