Research Catalog

Title

Can't stand still : Taylor Gordon and the Harlem Renaissance / Michael K. Johnson.

Author

Johnson, Michael K. (Michael Kyle), 1963-

Publication

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2019]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

vi, 277 pages : illustrations; 24 cm.

Summary

"Born in 1893 into the only African American family in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, Emmanuel Taylor Gordon (1893-1971) became an internationally famous singer in the 1920s at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. With his musical partner, J. Rosamond Johnson, Gordon was a crucially important figure in popularizing African American spirituals as an art form, giving many listeners their first experience of black spirituals. Despite his fame, Taylor Gordon has been all but forgotten, until now. Michael K. Johnson illuminates Gordon's personal history and his cultural importance to the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, arguing that during the height of his celebrity, Gordon was one of the most significant African American male vocalists of his era. Gordon's story--working in the White Sulphur Springs brothels as an errand boy, traveling the country in John Ringling's private railway car, performing on vaudeville stages from New York to Vancouver to Los Angeles, performing for royalty in England, becoming a celebrated author with a best-selling 1929 autobiography, and his long bout of mental illness--adds depth to the history of the Harlem Renaissance and makes him one of the most fascinating figures of the twentieth century. Through detailed documentation of Gordon's career--newspaper articles, reviews, letters, and other archival material--the author demonstrates the scope of Gordon's cultural impact. The result is a detailed account of Taylor's musical education, his career as a vaudeville performer, the remarkable performance history of Johnson and Gordon, his status as an in-demand celebrity singer and author, his time as a radio star, and, finally, his descent into madness. Can't Stand Still brings Taylor Gordon back to the center of the stage."--Provided by publisher.

Series Statement

Margaret Walker Alexander series in African American Studies

Uniform Title

Margaret Walker Alexander series in African American studies.

Subjects

• African Americans
• African American singers
• Harlem Renaissance
• African Americans > Biography
• African American singers > Biography
• History
• Harlem Renaissance > History
• Biography
• Gordon, Taylor, 1893-1971

Genre/Form

• Biography.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Growing up in White Sulphur Springs, Montana (1893-1910) -- Ringling's niggah (1910-16) -- The tenors went one way (1916-19) -- Syncopation (1919-24) -- Carlo -- A program of Negro spirituals -- Robeson, Hayes, Bledsoe, and Gordon -- Performances and parties (1926-27), part I -- Performances and parties (1926-27), part II -- Sex and the single spirituals singer -- Born to be (1928-29) -- Parties and performances (1929-34) -- Breaking me down (1934-48) -- Invisible man (1948-59).

Call Number

Sc E 19-547

ISBN

• 9781496821959
• 1496821955
• 9781496821966
• 1496821963

LCCN

2018034591

OCLC

1048017864

Author

Johnson, Michael K. (Michael Kyle), 1963- author.

Title

Can't stand still : Taylor Gordon and the Harlem Renaissance / Michael K. Johnson.

Publisher

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2019]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Margaret Walker Alexander series in African American Studies

Margaret Walker Alexander series in African American studies.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Research Call Number

Sc E 19-547