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“Where else did they copy their styles but from church groups?”: Rock ‘n’ Roll and Pentecostalism in the 1950s South
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 February 2016
Abstract
Church leaders and laypeople in the US went on the defensive shortly after rock and roll became a national youth craze in 1955 and 1956. Few of those religious critics would have been aware or capable of understanding that rock ‘n’ roll, in fact, had deep religious roots. Early rockers, all southerners—such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and James Brown—grew up in or regularly attended pentecostal churches. Pentecostalism, a vibrant religious movement that traced its origins to the early 20th century, broke with many of the formalities of traditional protestantism. Believers held mixed-race services during the height of Jim Crow segregation. The faithful spoke in tongues, practiced healing, and cultivated loud, revved-up, beat-driven music. These were not the sedate congregants of mainline churches. Some pentecostal churches incorporated drums, brass instruments, pianos, and even newly invented electric guitars. Rock ‘n’ roll performers looked back to the vibrant churches of their youth, their charismatic pastors, and to flashy singing itinerants for inspiration. In a region that novelist Flannery O'Connor called “Christ-haunted,” the line between secular and sacred, holy and profane was repeatedly crossed by rock musicians. This article traces the black and white pentecostal influence on rock ‘n’ roll in the American South, from performance style and music to dress and religious views. It also analyzes the vital ways that religion took center stage in arguments and debates about the new genre.
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References
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55 Linda Martin and Kerry Segrave, Anti-Rock: The Opposition to Rock ‘n’ Roll (New York: Da Capo, 1993), 31, 32–35. For more on anti-rock campaigns, see Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis (Champaign: University of Illinois, 2000), 181–184; and Glenn C. Altschuler, All Shook Up: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America (New York: Oxford University, 2003), 105–112.
56 Milton Bracker, “Experts Propose Study of ‘Craze,’” New York Times, February 23, 1957, 12. “Presley Termed Passing Fancy: Minister in Village Asserts Singer Gives Teen-Ager,” New York Times, December 17, 1956, 28. See other critical accounts: “Rock ‘n’ roll Called a Disease,” Catholic Choirmaster 42 (Summer 1956): 121Google Scholar; Martin “Butch” Hardman, “Rock ‘n’ Roll: Music or Madness?” Youth for Christ Magazine (October 1958): 10–12; Norman King, “Teen-Age Idol Worship,” Youth for Christ Magazine (March 1959): 6–7; and “Rock ‘n’ roll,” Alabama Baptist, November 1, 1956, 3.
57 Linda Martin and Kerry Segrave, Anti-Rock, 50–53.
58 Verna B. Gordon, letter to the editor, Life, September 17, 1956, 19. See other, similar criticisms here: “Stritch Urges Catholics: Ban Rock and Roll,” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 1, 1957, 4; “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hurting Teens, CYO Head Tells Police League,” Boston Globe, May 16, 1960, 4; and Phyllis Battelle, “Rock ‘n’ roll Beat Irks People the Nation Over,” Journal and Guide, June 30, 1956, 15.
59 Tony Zoppi, “Presley Thrills Crowd of 26,500,” Dallas Morning News, October 12, 1956, 2. “Music: Teeners' Hero,” Time, May 14, 1956, 55.
60 Erika Lee Doss, Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, and Image (Lawrence: University of Kansas, 1999), 129.
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62 Linda Martin and Kerry Segrave, Anti-Rock, 48–50.
63 Jessie Funston Clubb, “What about Rock ‘n’ Roll?” Home Life (April 1957): 42, 43. For more on the racist element, see Brian Ward, Just My Soul Responding, 100; William Ward Ayer, “Jungle Madness in American Music,” Youth For Christ Magazine (November 1956): 19–21; William Ward Ayer, “Are Demon Forces at Work in the World Today?,” Baptist Standard, October 27, 1956, 5–7; and David Wilkerson, “Juvenile Jungle,” C.A. Herald (January 1961): 8–9.
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71 Martin Luther King, Jr., “Advice for Living,” Ebony (April 1958): 392. Brian Ward, Just My Soul Responding, 189
72 “Rock-and-Roll Religion,” Christian Herald (September 1956): 12.
73 W. G. Vorpe, “As the Parade Passes By,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1938, 2. If that was not enough, other concerned churchmen were far more specific.
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76 William Ward Ayer, “Are Demon Forces at Work in the World Today?,” 7.
