JTMH Volume 21 | Reviews

Michael Corcoran has been writing about Texas music for almost forty years, first as a journalist/columnist/critic at newspapers in Austin and Dallas but more recently as an independent researcher and author. In both phases of his career he has proven to be an impressive detective, tracking down information and honing insights about the state’s music and its makers, social context, and significance. Since pivoting from primarily covering the contemporary pop and alternative scenes to doing more historical fieldwork, Corcoran has consistently unearthed and documented revelatory facts about otherwise unheralded musicians and cultural productions. Some of that material informed his debut collection of essays, All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music, first published in 2005. Each of his next two books focused solely on obscure yet groundbreaking 1920s African American gospel musicians, Arizona Dranes and Washington Phillips respectively. Along with his Grammy Award-nominated album notes for an all-star tribute to Blind Willie Johnson, these publications established Corcoran as an important voice on Texas music history.  

In his fourth major work, Ghost Notes: Pioneering Spirits of Texas Music, Corcoran broadens his scope to encompass a diverse spectrum of genres and individuals, as he had first done in All Over the Map. But as the title suggests, Ghost Notes concentrates less on familiar stars and more on bygone innovators and behind-the-scene operatives who profoundly impacted their fields. Well written (free of the trappings of academic citation) as a series of inter-related and thematically grouped articles, it makes for a captivating page-turner that should especially appeal to readers of this journal.  The heart of the large format, 160-page hardcover book comprises sections titled “Gospel,” “Folk and Country,” “Rhythm and Blues,” “Rock ‘n’ Rap,” and “Moguls and Mentors,” each of which contains multiple essays.  Nineteen of those pertain to specific music trailblazers; two others trace the evolution of lyric themes and instrumentation in gospel music.

In his preface the author acknowledges the independent Houston-based cultural historian Mack McCormick as a muse for this project: “Forget the flashy and famous, was McCormick’s advice to me. Find the originators and tell their stories.” Indeed, this directive seems to guide Corcoran’s priorities. It also illuminates his title’s allusion to the almost inconspicuous yet distinctive musicological phenomena called “ghost notes.” The book concludes with a “Bonus Track” section offering concise profiles of twelve additional figures not highlighted in the preceding text. There is also a comprehensive index of all proper names.

Each part of the book likely offers even the most astute reader new revelations. The first section consists of six essays that collectively build on and unify Corcoran’s previous research and writing on the aforementioned Dranes, Phillips, and Johnson, whom he dubs “The Holy Trinity of Texas Gospel Pioneers.” The second section examines white folks’ music in the first half of the twentieth century, leading off with a piece about John Lomax and his family of song-catchers.  There is also one on the blind teacher and pianist Henry Lebermann, who assisted Lomax and also inspired the musical careers of Leon Payne and Fred Lowery. Another essential essay makes the case for Milton Brown, as opposed to Bob Wills, as the “Edison of Western Swing.” Part 3 delves into the rise of boogie-woogie, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll piano playing as propelled by various natives of Southeast Texas, along with the intriguing story of a diminutive blues singer, “the queen of Deep Ellum in the 1920s,” and her exoneration in a homicide case. In the segment on “Rock ‘n’ Rap” Corcoran argues for the importance of the psychedelic pathfinder Roky Erickson: “If not the greatest musician Austin has produced . . . certainly the most influential.” One highlight essay intertwines the late-’50s/ early-’60s stories of Joyce Harris (a white woman fronting an all-Black R&B band), the pop group the Slades, and Austin’s Domino Records imprint. Another begins with the author’s firsthand account of being in a dive bar “for no real reason and getting blown away by someone you’ve never heard of,” then evolves into an enlightening retrospective on the gifted and influential yet underappreciated pianist Bobby Doyle. Part 5 considers the impact of various background figures, such as the prolific country music producer Jimmy Bowen, the sound engineer and inventor Rupert Neve, and the Duke-Peacock recording company kingpin Don Robey, among others.

Beyond the invaluable content, which includes several well-documented corrections and additions to the historical record, Ghost Notes charms the reader via Corcoran’s skills as a storyteller and seasoned wordsmith. His fluid prose and personable tone are consistently engaging. Moreover, though each can stand alone, the separate elements cohere to suggest a larger narrative about Texas history. Tim Kerr’s numerous illustrations, many rendered in boldly expressive colors, complement the writing emphatically. Other visuals include historical documents such as photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, draft registration cards, death certificates, album covers, posters, and more.

