Radio Free Bayonne
1 2021-11-17T21:14:22+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 6 2 A Playlist to Accompany the Novel plain 2021-11-17T21:15:34+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674This page has tags:
- 1 2021-12-02T21:03:57+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Big Stars Falling Blues David Squires 4 Blues vocals with band plain 2022-05-26T20:55:58+00:00 12/9/1954 Tampa Red Walter Horton, Johnny Jones, Willie Lacey, Ransom Knowling, Odie Payne RCA Victor Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T05:33:55+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Move On Up A Little Higher David Squires 3 Spiritual plain 2022-05-26T18:27:24+00:00 9/12/1947 Mahalia Jackson Audio 164 Gospel Apollo Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-16T20:45:22+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Lonesome Cabin Blues David Squires 3 Blues singer with piano plain 2022-05-26T20:54:57+00:00 6/18/1949 Mercy Dee Audio 11-001-A Blues Spire Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T18:25:43+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 I'll Be Seeing You David Squires 2 Vocal with Orchestra plain 2021-11-17T19:59:49+00:00 4/1/1944 Bing Crosby Audio Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal 18595-B Jazz Decca Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-16T23:08:56+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 You Are My Sunshine David Squires 1 Singing with Instrumental Accompaniment plain 2021-11-16T23:08:56+00:00 5/1/1947 Jimmie Davis Audio 46036-A Country First recorded 2/5/1940 Decca Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T05:18:07+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Nature Boy David Squires 1 Vocal By Nat King Cole With Orchestra plain 2021-11-17T05:18:07+00:00 3/29/1948 Nat King Cole Audio 15054 Jazz Recorded 8/27/1947 Capitol Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T18:34:12+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Don't Fence Me In David Squires 1 Vocal with Orchestra plain 2021-11-17T18:34:12+00:00 7/25/1944 Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters Audio Vic Schoen And His Orchestra, Cole Porter 23364 A Jazz Decca Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T18:46:14+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Jambalaya (On the Bayou) David Squires 1 Country vocals with guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, and bass plain 2021-11-17T18:46:14+00:00 7/19/1952 Hank Williams Audio 11283-A Western M-G-M Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T18:56:08+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 The Bourgeois Blues David Squires 1 Lead Belly accompanying himself on guitar plain 2021-11-17T18:56:08+00:00 4/1/1939 Lead Belly Audio 227-B Blues Musicraft Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
- 1 2021-11-17T19:05:58+00:00 David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674 Strange Fruit David Squires 1 Piano Interlude by Sonny White plain 2021-11-17T19:05:58+00:00 5/1/1939 Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra Audio Abel Meeropol, Lewis Allan 526-A Jazz Commodore Internet Archive David Squires c613f45970ae89ef70516076df94370392b06674
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Radio Free Bayonne
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A Playlist to Accompany A Lesson Before Dying
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Radio plays a complicated role in A Lesson Before Dying. On the one hand, when Grant gives Jefferson a battery operated Philco, they bond over a shared interest in popular music. On the other hand, the radio increases tension between Grant and his elders, who see popular music as sinful. To them, the radio is a dangerous distraction for Jefferson as he prepares for his execution. Beyond plot device, the radio also contributes to the historical setting of the novel, giving readers a realistic depiction of media consumption in the late-1940s. As a way to elaborate the novel’s historical realism, this playlist of popular songs from the period showcases some of the songs, artists, and styles Jefferson would likely have heard while tuning into whatever signal he could get.
With a few exceptions, the songs on this playlist were recorded before the 1948-49 timeline of the narrative. Grant notes one song by name, “You Are My Sunshine,” but doesn’t mention the performer. The Jimmie Davis recording appears here because it propelled the song to fame and because Davis served as Governor of Louisiana during this period. (His first term in office ended May 11, 1948.) Also included are two songs by recording artists that Grant mentions in conversation with Jefferson: Tampa Red and Mercy Dee. Both were popular by the 1940s, although these recordings would not have been available for radio broadcast during Jefferson’s time in jail. Mercy Dee found success as a live musician as early as the 1930s, but he only released his first recording in the summer of 1949. Tampa Red recorded hundreds of songs between 1928 and 1960; this particular recording came out in 1954. Although outside the historical moment of the novel, Red’s lyrics resonate with Jefferson’s experience. Similarly, Hank Williams’s famous recording of “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” came out in 1952, but appears here for its thematic relationship to Louisiana foodways. Follow the path below to read more about each song and its relationship to the novel.