Library Guide to African American Music

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To Find Books

Use the MERLIN Library Catalog and the MOBIUS Union Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. Relevant works can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:

• African Americans – Music
• African Americans – Music History and Criticism
• African Americans – Folklore
• African Americans – Songs and Music
• Ragtime Music
• Work Songs
• Spirituals (Songs)
• Jazz
• Blues Music
• Rhythm and Blues Music
• Soul Music
• Rap Music

Examples of relevant books are presented below. These books are part of the circulating collection of the Music/Media Library and can be checked out. Titles are linked to the corresponding MERLIN Library Catalog record.

Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America	Music ML3531 .R67
Goin’ Back to Memphis: A Century of Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Glorious Soul	Music ML3470 .D52
Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues	Music ML3561 .B63 S53
New Grove Gospel, Blues, and Jazz with Spirituals and Ragtime	Music ML3187 .O55
One Nation under a Groove: Motown and American Culture	Music ML3477 .E2
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom	Music ML3521 .G9

To find the location of a book in Miller Nichols Library, see the Location Guide.

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To Find Articles

Remote (off-campus) access to databases is available only to UMKC students, faculty, and staff. All other users must access online resources within the Libraries. Begin searching by selecting a database. After selection you will be prompted to provide a UMKC Single Sign-On user name and password OR a 9-digit UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed.

• Black Studies On Disc. 1600s - present. Accessible only from the computers in the Information Commons on the First Floor of the Miller Nichols Library. Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.
  An interdisciplinary index to scholarship relevant to the field of African-American Studies, including African-American history and literature.
• Grove Music Online is now part of Oxford Music Online.     Save to del.icio.us
  Full text.
  Provides authoritative articles covering all aspects of music and biographical information on musicians. Incorporates the revised and updated texts of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.
• Music Index Online 1979 - present.     Save to del.icio.us
  Offers access to articles in music periodicals on a broad range of subjects, including past and present personalities, the history of music, forms and types of music, musical instruments from the earliest times to modern electronic instruments, plus computer produced music. The print version 1949 - present is available in Miller Nichols Library Music Ref ML118 .M84.
• RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (FirstSearch) 1969 - present.     Save to del.icio.us
  International in scope, RILM covers all aspects of music, including historical musicology, ethnomusicology, instruments and voice, dance, and music therapy. The printed RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 1967 - present is available in Miller Nichols Library Music Ref ML111 .R2. Link to FirstSearch web user's guide.
  

University Libraries Photocopying and Printing Services

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Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Bibliographies and Discographies

Reference sources are useful for locating background information, definitions, general descriptions, and basic facts. Use these books to help you select or focus your research topic.

Call numbers refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library. Titles are linked to the corresponding MERLIN Library Catalog record.

These books are located in the reference section of the Music/Media Library and are for library use only.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians	Music Ref ML105 .S67
Blues Who's Who: A Biographical Dictionary of Blues Singers	Music Ref ML102 .B6 H3
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Black Music	Music Ref ML105 .I39
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians	Music Ref ML100 .N48
The (New) Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll	Music Ref ML102 .R6 R64
Soul Music A-Z	Music Ref ML102 .S65 G7

Bibliographies & Discographies

Bibliography of Black Music: Volume 1: Reference Materials Bibliography of Black Music: Volume 2: Afro-American Idioms Bibliography of Black Music: Volume 3: Geographical Studies Bibliography of Black Music: Volume 4: Theory, Education, and Related Studies	Music Ref ML128 .B45 D44
Black Music in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Reference and Research Materials	Music Ref ML128 .B45 F6
The Blues: A Bibliographical Guide	Music Ref ML128 .B49 H3
Blues & Gospel Records, 1890-1943	Music Ref ML156.2 .D63
Blues Records, January 1943 to December 1966	Music Ref ML156.4 .J3 L4
Gospel Records, 1943-1969: A Black Music Discography	Music Ref ML156.4 .R4
Jazz-bibliography: International Literature on Jazz, Blues, Spirituals, Gospel and Ragtime Music with a Selected List of Works on the Social and Cultural Background from the Beginning to the Present	Music Ref ML128 .J3 H3
Jazz Records, 1897-1942	Music Ref ML156.4 .J3 R9

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To Find Sound Recordings

Use the MERLIN Library Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. All sound recordings are held by the Marr Sound Archives or the Music/Media Library, both located on the ground floor of the Miller Nichols Library. Sound recordings from the Marr Sound Archives are non-circulating and are available for on-site listening only; sound recordings from the Music/Media Library are available for check out and/or on-site listening.