Corcoran has built his own legacy as an autonomous historiographer of Texas music and its influence on popular culture. Drawing from his lifetime of professional writing experience and his obvious  passion for music and research, Ghost Notes may well be his crowning achievement to date.

- Roger Wood

Should someone one day construct a Mount Rushmore to folk music, Woody Guthrie’s likeness would no doubt occupy pride of place. Guthrie’s collected works—his music, his writings, his activism—not only gave voice to a generation mired in the Great Depression and the Second World War, but also inspired generations that followed. His music has been taught in classrooms across the nation, including my own, as a primary source that brings life to the real struggles of real people. The famous slogan plastered on his guitar, “This Machine Kills Fascists,” has been copied by younger musicians, activists, and protestors, and can today be found affixed to laptops, printed on phone cases, and more recently, scrawled on iconic blue post office mailboxes. While it may seem that Guthrie’s radical spirit is alive and well, awareness of his life and work has diminished over time. In this context, Ron Briley has written Searching for Woody Guthrie: A Personal Exploration of the Folk Singer, His Music, and His Politics as a way to reconnect Woody Guthrie—mind, body, and soul with a new, contemporary audience.

Previous biographies—from Joe Klein, Ed Cray, Mark Allen Jackson, and Will Kaufman—so effectively tell Woody Guthrie’s life story that one wonders if yet another Guthrie biography is warranted. Briley, a lifelong secondary educator who hails from Childress, Texas (a place both geographically and culturally close to Woody Guthrie’s childhood home of Okemah, Oklahoma), brings a unique structure to his narrative. He explores Guthrie’s life through the lens of his own life experiences, giving the reader a window into his deep personal connection with his subject. In addition, like any good educator, Briley enhances the relevance of his narrative by weaving current societal issues into his historical exploration of Guthrie’s passion for politics and music.  Searching for Woody Guthrie thus serves a dual purpose; first, it introduces Woody Guthrie to a new audience of younger progressives eager to better this world, and second, it definitively locates Woody Guthrie in the historical pantheon of those who struggle for workers’ rights, for equality, and against fascism. In Briley’s telling, Guthrie transcends his status as a long dead musician and becomes a messiah for the modern progressive left, his ideas of “commonism,” and his belief in “one big union” serving as a road map for modern day activism, protest, and social engagement.

This work is clearly Briley’s passion project. Although it is written to be accessible to the average lay reader, it is thoroughly researched, with references that include “Woody Sez” columns from the People’s Daily World and the Daily Worker; Guthrie’s own journals, notes, and letters from the Woody Guthrie Archives; and an interview with Guthrie’s own daughter, Nora Guthrie. Rather than offering a pedestrian retelling of Guthrie’s life story, Briley instead focuses on key events that shaped Guthrie’s worldview, such as Guthrie’s time in New York City, his service in World War II, and the death of his daughter in a fire. Often, Briley interjects personal stories from his own life and family to illustrate the timelessness of Guthrie’s radical journey and to show that journey retains relevance for modern-day activism on behalf of causes such as the struggle for racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, the fight against the persecution of immigrants and religious minorities, and the struggle against fascist revanchism. In this way, Briley presents Guthrie and his beliefs in “commonism” and in “the big union” as a paragon for today’s activists.

Briley’s research reveals a complex individual who hid his sophisticated ideology under the veneer of a simple country bumpkin. Guthrie’s columns both shine a light on the issues of his day and presage the concerns of our own time. One “Woody Sez” column dated July 1940 advocated for a protest that would have looked similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement, and did so with a folksy Southern charm that sounded less like a threat to the American system of capitalism and more like a never-nding family reunion on the streets of New York City.

Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this work is Briley’s analysis of Guthrie’s songs. Briley places Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” in the context of the looming Second World War and as a counter-narrative to Irving Berlin’s more jingoistic “God Bless America.” In examining the full lyrics of “This Land is Your Land” (rather than the sanitized version sung by American school children), Briley puts Guthrie’s critique of private property and his belief in “commonism” front and center. Briley’s analysis of Guthrie’s influence on songwriters Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen further cements Guthrie’s place in protest music history.

Although Briley’s work is easily accessible, its treatment of Guthrie (clearly a personal hero for Briley) can be exceedingly generous at times. He excuses Guthrie’s behavioral lapses (including womanizing and family abandonment) and outmoded stances on issues important to modern progressives (such as his opposition to abortion and to rights for members of LGBTQ+ communities). Searching for Woody Guthrie might also benefit from additional editing. Several chapters repeat similar tales which could easily be condensed into a shorter, more cohesive narrative. Finally, Briley briefly touched, without elaboration, upon several topics (such as Guthrie’s FBI file and his personal struggles to balance fame and fortune with authenticity) that piqued curiosity and left this reader wishing these topics had been given more space for further exploration.

