Texas Jailhouse Music: vintage book review by Tam Francis
The Synopsis
Texas Jailhouse Music, The History Press (May 2, 2016) by Carolilne Gnagy is a lovely Texas-sized non-fiction that brings to light an almost lost history of iconic Texas music and the players behind bars who contributed to it.
For a brief moment in Texas history, a surprising story of ingenuity, optimism, and musical creativity has almost been forgotten. Beginning in the 1930s and spanning well into the 1960s, Prison Rodeo shows were an avenue for rehabilitation. Caroline Gnagy presents this decades-long story of the Texas convict bands, informed by prison records, radio show transcripts, and the words and music of the inmates.
During this era, inmates at the Huntsville unit and the neighboring Goree State Farm for Women captured the hearts of Texans through their weekly radio broadcasts and live stage performances. WBAP’s “Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls” took listeners inside the penitentiary, where they could hear not only the prisoners’ songs but also the personal stories of those who sang them.
The scene was vibrant, with captivating and charismatic performers like Reable Childs, a banjo and steel guitar player who played with the Goree All-Girl String Band and Hattie Ellis, a young Black inmate with a voice that rivaled Billie Holiday‘s. Ellis was immortalized by notable folklorist John Avery Lomax, further enhancing the allure of this unique musical landscape. Their performances were not just musical but also visual spectacles, with the women donning stylish, vintage outfits (vintage to us, not them) that added a touch of glamour to their shows.
The prison music scene was a tapestry of cowboys, songsters, and champion fiddlers, each contributing to one of the most distinctive prison histories in the nation. These performances not only provided a creative outlet for the inmates but also served as a bridge between the inside world of the prison and the outside world, showcasing a blend of music, fashion, and storytelling that left a lasting impact on Texas’s cultural history.
Texas Jailhouse Music Vintage Book Review: What I liked about it
- The research was amazing and indepth, pulled from many sources.
- The organization of the information and how we were introduced to the players. I especially liked the CONVICT #s and the sometimes interesting history and new numbers of the recidivists. (spoiler: not all of the inmates’ rehabilitation stuck).
- Gnagy has an eye of fashion and gave me some lush descriptions!
- The music history and connections were fascinating, especially the references to well-known artists of the time like Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis, and Lefty Frizzell.
- The insightful, yet professional glimpse into Gnagy’s opinions on several prison issues.
- So many wonderful pictures. I could have a coffee table book with these photos!
- Fascinating behind the scenes almost an expose of what life was really like for some of the prisoners.
- Hard-hitting illumination of the use of sterilization of women prisoners.
Favorite Quotes from Gnagy in Texas Jailhouse Music
“The reporters were clearly fascinated with the seeming black widow duplicity of the ‘auburn-haired, comely young widow’ Reable Childs and her fiendish young lover.”
“The pair’s video reenactment is strikingly vaudevillian in tone between the paternalistic attitude of Lomax toward African Americans and Lead Belly‘s willingness to play the well-meaning, childlike role typically expected of the ‘good’ African American, albeit imbued with a smattering of the trickster and a heavy dose of Lead Belly’s natural talent and charm.”
“Nonetheless, Lomax’s decision to exclude white inmates from his prison field recordings created a pattern of omission unchallenged and perpetuated by folklorists who followed his lead. Lomax only recorded the music of non-white prisoners–as if the cowboy songs, Anglo ballads and sea shanties that he’d found extremely significant earlier in his career were of no merit if they were collected inside prison walls.”
“As for the listeners, how could they not tune in. These were the reality shows of the era.”
“From its humble beginnings in the farm homes and mountain shacks of American migrants, country music emphasized the plight of the outsider and the renegade.”
“Raymond Hall’s creative contributions from his Texas prison cell represent something of a missing link for why the prison song is one of country music’s defining themes.”
“Interracial musical genre appropriation undoubtedly helped form the melting pot that is today’s popular American music, but in the 1930s and ’40s, a station like WBAP nonetheless adhered to certain social and legal expectations concerning the race of its performers.”
