Manuscript Collection
THE CENTER FOR POPULAR MUSIC
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, MURFREESBORO, TN
GENE JONES COLLECTION
PAPERS
Accession numbers: 07-019, 08-009,
09-009, 10-009, 10-044, 10-048, 11-014, 11-038, 13-017, 14-017, 15-014
Creator:
Jones,
Gene (Gordon Gene)
Type of
Material:
Manuscript Materials, Books, Sheet Music, Sound
Recordings, Photographs, Serials
Physical
Description:
7.42 linear
feet manuscripts, including newspaper clippings, correspondence, books used for
manuscript research, and manuscript materials on Bob Darch and James Pierpont
(12 boxes total). 371 books, 313 serials,
3 trade catalogs, 663 performance documents, 1,814 sound recordings (including
1,274 audio discs, 450 audio tapes, 104 CDs), 60 video recordings, 40
photographs, 1,965 pieces of sheet music, 5 artifacts
Dates:
1980-2014
RESTRICTIONS:
All materials in this collection
are subject to standard national and international copyright laws. Center staff are able to assist with
copyright questions for this material.
Provenance and Acquisition
Information:
This
collection was donated to the Center by Mr. Gene Jones of New York City in five
installments: April/May of 2008, August of 2008, August of 2009, September of
2010, September of 2011, January/February of 2012, July/August 2013, and
September 2014.
Subject/Index Terms:
Jones,
Gene (Gordon Gene)
Jasen,
David A.
Ragtime
music
Ragtime
music History and criticism
Broadway
(New York, N.Y.)
Theater
Motion
picture acting--20th century.
Darch,
Robert R.
Pierpont,
James, 1822-1893. Jingle bells
Jazz
Agency History/Biographical Sketch:
Gene
Jones, originally from Olla, Louisiana, is a music historian and actor now
living in New York City. With David A. Jasen, he has written three books
pertaining to ragtime and early jazz: Spreadin’
Rhythm Around, That American Rag, and
Black Bottom Stomp. He is also the author of monographs The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and Tom Turpin: His Life and Music and the
ragtime review, Fables in Slang. Mr.
Jones’ acting career includes appearances in Broadway and off-Broadway shows,
as well as numerous movies and documentaries. He is a member of the New York
Sheet Music Society.
Scope and Content:
This
collection consists of research materials collected by Gene Jones and David A
Jasen and used to write three books: Spreadin’
Rhythm Around (Schirmer Books 1998), That
American Rag (Schirmer Books 2000), and Black
Bottom Stomp ( Routledge 2002). The manuscript papers consist of
handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, articles photocopied from books,
journals and magazines, correspondence, photographs and database printouts. Also
included is one uncorrected advance proof copy of That American Rag. The research is divided between geographical
location of the early jazz movements and specific research on individual
artists, composers, and publishers. Obituaries of jazz and ragtime artists make
up .42 linear feet of the collection.
Also
included in the collection are books, trade catalogs, serials, performance
documents, and sound recordings related to the subjects of ragtime, popular
music, folklore, and early jazz. There are video recordings, artifacts, original
sheet music, sheet music photocopies, photographs, postcards, mail-order
catalog auction series, Remember That
Song serial series, 124 New York
Sheet Music Society Newsletters, and manuscript materials on “Ragtime” Bob
Darch and James Pierpont, composer of “Jingle Bells.”
