The Mistakes of Yesterday, the Hopes of Tomorrow: The Story of the Prisonaires

146 Pages·2012·1.67 MB·English

by  John Dougan

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The Mistakes
of Yesterday,
the Hopes
of Tomorrow
A volume in the series
American Popular Music
edited by
Rachel Rubin and Jeffrey Melnick
The Mistakes
of Yesterday,
the Hopes
of Tomorrow
THE STORY OF THE PRISONAIRES
John Dougan
University of Massachusetts Press
Amherst & Boston
Copyright © 2012 by University of Massachusetts Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-1-55849-969-0 (paper); 968-3 (hardcover)
Designed by Jack Harrison
Set in Adobe Minion Pro with ITC Kabel display
Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dougan, John M., 1954–
The mistakes of yesterday, the hopes of tomorrow : the story of the Prisonaires / John Dougan.
p. cm. — (American popular music)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55849-969-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-55849-968-3 (library cloth : alk. paper)
1. Prisonaires (Musical group) 2. Vocal groups—United States.
3. African American singers—United States—Biography. 4. Singers—United States—Biography.
5. African American prisoners—Tennessee—Biography. 6. Prisoners—Tennessee—Biography.
7. Music in prisons—United States. 8. Popular music—Tennessee—Nashville—History and criticism.
I. Title.
ML421.P755D68 2012
782.42164092'2—dc23
[B]
2012026788
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
To all prisoners making music
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue: Poor Old Johnnie Ray 1
1. Nashville 8
2. The Prisonaires 19
3. The Prison, the Governor, and the Warden 31
4. Men Singing Together 48
5. Music City, USA 56
6. “Just Walkin’ in the Rain” 64
7. What’ll You Do Next? 101
Notes 113
Index 121
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