Voices of African American Women in Rock and Roll, 1953-1984

FAIN: FA-57418-13

Maureen Elizabeth Mahon
New York University (New York, NY 10012-1019)

This book explores the familiar tale of rock and roll’s origins and development from an unfamiliar perspective: through the experiences of African American women. Focusing on the period from 1953, when blues singer Big Mama Thornton recorded her hit “Hound Dog,” to 1984, when the solo career of rock veteran Tina Turner took flight, "Beyond Brown Sugar" delves into issues of voice and representation in the music and lives of African American women musicians. I examine the musical and personal voices of these artists, approaching voice in three distinct ways: as an expressive instrument, as creative vision, and as critical and analytical viewpoint. I also explore the ways these artists experienced and navigated the complex intersection of gender, race, class, sexuality, and musical genre. My goal is to uncover a hidden history of African American women in rock and roll, expanding our understanding of their role and offering a more inclusive, holistic story of the genre.

Associated Products

Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll (Book)
Title: Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll
Author: Maureen Mahon
Abstract: African American women have played a pivotal part in rock and roll—from laying its foundations and singing chart-topping hits to influencing some of the genre's most iconic acts. Despite this, black women's importance to the music's history has been diminished by narratives of rock as a mostly white male enterprise. In Black Diamond Queens, Maureen Mahon draws on recordings, press coverage, archival materials, and interviews to document the history of African American women in rock and roll between the 1950s and the 1980s. Mahon details the musical contributions and cultural impact of Big Mama Thornton, LaVern Baker, Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Merry Clayton, Labelle, the Shirelles, and others, demonstrating how dominant views of gender, race, sexuality, and genre affected their careers. By uncovering this hidden history of black women in rock and roll, Mahon reveals a powerful sonic legacy that continues to reverberate into the twenty-first century.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/black-diamond-queens/oclc/1200850727&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: World Cat
Secondary URL: https://www.dukeupress.edu/black-diamond-queens
Secondary URL Description: Duke University Press page
Publisher: Duke University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-1-4780-112
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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