Waltz the Hall: The American Play Party

247 Pages·2005·4.064 MB·English

by  Alan L. Spurgeon

WALTZ
THE
HALL
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WALTZ
THE
HALL
THE AMERICAN
P L AY PAR T Y
(cid:2)
ALAN L. SPURGEON
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI / JACKSON
AMERICAN MADE MUSIC SERIES
Advisory Board
David Evans,General Editor Kip Lornell
Barry Jean Ancelet Frank McArthur
Edward A.Berlin W.K.McNeil
Joyce J.Bolden Bill Malone
Rob Bowman Eddie S.Meadows
Susan C.Cook Manuel H.Peña
Curtis Ellison David Sanjek
William Ferris Wayne D.Shirley
Michael Harris Robert Walser
John Edward Hasse Charles Wolfe
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press ofMississippi is a member ofthe
Association ofAmerican University Presses.
Copyright © 2005by University Press ofMississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 4 3 2 1
(cid:2)
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication
Spurgeon,Alan L.
Waltz the hall :The American play party / Alan L.Spurgeon.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN1-57806-742-1(cloth :alk.paper)
1.Play-party.2.Folk songs,English—United States—History and criticism.
3.Games with music—History and criticism.4.Singing games.I.Title.
ML3551.S68 2005
793.2—dc22 2004019790
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments { vii }
PART ONE
THE AMERICAN PLAY PARTY { 3 }
Introduction { 5}
An Overview ofthe Traditional Play Party Gathering { 11}
Play Parties in the African American Community { 23}
The Play Party Songs and Their Movements { 28}
The Prohibition Against Dancing { 35}
Origins ofthe Play Party { 47}
Previous Research on Play Parties { 52}
The Demise ofthe Play Party { 57}
PART TWO
THE SONGS { 63 }
Informants { 213}
Notes { 215}
Bibliography { 224}
Index { 231}
Song Index { 237}
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Like most books,this one would not have existed without the help of other
people.I wish to thank my wife,Dr.Debra Spurgeon,for her support in this
project and especially for the many hours she has spent in reading the text
and making suggestions for improvement.Dr.James South ofSouthwestern
Oklahoma State University is responsible for the computer notation of all
the songs in Part Two.His work is greatly appreciated.It is because ofa lunch
conversation with Dr.Bob Cochran,director ofthe Center for Arkansas and
Regional Studies at the University of Arkansas, that I decided to focus my
research on play parties. He arranged for my first interview with Phydella
Hogan,and that led to a number oflater interviews with Phydella and others
she knew.
Funding came from the School ofArts and Sciences and the Department
ofMusic at Southwestern Oklahoma State University,where I was on the fac-
ulty until 2001.Dr.Dan Dill was dean ofthe School ofArts and Sciences,and
Dr.Charles Chapman and Dr.Terry Segress were music department chairs.
Additional funding came from the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies
at the University of Arkansas. Later, funding came from the College of
Liberal Arts at the University ofMississippi,where I currently teach.Dr.Glen
Hopkins is dean.
Approval to use songs from the Special Collections Room at the University
of Arkansas Library came from Michael Dabrishus. Further assistance was
given by Andrea Cantrell and others on the staff of that archive. Bryan
Mitchell in Mississippi and Edgar Wiley ofJarvis College in Texas assisted me
in arranging interviews.Dr.Bill McNeil ofthe Ozark Folk Center in Arkansas
helped locate a number ofpeople in the Ozarks region.
Finally,I must thank the numerous graduate assistants who helped with
this project.Special thanks go to Jonathan Whitmire,David Gadberry,Luis
Rodriguez,Marc Lau,Glen Dale Barney,and Chris Barber.
{ vii}
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WALTZ
THE
HALL