Favorite Quotes Quoted in Texas Jailhouse Music
“But until it gives them a matron, trained in penal and social welfare work to whom women prisoners can take their fears of the future, their problems of the present, their utmost thoughts of rebellion without fear of immediate punishment without a fair hearing, the state will have done nothing to make them better than when they became it’s charges.” ~ Melba Newton George
“Mention Jack Purvis to any musician who came up playing hot music in those days, and the reaction was invariably the same: wonderful, sometimes brilliant. A madman, probably a con artist. But brother, could he ever play.” ~ Richard Sudhalter
“Well, the closer I got to the chair, the faster I tried to think. And though it may seem odd, I wasn’t thinking about ways to miss paying the penalty either. I was just trying to recall as many of the enjoyable moments of my life as possible–trying to relive them all over again while there was time. ~ Paul Mitchell
“We glowed with pride when we remind you that some of the outstanding talent comes from this unit…They’re so unassuming in our midst that we pass them unconcernedly at least six days a week, but when we hear them on the air it’s different. They are stars then, shining in our own little sky above our backyard, and we clasp hands on the back porch to dream little dreams that are made of stardust. ~ Reable Childs
“…I heard her sing at home with her sisters. They did something I’d never heard before, they yodeled in harmony…a thin-voiced soprano, that wasn’t her. Mother could call the cows home!” ~ Gayle Royer
“At the least, Reable wanted to prove that the women of Goree, the state’s most notorious outcasts, were capable of doing something that no one believed they could do.” ~ Skip Hollandsworth
What I Wanted More Of
- More dancing. Always more dancing for me, and it sounded like the live shows and Rodeo shows had dancing, but perhaps there was not much evidence or description.
- Although Gnagy’s fashion descriptions were on the beam, I could always have more of that stuff, too. Even though it’s non-fiction, I wanted to be more immersed! But how much do I want to sew one of the Goree Girls’ outfits!
- I’d love to have more insights and drips of Gnagy’s opinions. She did an amazing job keeping a pretty unbiased tone, but when it poked through, I wanted more. Love her perspective.
- One of my fave parts was the beginning when they described Reable and her lover’s crime. The way it was retold sucked me in, and I wanted more of that for the other convicts.
- I was curious as to any connections beyond the documented one with Jimmie Rodgers and Raymond Hall.
- Having only been to a local rodeo, Chisholm Trail Roundup, I was curious about the Prison Rodeo and yearned for more about how the inmates were transported, the itinerary, audience, and general vibe of the shows.
- MORE book. I almost felt like it ended too soon. I know Gnagy can only report on the found archival information, but wow would I have loved more.
Overall
I rarely gravitate to non-fiction, but this book, describing a swath of Texas history that sounded fascinating to me, couldn’t be passed up. I thought for sure my dear readers will find it as compelling and interesting as I did! Readers who like my Jitterbug Dress series will definitely want to add this to their TBR pile. I love doing research for my historical fiction novels, but the depth of Gnagy’s research blows me away. I wish I could delve so deep!
Although it’s not historical fiction, the people and stories seem almost fictional in the way that truth is stranger than fiction. The heart-breaking stories of love, redemption, and struggle will see any reader through to the end.
Vintage Enthusiast Rating
Fashion: ♥♥♥♥
Music: ♥♥♥♥♥
Dance: ♥♥
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Do you like non-fiction novels about this era? Are you interested in what role Texas played in the evolution of country music? Did you know about Texas Jailhouse Music before reading this? Do you know anyone who has been helped by prison rehibilitation programs? One of my fave old songs that’s mentioned in the book is, I want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart. What are some of your 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s Western Swing or Country music tunes?
Tam Francis is a writer, blogger, swing dance teacher, avid vintage collector, and seamstress. She shares her love of this genre through her novels, blog, and short stories. She enjoys hearing from you, sharing ideas, forging friendships, and exchanging guest blogs. For all the Girl in the Jitterbug Dress news, give-aways, events, and excitement, make sure to join her list and like her FB page! Join my list ~ Facebook page