Search by AUTHOR to find a musical artist or group.

• Enter LAST NAME first whenever possible:
  
  
  • Europe , James Reese
  • Franklin, Aretha
  • Parker, Charlie
  • Robeson, Paul
    
    
• Otherwise, enter name as it appears:
  
  
  • Drifters
  • Muddy Waters
  • Run-D.M.C.
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock

Search by EXACT TITLE to find a song, album, or other musical performance:

• Kind of Blue
• Maple Leaf Rag
• Negro Folk Symphony
• St. Louis Blues

Search by AUTHOR AND TITLE to narrow a title to a specific performer or to narrow a performer to a specific title:

• Author = Davis, Miles
• Words in the Title = My Funny Valentine

Search by OTHER CALL NUMBER (under ADDITIONAL OPTIONS) to find relevant recordings by record label:

• Biograph [ragtime, blues and jazz from the 1900s - 1930s]
• Blue Note [late 1940s, 50s & 60s jazz]
• Blues Classics [1920s, 30s & early 40s blues]
• Chess [1940s & 50s blues; 1950s & early 60s rock ‘n' roll]
• Document [1920s & 30s blues and gospel]
• Motown [1960s and early 70s soul]
• Route 66 [1940s & 50s rhythm and blues]
• RST [1920s & 30s blues and gospel]
• Tamla [1960s and early 70s soul]
• Specialty [1950s & 60s rock ‘n' roll and rhythm and blues]
• Yazoo [1920s & 30s blues]

SEARCH TIP: MERLIN Library Catalog searches can be further limited by format using the LIMIT/SORT function that appears at the top of the search results page. Choose LIMIT/SORT, then click on the drop-down menu for MATERIAL TYPE and select SOUND RECORD. This option is also available as part of the KEYWORDS search box.

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Sound Recordings

Items from the Marr Sound Archives are non-circulating and are available for on-site listening only; items from Music/Media are available for check out and/or on-site listening.

Marr Sound Archives:

Afro-American Music: A Demonstration Recording (2-record set)	Folkways Records FA-2692
Black American History in Ballad, Song & Prose (3-record set)	Folkways Records FH-5804
Music down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, U.S.A. (2-record set)	Folkways Records FA-2691
Music from the South (10-record set)	Folkways Records FA-2650-2659
Roots of Black Music in America: Some Correspondences between the Music of the Slave Areas of West Africa and the Music of the United States and the Caribbean (2-record set)	Folkways Records FA-2694
From Spirituals to Swing (2-record set)	Vanguard Records VSD-47/48
The Greatest 64 Motown Original Hits (4-record set)	Motown Records B4RS-2432-2435
History of Classic Jazz Volume 1: Backgrounds & Ragtime Volume 2: The Blues & New Orleans Volume 3: Boogie Woogie & South Side Chicago Volume 4: Chicago Style & Harlem Volume 5: New York Style & Revival	Riverside Records RLP 12-112-16
Jazz Anthology: from King Oliver to Ornette Coleman (4-record set)	CBS Records 66425
Afro-American Spirituals, Work Songs, and Ballads	Library of Congress AAFS L-3
Afro-American Blues and Game Songs	Library of Congress AAFS L-4
Negro Work Songs and Calls	Library of Congress AAFS L-8
Negro Religious Songs and Services	Library of Congress AAFS L-10
Negro Blues and Hollers	Library of Congress AFS L-59
Afro-American Folk Music from Tate and Panola Counties, Mississippi	Library of Congress AFS L-67
The Rock ‘n' Roll Era: Roots of Rock, 1945-1956 (2-record set)	Time-Life Music Records SRNR-30
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (6-record set)	Smithsonian Collection Records P6-11891
The Story of the Blues (2-record set)	Columbia Records G-30008

Music/Media Library:

African American Music: An Introduction (2-CD set)	CD 2000: 473
African American Spirituals: The Concert Tradition	CD 97: 55
Black Manhattan: Theater and Dance Music of James Reese Europe, Will Marion Cook, and Members of the Legendary Clef Club	CD 2004: 249
Columbia Records' Black Composers Series (9-record set)	RD 88:29
The Complete Stax / Volt singles 1959-1968 (9-CD set)	CD 2000: 120
Atlantic Rhythm and Blues: 1947-1974 (8-CD set)	CD 99: 365

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Videotapes and DVDs

To Find Videos

Use the MERLIN Library Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. All videos are held by the Music/Media Library, located on the ground floor of the UMKC Miller Nichols Library. Videos are available for check out, but must be requested at the Music/Media information desk.