Collection Contents (Folder/Box List):
[All
labels in quotation marks are original to Gene Jones.] 12 boxes total
Box # Folder # Description
Box 1 Manuscripts
Folder 1 “Rag
Book Helpers”
Folder
2 ”Sedalia 1994”
Folder
3 ”St. Louis 1897-1922”
Folder
4 ”Missouri – General”
Folder
5 ”Kansas City 1899-1918”
Folder 6 ”Northeast – General”
Folder 7 “Boston 1903-1929”
Folder 8 ”Williamsport, PA
1909-1914”
Folder 9 ”Washington, D.C. 1902-1915”
Folder
10 ”South – General”
Folder
11 ”Nashville 1898-11912”
Folder
12 ”New Orleans 1897-1917”
Folder 13 ”New York City – General”
Folder 14 “Ted Snyder/Seminary Music – Watterson, Berlin & Snyder”
Folder 15 “Jos. W. Stern/Edward B. Marks”
Folder
16 “Remick”
Folder 17 “Witmark”
Folder 18 “Jack Mills”
Folder 19 “Robbins”
Folder 20 “West – General”
Folder 21 “San Francisco
1905-1917; 1924-1929”
Folder
22 “WA (Washington) Composers –
from Dan Grimstead”
Folder
23 “Dallas 1905-1914 – Ft. Worth & Galveston”
Folder
24 “Publishers”
Folder
25 “Introduction – General Rag”
Folder
26 “Research Tools – Websites,
collections, etc.”
Folder 27 “Revival”
Folder 28 “Performers”
Folder 29 “Dance”
Folder
30 “International”
Folder
31 “Mid-America – General”
Box 2 Manuscripts
Folder
1 “Chicago 1897-1926; 1930-1936”
Folder 2 “Cincinnati
1897-1916”
Folder 3 “Cleveland
1906-1918; 1921-1929”
Folder 4 “Indianapolis
1898-1917”
Folder 5 “Louis Armstrong
Folder 6 “Eubie Blake”
Folder 7 “Spencer Williams”
Folder 8 “J. Mayo Williams”
Folder 9 “Clarence Williams”
Folder 10 “Cole and Johnson”
Folder 11 “Shep Edmonds/Cecil Mack”
Folder 12 “Gussie Davis”
Folder 13 “J. Tim Bryman”
Folder 14 “Ford Dabney/ James Reese Europe/Will Vodery”
Folder 15 “Henry Cramer/Turner Layton”
Folder 16 “Will Marion Cook”
Folder 17 “Shelton Brooks”
Folder 18 “Perry Bradford”
Folder 19 “James A. Bland”
Folder 20 “Scott Joplin”
Folder 21 “Irving Jones”
Folder 22 “James P. Johnson”
Folder 23 “Ernest Hogan”
Folder 24 “W. C. Handy”
Folder 25 “Duke Ellington”
Folder 26 “Andy Razaf”
Folder 27 “Maceo Pinkard”
Folder 28 “Jelly Roll Morton”
Folder 29 “Joe Jordon”
Folder 30 “Bert Williams”
Folder 31 “Fats Waller”
Folder 32 “Jo Trent”
Folder 33 “Willie the Lion Smith”
Folder 34 “Chris Smith”
Folder 35 “Luckey Roberts”
Folder
36 Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Box 3 Manuscripts
Folder
1 “Obituaries” A-H
Folder 2 “Obituaries” J-W
Folder 3 New York Sheet Music Society Meeting Notes 1983-1986
Folder
4 Script: Dividing the Estate
Folder 5 Fables in Slang: A
Ragtime Revue based on the writing of George Ade, written by Gene Jones
(also includes 2 reviews, one promotional mailer, and CD Demo of songs)
Folder 6 Song Contracts for James Brockman
Folder 7 Theatrical Play: Back
from the Front
Folder 8 CD transfer copy of Legends
& Songwriters: L.A. Concert, February 25, 1941 (4 CDs)
VHS tape of Gods and Monsters and Women
of Tin Pan Alley
Box 4 Miscellaneous Manuscripts
Folder 1 Book Photocopies - The
Music of Charles Leslie Johnson by Philip A. Stewart, The College Widow by George Ade, A Man of Many Talents: The Life and Works of Jimmy Blythe by Peter
Muir
Folder 2 Performers - Newspaper Clippings (A-F)
Folder 3 Performers – Newspaper Clippings (G-P)
Folder 4 Performers – Newspaper Clippings (R-Y)
Folder 5 Subjects: Blues
Folder 6 Subjects: Broadway & Theatre
Folder 7 Subjects: Country Music
Folder 8 Subjects: Film
Folder 9 Subjects: Jazz
Folder 10 Subjects: Miscellaneous
Folder 11 Subjects: New Orleans, LA
Folder 12 Subjects: Ragtime
Box 5 Manuscripts – James Pierpont
Folder 1 “James Pierpont”
Box 6 Manuscripts – Darch, Bob
Folder 1 Manuscripts, Darch, Bob (newspaper clippings,