Searching for Woody Guthrie is a useful supplement to existing Guthrie biographies. It brings a fresh lens to Guthrie’s position in folk music history, protest history, and American radicalism. Briley successfully argues for Guthrie’s continued relevance to modern activists, who can find a useful blueprint for the “machine” that “kills fascists” in Guthrie’s life, music, writing, and activism.

- Rolando Duarte

The Go-Go’s swept the nation in the 1980s as the first all- women band to top the charts writing and performing their own music. With the release of their album Beauty and the Beat in 1981, and their music video for the single “Our Lips are Sealed” making waves on MTV, the Go-Go’s were riding high. By 1985, the band would release two more albums, grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine twice, and solidify their spot in rock ‘n’ roll history. All I Ever Wanted is a mesmerizing account of the life and career of music icon and Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine, following her attempts at navigating family, fame, and addiction. Detailing the highs and the lows, Valentine holds nothing back, and her memoir serves as a testament that through it all her one constant has always been music.

Valentine’s riveting early chapters revisit her childhood in Austin. No subject is off limits in All I Ever Wanted, and Valentine’s account of her tumultuous introduction to sex and drugs at a young age offers an unflinching look at the cost of 1970s libertinism. With her first electric guitar at age fifteen, Valentine turned to music in an attempt to cope with the emotions surrounding her familial ties. The abandonment by her father, along with her mother’s overindulgent parenting style, would lay the foundation for Valentine’s future relationships with parents, partners, and substances detailed throughout the book.

Although not intended as a scholarly analysis of music history, Valentine’s memoir does well in evoking the history of the Austin music scene in the 1970s and ’80s. Historically significant music venues, including that of the Armadillo World Headquarters, are discussed at length along with Valentine’s crossing of paths with influential recording artists such as Jimmie Vaughan, Doug Sahm, and the all-women band the Runaways. Forming the Violators in the late 1970s, Valentine, along with band members Jesse Sublett, Carla Olson, and Marilyn Dean, helped spearhead Austin’s punk scene. Raul’s nightclub served as a platform for the Violators to perform their music, along with other early Austin punk bands such as the Skunks, and helped facilitate a shift in Austin’s music history away from the cosmic cowboy days.

Valentine discusses her exit from the Violators and her subsequent move to California in 1978 and formation of the Textones with bandmate Olson. The Textones gained popularity in the Los Angeles punk/new wave scene, releasing their first EP for Chiswick Records. In 1980, however, it was a chance meeting in the Whisky a Go Go’s bathroom with Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go’s that would change the trajectory of Valentine’s music career. Having recently left the Textones, Caffey offered Valentine the opportunity to play bass for a set of upcoming performances in place of ailing band member Margot Olavarria. It was shortly thereafter that Valentine was asked to join the band, thus beginning her career as a permanent member of the Go-Go’s.

What follows in All I Ever Wanted is Valentine’s account of the band’s whirlwind success through their breakup in 1985. Signed by International Record Syndicate, the Go-Go’s released the Billboard #1 album Beauty and the Beat in 1981, which included “We Got the Beat” and Valentine’s own “Can’t Stop the World” and earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. As the opening act for the Rolling Stones and the Police, the Go-Go’s were taking the world by storm, gracing the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the first time in 1982. That same year, the Go-Go’s released their second album, Vacation. Their success elevated the Go-Go’s to rock icons as the first, and still only, all-women band to top the charts writing and performing their own music.

With the Go-Go’s, it seemed Valentine had finally found the family she had been looking for. However, success led to years of extensive substance abuse, while issues over pay and royalties found their way into the forefront of the band’s relationships. After the release of their third album Talk Show in 1984, the Go-Go’s dismantled, and Valentine details her coming to terms with the loss of the band. Her final chapters are a look back at her life post Go-Go’s, the formation and breakup of subsequent bands, and hitting rock bottom with drugs and alcohol. What follows is an inspirational account of the struggles of early sobriety and the overcoming of years of substance abuse.

Valentine’s writing is raw and engaging, drawing the reader into a story that once started is hard to put down. Fans of the Go-Go’s will appreciate Valentine’s entertaining accounts of their career and success. For Texas music historians and fans of all genres, All I Ever Wanted is a must-read, offering a compelling perspective to the straightforward pop star narrative.

- Jaclyn M. Zapata