[Dixielandjazz] Kash's question about the song "Dixie"

[JimDBB at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/25/03 1:26:25 PM Central Standard Time, 
gwilliamoakley at earthlink.net writes:


> I couldn't agree with you more,  Jim.  As you know from our offline 
> communication regarding this wonderful old song I have personal experience 
> with the liberal claptrap that has dogged Dixie. The below comment from the 
> NPR web site referencing their documentary on the tune is quite 
> informative.
>  
> "Musician Mike Petee helped this year's crowd at Mount Vernon's Dan Emmett 
> festival imagine how Emmett might have been inspired to write the tune. 
> 
> "It's New York City... It's rainy, it's cold," Petee said. "And what 
> minstrels loved to do was tour the north during the summer and in the 
> winter they want to go down south. So he's in the north, it's cold, it's 
> dreary, his thoughts go to Dixie, where he wants to be." 
> 
> Beyond the differing theories of its origin and the quarrels over its 
> symbolism, it's clear to Vanderbilt University music historian Dale 
> Cockrell why it became so popular and enduring. 
> 
> "The song's music is of undeniable infectious quality," Cockrell says. 
> "It's anthem-like. It's in 4/4 so it's a kind of propulsive march-like 
> dance rhythm. One can hardly help but be affected just by the musical 
> quality of it." 
> 
> A lot of people still wish they could hear "Dixie." But it's rarely sung in 
> public anymore. 
> 
> One way latter-day performers try to make it acceptable is to combine it 
> with other tunes that acknowledge its complex history. Jazz singer Rene 
> Marie combined it with Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" -- a vivid 
> depiction of a lynching. Elvis Presley's American trilogy mixes "Dixie" 
> with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the spiritual "All My Trials." 
> 
> Howard Sacks believes "Dixie" retains a quintessential American quality: 
> 
> "What it tells us is that black, white, male female, southern, northern, 
> slave, free, urban rural -- these aren't separate realms," Sacks says. "The 
> story of the American experience is the story of movement between these 
> realms. 
> 
> "Understanding the creation and re-creation of "Dixie" is that story 
> encapsulated in the words and music of a single song." 
>  
> Best Regards
> Bill

   An excellent post, Bill, on "Dixie."  I was just relating offline my 
thoughts on the classic song, "Carry me back to old Virginny."  This song has 
lines like "Ol' Massa" and has the same sort of racial bagge that "dixie" 
has.

   I didn't realize what a beautiful and poignant song 'Virginny' was until I 
heard Bobby Short do it.  Dick Hyman put together a superb musical bio on W.C 
for PUblic Radio.  He had a section reflecting on music that influenced 
Handy.  Dick had Bobby Short ( a leading afro-american pianist and 
entertainer) sing, "Carry me back..."  Short sang it very seriously and it 
was powerful. I was struck by what a wonderful song  it really is.  I wonder, 
 Is this a Stephen Foster song? 

We deny our own soul and heritage when we distance ourselves from classics 
like these because of social connotations that have been added on.

BTW, didn't Wingy Manone diixiefy the heck out of "Dixie?"

Jim Beebe
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