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78 Big Bill Broonzy quoted in Ralph J. Gleason, “Ray Charles' Motto-‘Singing is Believing,’” Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 27, 1959, 6H. See also Rick Coleman, Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Cambridge, Mass.: De Capo, 2006), 4–5. Michael Lydon, Ray Charles: Man and Music (New York: Routledge, 2004), 114.
79 David Ritz and Ray Charles, Brother Ray, 151.
80 Hollie I. West, “Mixing Gospel and the Blues,” Washington Post, July 9, 1972, BW10. Francis Davis, The History of the Blues: The Roots Music of the People (Cambridge, Mass.: De Capo, 2003), 227. See the introduction of the “holy roller” theme in a review of Jackie Wilson's music and TV performance style, “Channel Time,” Los Angeles Tribune, May 30, 1958, 18.
81 Gerri Hirshey, Nowhere To Run: The Story of Soul Music (London: Macmillan, 1984), 26–27; Michael W. Harris, The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church (New York: Oxford University, 1994), 148–150; Ross Laird, Brunswick Records: Chicago and Regional Sessions (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2001), 1045, 1083, 1163, 1174, 1183; “Prominent Visitors,” Chicago Defender, September 13, 1930, 13; Edward Moore, “Recent Disk Recordings Will Please Ravel, Schumann Fans,” Chicago Daily Tribune, November 30, 1930, F5. For more on the interplay of African-American blues and gospel music, see Paul Harvey, Through the Storm, Through the Night: A History of African American Christianity (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011), 102–105; Burton William Peretti, Lift Every Voice: The History of African American Music (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2009), 129–138; Jeff Todd Titon, “Labels: Identifying the Categories of Blues and Gospel,” in The Cambridge Companion to Blues and Gospel Music, ed., Allan Moore (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2003), 13–19.
82 Elder Beck, “Rock and Roll Sermon” (1956), on Fire In My Bones: Raw + Rare + Otherworldy African-American Gospel, 1944–2007 (New York: Tompkins Square, 2009). Evelyn M.E. Taylor, “Beck, Elder Charles D.,” in Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, ed. W.K. McNeil (New York: Routledge, 2010), 33–34.
83 Milton Perry, “A Minister in Defense of Elvis,” Cleveland Call and Post, January 19, 1957, 7A. See also the remarks of songwriter Samuel “Buck” Ram in Hal Boyle, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Defended as Descendant of Gospel Hymn,” Ocala Star-Banner, August 23, 1956; “Minister Says Rock-n-Roll True U.S. Art,” Chicago Daily Tribune, February 17, 1957, SW16; and “It Can't Be that Bad!” Baltimore Afro-American, July 28, 1956, 4.
84 Mrs. Earl H. Clements to Ralph M. Riggs, August 4, 1956; Mrs. George Arnold to Ralph M. Riggs, September 29, 1956; and G. P. Hertweck to Ralph M. Riggs, Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, Springfield, Mo.
85 David Wilkerson, “Rock and Roll: The Devil's Heartbeat,” Pentecostal Evangel, July 12, 1959, 4. David R. Wilkerson, THE DEVIL'S HEARTBEAT ROCK AND ROLL! Teenage Sins Exposed! (Philipsburg, Penn.: Teen-Age Evangelism, n.d.), 3, 8.
86 Homer Tomlinson, The Shout of a King, (Queens, N.Y.: The Church of God, U.S.A. Headquarters, 1968), 21.
87 Jim Stewart radio interview with Elvis Presley, New Orleans, Louisiana, July 10, 1956, in Elvis Presley: The Complete Interviews from 1955–1977 (UK: Synergie OMP, 2011).
88 Barbara Lee Fridinger, “His Singing Causes Demolition,” and Nancy Astinger, “He Needs Christ,” in “Special Panel: What about Elvis Presley?” Youth for Christ (November 1956): 18, 19. See how the controversy from such articles played out in the letters to the editor section of the magazine, “Presley, Pro and Con,” Youth for Christ (January 1957): 6–7; “More Patter on Presley,” Youth for Christ (February 1957): 6–7; “Elvis is Back,” Youth for Christ (March 1957): 6–7; “Elvis is Back,” Youth for Christ (May 1957): 4–5.
89 Bill Sachs, “Folk Talent and Tunes,” Billboard, August 13, 1955, 24. RCA Victor Country and Western Attraction Presents the Caravan Souvenir Folio (Madison, Tenn.: Jamboree Attractions, circa 1953/1954), 15, Rare Books and Scores, souvenir booklets, Center for Popular Music, Middle Tennessee State University. “Second Generation—A Family the Picks Together . . .” Billboard, October 18, 1969, 38.