• Use the search strategies outlined in the previous section, To Find Sound Recordings , to find directors, performers and other cast members (AUTHOR search); and film titles (EXACT TITLE search) relevant to your research.

• Search for films by genre or category, browse all film titles, and receive other helpful information for locating videos at http://library.umkc.edu/Resources/av-videos.htm

SEARCH TIP: MERLIN Library Catalog searches can be further limited by format using the LIMIT/SORT function that appears at the top of the search results page. Choose LIMIT/SORT, then click on the drop-down menu for MATERIAL TYPE and select PROJ MEDIUM. This option is also available as part of the KEYWORDS search box.

Videos can be checked out, but must be requested at the Music/Media Library information desk.

Blues Masters: The Essential History of the Blues, Volume 1	MV 96:98
Blues Masters: History of the Blues, Volume 2	MV 96:82
Gospel 1	MV 95:40
Gospel 2	MV 95:41
Jazz [Ken Burns] (10-episodes)	DV 2001:37-46
The Land Where the Blues Began	MV 95:32
The Last of the Blue Devils	MV 94:26 (VHS) DV 2002:16 (DVD)
Rhythm and Blues 1	MV 95:44
Rhythm and Blues 2	MV 95:45
Soul 1	MV 95:42
Soul 2	MV 95:43
Teaching the Music of African Americans	MV 96:58
That Rhythm – Those Blues	MV 96:150
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues	MV 98:37

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Web Resources

Miller Nichols Library: Special Collections and Marr Sound Archives

• Club Kaycee
  A website devoted to Kansas City jazz history – particularly the African-American music tradition that developed around the historic 18th and Vine district – featuring biographies, discographies, photographs, music and more about the golden age of Kansas City jazz.
  
  
• Musicians Local No. 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation:The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz
  An Internet Web exhibit on the history of Kansas City’s Local 627, the African-American Musicians Union, founded in 1917, and now known as the Mutual Musicians Foundation. The Web exhibit is accessible to anyone around the world interested in the history of jazz in America. The exhibit presents historic information, including photos and sound recordings, on this important Kansas City institution for today’s audiences.
  
  
• Mutual Musicians Foundation Photograph Collection
  Documenting the history of the Kansas City, Missouri, Musicians Protective Union Local 627 (1917-present); this 700-piece collection of the city's African-American musicians union includes signed portraits of members, coverage of union functions and social events, as well as group photos of many of the bands that created the internationally recognized Kansas City style of jazz.
  
  
• Kansas City: Paris of the Plains
  A digital exhibit that chronicles Kansas City during the Jazz Age, a time when the city was one of the most dynamic arts centers in America . The exhibit examines the social, cultural, literary, and political heritage of Jazz Age Kansas City and highlights personalities of the era, including many notable African-American musicians.
  
  
• Frank Driggs Oral History Collection
  These interviews, conducted from 1956 to 1986, capture the truths of the development of jazz as related by a host of musicians and band leaders who defined the tradition. Many of the oral histories in the Driggs collection survive as the only known record of a musician's experiences and voice.
  
  
• Wilbur “Buck” Clayton Collection
  A seminal African-American figure in the evolution of jazz, Clayton (1911-1991) distinguished himself as an arranger, composer, trumpeter and band leader. The collection, which spans his career from 1928-1991, has approximately 5000 items including photographs, correspondence, contracts, sound recordings, printed and handwritten manuscripts, band arrangements, lead sheets, awards and assorted ephemera.

Other resources

• Archives Of African-American Music & Culture
  (www.indiana.edu/~aaamc)
  
  
• Black Archives Of Mid-America
  (www.blackarchives.org)
  
  
• Center For Black Music Research
  (www.cbmr.org)
  
  
• Library of Congress: African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
  (memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/rpbhtml/aasmhome.html)
  
  
• The Red Hot Jazz Archive
  (www.redhotjazz.com)

Note: Use search engines linked on the Internet Search Tools page to identify additional Web resources.

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For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.

Guide compiled by Kelly McEniry, Marr Sound Archives