Potential readers of this book who are unfamiliar with The Oxford American magazine might be forgiven for assuming, at first glance, that this volume is a product of Oxford, England, and possibly its esteemed university, within which a collection of great American music writing might be found. However, after a quick scan of the contents produces few references to more familiar writers, from a UK perspective at least, one soon discovers that the book's title relates to Oxford, Mississippi, and that this collection offers something a little more unusual.
Marc Smirnoff, editor and founder of both The Oxford American and this book, tells us in his Introduction that it is his intention here to celebrate a decade of Oxford American Southern Music Issues and ‘prove that great music writing is not only possible but, in this book, alive and thriving’ (sleeve note). By the editor's own admission, the magazine was conceived as an anti-Rolling Stone to seek out ‘meaning, not facile PR blather … discoveries, not the repeat button … (and) death to clichés’ (p. xxi), aspiring to become ‘a music issue that, rather than kowtowing to the marketplace or focus groups, paid tribute to how music seeps into us’ (p. xxi). Smirnoff challenges us with his premise: ‘What better homage to music than prose that is also musical and supple and daring?’ (p. xxi) and urges satisfied readers of this book to become Oxford American subscribers to encourage the mode of writing presented here. In this context, it is tempting to see this book as little more than a snipe at a rival magazine and blatant marketing ploy, yet further inspection garners some unexpected rewards.
Itself a product of the American South, this book acts as a stark reminder of the vast and varied array of genres whose roots have been associated with the region. The 55 pieces presented here are grouped into sections covering ‘Blues’, ‘Country’, ‘Rock & Roll/Pop’, ‘Jazz’, ‘Folk/Bluegrass’, ‘R&B/Soul’, ‘Rockabilly’, ‘Early History’, ‘Southern Rock’, ‘Southern Heavy Metal’ and ‘Classical/Avant-Garde’. This extensive genre coverage is complimented by a mix of topical essays covering ‘Family’, ‘Playing Music’, ‘Early History’ and ‘The Dept. of Elvis’, but such broad coverage also exposes snapshots of Southern America's troubled times. Indeed, many of the essays present highly evocative vignettes of musicians’ lives and the difficult conditions which formed the setting for their work: Robert Gordan's account of Leadbelly's Last Sessions and John Ryan Seawright's essay on Tom Wiggins highlight two musicians’ route to success against a backdrop of racial tension and slavery; Carol Ann Fitzgerald recalls the troubles and challenges faced by blues singer Bessie Smith; while Daniel Alarcón recounts Moondog's unconventional musical life on the streets of New York.
The book incorporates a surprising array of perspectives and styles. Nick Tosches’ factually informative account of Emmett Miller's life and the blackface tradition may be of particular scholarly interest, as might David Gates’ account of New Orleans trumpeter Henry ‘Red’ Allen, and Joseph G. Tidwell III's transcribed interview with Carl Perkins. Peter Guralnick, author of the two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, provides an autobiographical account of his own writing career, while Tom Piazza provides an extended novelistic piece on bluegrass musician Jimmy Martin. Actor Steve Martin describes his obsession with the banjo, and Michael Parker's short story on hidden meanings inflects the academic tone of his teaching. The essay on Elvis offers an unexpected twist through the perspective of Bill Hanney, the ‘world's first and most influential Elvis impersonator ever’ (p. 269) and a poem and three comic strip entries also offer refreshing changes of format.
Many of the most insightful pieces recount meetings with musicians, John Lewis’ interview with Ike Turner, John Fergus Ryan's 1970 meeting with Jerry Lee Lewis and Lauren Wilcox's encounter with singer and songwriter Dale Hawkins being three such examples. Several essays, such as those penned by producer Jerry Wexler, recalling his work with Dusty Springfield, and musicians Rosanne Cash and Marty Stuart are of intrigue for the personal stories and insights which they provide.
The Oxford American was launched only as recently as 1996, and as such this presentation of its greatest pieces might seem a little premature, although in this sense the volume is reminiscent of Richard Benson's Reference Benson1997 anthology Nightfever (London, Boxtree) which also presented a collection of editor's favourites – in that instance from The Face magazine between 1980 and 1997. The book does not necessarily lend itself to research, as there is no index, the original publication details of each essay are absent, the arrangement of inner sections seems unnecessarily fragmented, and phrases like ‘Pythagoras dug music’ (p. xv) and ‘I'd gotten my ears wrapped around canned music’ (p. xvi), in Van Dyke Parks’ Foreword, confirm early on that a scholarly tome should not be expected. It is an eclectic mix and therefore, depending on the reader's expectations, some of essays may disappoint, an inevitable consequence perhaps of being ‘supple and daring’.
This attractive-looking book will doubtless catch the eye of a good many and, by reaching out across the Atlantic, it may also heighten interest, scholarly or otherwise, in The Oxford American magazine and some of its contributors. Its contents provide a captivating succession of well-written quick reads, unsurprising perhaps, since most of the essays have been penned by established fiction and non-fiction writers, whose lack of criticality is compensated for by emotive writing which appeals to the soul as much as the mind, seeping in like the music, maybe, through a sense of shared human experience. The allure of this vast anthology lies in the diversity of its contents and there is something here for almost everyone, from scholar to avid fan of music writing to casual reader alike. Non-American readers of this volume may enjoy being introduced to some new writers, and for those more familiar with American music writing penned by the likes of Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus and Richard Meltzer this book might make a refreshing, albeit slightly unconventional, diversion.