90 Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis, 447. Jimmie Rodgers Snow quoted in “Jimmy Snow Smears R&R; Presley's Ex-Aid, Now an Evangelist, Calls It Sinful,” Variety, March 2, 1960, 1, 54. Jack Castleman, “That ‘Evil Beat’ of Rock Rapped,” Dallas Morning News, September 25, 1961, 1. “Evangelist Jimmie Snow Files for Divorce,” Fort Scott Kansas Tribune, August 15, 1972, 5. “Snow's Son Intense at Pulpit: Preacher Broadcasts from Opry Stage,” Lawrence Journal-World, September 22, 1976, 34.
91 Jimmie Snow, “Called from ‘Show Biz,’” C. A. Herald (January 1961): 5, 7.
92 “Studio Discussion between Sam Phillips, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Van Eaton and Billy Riley,” in Good Rockin’ Tonight (Bop Cat Records, 1974).
93 On the struggles rockers experienced between secular and sacred lives, see James M. Curtis, Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954–1984 (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987), 61.
94 Marc Myers, “A Cultural Conversation with Little Richard,” D5.
95 David Kirby, Little Richard and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll (New York: Continuum, 2009), 154.
96 Richard quoted in “Little Richard Gets the Call,” Billboard, October 21, 1957, 22.
97 Glenn C. Altschuler, All Shook Up, 162–163.
98 Little Richard quoted in Charles White, The Life and Times of Little Richard, 197.
99 Don Cusic, “Cash, Johnny,” in Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, 42. Bill C. Malone, Don't Get above Your Raisin’: Country Music and the Southern Working Class (Champaign: University of Illinois, 2002), 110–111.
100 Peter Guralnick, Careless Love, 209, 223, 231, 657. See Craig Mosher, “Ecstatic Sounds,” 100–101. Charles Reagan Wilson, “‘Just a Little Talk with Jesus'.” in Southern Crossroads: Perspectives on Religion and Culture, ed. Walter H. Conser Jr. and Rodger M. Payne (Lexington: University of Kentucky, 2008), 16–18. Goff, James R. Jr., “Conflicted by the Spirit: The Religious Life of Elvis Presley,” Assemblies of God Heritage 28 (2008): 22–31Google Scholar. Alanna Nash, ed., Elvis and the Memphis Mafia (London: Autumn, 2005), 19.
101 Kevin Crouch and Tanja Crouch, The Gospel According to Elvis (London: Bobcat Books, 2007), 120; Peter Guralnick, Careless Love, 189.
102 Charles Reagan Wilson, “‘Just a Little Talk with Jesus,’” 18; Goff, James R. Jr., “Conflicted by the Spirit.” Assemblies of God Heritage 28 (2008): 22–31Google Scholar; Peter Guralnick, Careless Love, 173–225; Jess Stearn and Larry Geller Elvis' Search for God (Murfreesboro, Tenn.: Greenleaf Publications, 1998); Larry Geller, Leaves of Elvis' Garden: The Song of His Soul (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Bell Rock, 2007); Alanna Nash, ed., Elvis and the Memphis Mafia, 333–344; and Priscilla Beaulieu Presley and Sandra Harmon, Elvis And Me (New York: Putnam, 1985), 195–207.
103 Billy Graham, The Mystery of Iniquity (Minneapolis, Minn.: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1957). Many thanks to Matthew Sutton for this source. See also George Burnham, “Billy Graham Talks to Teens,” C.A. Herald (October 1957): 29.
104 “Two Popular Heroes,” Hartford Courant, May 20, 1957, 10. For a rebuttal, see, William A. Webb, “Dr. Graham's Appeal Is to the Intellect,” Hartford Courant, June 3, 1957, 10. John Steinbeck, “Bryan and Sunday Would Be Proud of Clement's Talk,” Washington Post, August 15, 1956, 8. For similar critique, see “Graham Crusade Like Circus, Cleric Asserts,” Washington Post, June 10, 1957, B6.
105 Samuel A. Floyd, The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States (New York: Oxford University, 1995), 64–65.
106 Earl Calloway, “Gospel Music: The Basis for Rock an’ Roll Pop,” Chicago Defender, September 4, 1969, 18.
107 Benson Saler, Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists, Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories (New York: Oxford University, 1999), 25. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2007), 86, 79, 266, 446.