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Home » Browse partner collections » African American Museum and Library at Oakland

Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #017]

African American Museum and Library at Oakland
Permalink: https://californiarevealed.org/islandora/object/cavpp%3A14829
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  • Metadata
Title

Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #017]

Finding Aid Title

Brownie McGhee Papers

Date Created

1994-09-05

Description

Side A description: Silence [00:00]; Brownie performing song "Good morning blues" [00:09]; Discussing unnamed pianist [06:03]; Discussing his Martin guitar [07:40]; Record labels he recorded on in 1940s-1950s [08:20]; Stories about recording in studio [09:48]; Poor quality of recordings [13:46]; Working for the Mafia [14:05]; "Baseball boogie" royalties [16:49]; Race music labels [19:42]; Investigated by FBI as a communist [20:55]; FBI and performing at Yankee stadium, "Stand up and be counted" [22:27]; Playing at NYU and Columbia University [25:26]; Big Bill Broonzy, Lead Belly, discrimination at Jack Dempsey's restaurant [26:25]; Playing table at hotel in New York City [28:12]; Performing under aliases [29:46]; Elmer Lee Thomas' band members [31:50]; Tomato Records, Blue Labor Records, Rondor Music, song "Rainy Day," Charles Brown's Christmas blues [40:09]; Performing at Lake Merritt [42:05]; Touring in England, Big Bill Broonzy [42:32]; Reception in the US after touring England [45:05] Side B description: Silence [00:00], Father's advice, getting a job with polio [00:10], Conversation with daughter, albums, Sonny and Brownie fight over hiring a backup musician [02:01], Sonny and Brownie's Broadway work [15:10], Working on the movie, The Jerk [16:52], Relationship between Sonny and Brownie [18:45], Blind Boy Fuller [24:05], Learning to play guitar with a pick [27:25], Brownie shows his diploma to J.B. Long [28:16], Sonny's blindness [29:20], Phone call [30:47], Sonny's family, blindness [31:16], Sonny gets stiffed for work by boss [33:19], Making money playing on the street of New York City [35:18], First song Brownie and Sonny played together, "Stranger blues" [37:00]

Creator

McGhee, Brownie

Interviewer

Wright, Leslie Ann

Interviewee

McGhee, Brownie

Genre

Oral histories

Media Type

Sound

Format

Audio cassette

Number of Parts

1 Tape of 1

Copyright Statement

Copyrighted. Rights are owned by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Copyright Holder. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Country of Creation

US

Source Institution

African American Museum and Library at Oakland

Source Institution Contact Information

African American Museum and Library at Oakland, 659 14th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, US, Telephone: (510) 637-0198, email: aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org, http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-...

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California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this collection do not necessarily reflect those of the funder.