
Southern History Remixed
On Rock 'n' Roll and the Dilemma of Race
Michael T. Bertrand(Author)
University Press of Florida
Published on 30. January 2024
Book
Hardback
322 pages
978-0-8130-6989-0 (ISBN)
Description
Southern History Remixed spotlights the key role of popular music in the shaping of the United States South from the late nineteenth century to the era of rock 'n' roll in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. While musical activities are often sidelined in historical narratives of the region, Michael Bertrand shows that they can reveal much about social history and culture change as he connects the rise of rock 'n' roll to the civil rights movement for racial equality.
In this book, Bertrand traces a long-term culture war in which white southerners struggled over the region's cultural complexion with music serving as an engine that both sustained and challenged white supremacy. He shows how rock 'n' roll emerged as a working-class genre with biracial sources that stoked white racial anxieties and engaged the region's color and culture lines. This book discusses the conflict over southern identity that played out in responses to jazz, barn dance radio, Pentecostal and gospel music, Black radio programming, and rhythm and blues, concluding with a close look at the popularity of Elvis Presley within a racially segregated society.
Southern History Remixed suggests that both Black and white southerners have used music as a tool to resist or negotiate a rigid regional hierarchy. Urging readers and scholars to take the study of popular music seriously, Bertrand argues that what occurs in the music world affects and reflects what happens in politics and history.
In this book, Bertrand traces a long-term culture war in which white southerners struggled over the region's cultural complexion with music serving as an engine that both sustained and challenged white supremacy. He shows how rock 'n' roll emerged as a working-class genre with biracial sources that stoked white racial anxieties and engaged the region's color and culture lines. This book discusses the conflict over southern identity that played out in responses to jazz, barn dance radio, Pentecostal and gospel music, Black radio programming, and rhythm and blues, concluding with a close look at the popularity of Elvis Presley within a racially segregated society.
Southern History Remixed suggests that both Black and white southerners have used music as a tool to resist or negotiate a rigid regional hierarchy. Urging readers and scholars to take the study of popular music seriously, Bertrand argues that what occurs in the music world affects and reflects what happens in politics and history.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Florida
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
708 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8130-6989-0 (9780813069890)
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Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2024
1st Edition
University Press of Florida
from
€64.99
Available for download
Person
Michael T. Bertrand, professor of history at Tennessee State University, is the author of Race, Rock, and Elvis.