correspondence, notes, photocopies of research, expenses for research)
Folder 2 Manuscripts, Darch, Bob (newspaper clippings,
correspondence, notes, photocopies of research, expenses for research)
Folder 3 Manuscripts, Darch, Bob: Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival,
2001 and 2002
Folder 4 Manuscripts, Darch, Bob: “St. Louis Historical Darch”
(photocopies)
Folder 5 Manuscript Photographs, Darch, Bob: Photographs (32 items)
Notebook Bob Darch Timeline: Manuscript Notebook with Timeline and
Contracts (1920-1999; American Federation of Musicians of the United States and
Canada contracts March 2, 1957 – 1998, indexes by year; tour contracts and
bookings; scattered newspaper clippings, flyers, correspondence)
Box
7 Mail-Order
Auction of Sheet Music Catalogs, Oct. 2, 1985 – Jan. 5, 2007
125
items
Box
8 New
York Sheet Music Society Newsletter, March 1982 – Vol. 18, No. 3A, Dec.
1997 - 124 issues
Box
9 That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from
Coast to Coast, David
A. Jasen and Gene Jones; uncorrected advance proof copy
Box
10 Manuscripts –
Books Used for Research Materials
Black
Musical Theatre in New York, 1890-1915,
dissertation by Thomas Laurence Riis
Louis’
Children: American Jazz Singers
by Leslie Gourse
Stormy Weather: The
Music and Lives of a Century of Jazz Women by Linda Dahl
Shining Trumpets: A
History of Jazz by
Rudi Blesh
Anything Goes: The World
of Popular Music
by David Dachs
Vaudeville: From the
Honky-Tonks to the Palace
by Joe Laure, Jr.
A Pictorial History of
Jazz: People and Places from New Orleans to Modern Jazz by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer,
Jr.
The Ziegfeld Follies by Marjorie Farnsworth
Box 11 Sheet Music Photocopies
216
copies. Photocopies of sheet music used by Mr. Jones in his various research or
theatrical pursuits. Filed
alphabetically by title. [Please contact archivist for list of titles.]
Box 12 Playbills and Artifacts
53 playbills from non-musical
productions and 5 buttons
Materials Cataloged Separately:
Per Center
policy, certain formats are cataloged separately for accessibility. These
include secondary serials, Reading Room books, rare books, sheet music,
photographs, performance programs and playbills, trade catalogs, and sound
recordings. The Reading Room books are searchable through the MTSU Walker
Library catalog, all other materials are searchable through the Center’s
website database or in-house. [For a
complete list of separated materials, please contact the archivist at [email protected].
Location:
Manuscripts
are located with other manuscript materials on the mezzanine filed by accession
number.
Reading room books, serials, sheet music, trade catalogs, iconographic items, performance
documents and sound recordings have been separated from the manuscripts and
cataloged in CPM InMagic database and searchable through the website.
Related Materials:
The Center
holds other manuscript collections pertaining to jazz and ragtime, notably the
Brad McCuen Collection, 97-023 and the Ray Avery Collection, 86-009. Other
jazz-related manuscript interviews, lectures, and audio and video tapes may be
searched in the Archives database. Special collection sheet music, performance
documents, trade catalogs, photographs, sound recordings and reading room
materials related to the subjects of jazz or ragtime are also held by the
Center and searchable through the CPM website database or MTSU Walker Library
catalog.
LPC June 2008. Revised RKM May 2011, November 2011, March 2012, April
2012; LPC February 2013; RKM July 2013;
RKM April 2014; RKM September 2014; RKM December 2017.