1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,639 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So, a 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,119 Speaker 1: couple of years back, when I was doing some research 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: for a project completely unrelated to the podcast, just kind 6 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: of side projects that I was working with friends, I 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: came across the story of Buddy Bolden and he immediately 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: went onto my list of future topics. And then recently, 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: as you may recall, because we aired the episode, we 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 1: went to New Orleans to do a live show at 11 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: the National World War Two Museum. And while we were there, 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: we timed it so that we kind of made a 13 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: little bit of vacation out of it, and one of 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: my best friends was there with me. Two of my 15 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: best friends were actually there with me, but this one 16 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: in particular, it was her birthday weekend and she absolutely 17 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: loves music and loves jazz, and she wanted to hit 18 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 1: all of the jazz spots that she could while we 19 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: were there. Uh, And I was reminded of Buddy's story, 20 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: so it kind of bubbled back up been to my consciousness, 21 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: and it seemed a good time to finally give him 22 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: a moment, and before we start, I feel like we 23 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: need to talk about him as a challenging topic for 24 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: historians because author Donald M. Marquis, who wrote really the 25 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: first and and only comprehensive biography of Bolden, noted early 26 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: on in his book that when he was researching Buddy's 27 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: history and his family history, it became really really apparent 28 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: that there were some problems. For example, the name Bolden 29 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: had been spelled innumerable different ways on various documents, so 30 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: birth certificates, death certificates, and wedding certificates for any one 31 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: person might show the last name with completely different spellings 32 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: on each. For example, one of Buddy's aunts was listed 33 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: with the last name Bolding on her marriage certificate, but 34 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: her signature on that same certificate clearly shows the spelling 35 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: of Bolden b O L D E N, So even 36 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: on that one document, UH, the names were inconsistent. And 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: this sort of disparity is all over the various records 38 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: that exist related to Buddy Bolden's life, even though there 39 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: aren't really that many records to begin with, UH, and 40 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: they also include things like age discrepancies and address discrepancies. UM, 41 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: it's kind of all over the place, and all of this, 42 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: as well as Buddy's charisma and talent as a performer, 43 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: has contributed to a number of falsehoods and a lot 44 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: of mythologizing over the years. So there will be a 45 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: couple of things that we point out along the way 46 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: as unverifiable. We do know when he was born, though 47 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: Charles Joseph Bolden was born on September six seven, we 48 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: don't really know when he got the nickname Buddy, though 49 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: his mom referred to him as Charles throughout his life. 50 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 1: He was Westmore and Alice Bolden's second child. Their first 51 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: child was a daughter who was christened Latta but went 52 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: by Lottie. She was born two years before Buddy was 53 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: and Westmore worked as a driver for a businessman named 54 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: William Walker, who had employed Buddy's grandfather Gustavus and grandmother 55 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: Francis as well, and it's been speculated that gust of 56 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: Us was born into slavery, although that isn't one of 57 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: those places where there is no definitive documentation. But gust 58 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: of Us and Francis and then Westmore and Alice lived 59 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: in servants quarters on Walker's property and they were employees there. 60 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: They were not enslaved by him. Westmore had moved his 61 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: family a few blocks away before Buddy was born, and 62 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: then moved back in eighteen seventy eight when Westmore's brother 63 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: Thomas moved out, and then they moved away again in 64 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: anticipation of their third child, Cora, who was born in 65 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty Buddy's older sister, Lottie died she had encephalitis 66 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: since she died in eighteen eighty one at the age 67 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: of six. His father Westmore also died on December twenty three, 68 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three, at the age of thirty two. He 69 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: had come down with what was recorded as acute plural 70 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: pneumonia for several years after that. It's not totally clear 71 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: where Alice and the surviving two children lived, but in 72 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven they moved into a home at First Street. 73 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: But he was ten at the time, and if you're 74 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: familiar with New Orleans, that's on what's the d block 75 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: of First Street today. In the eighteen eighties, the neighborhood 76 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: had a pretty diverse mix of people, but the residents 77 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: mostly were Irish and German, and Alice, despite being a 78 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: single mother, wanted all of her children in school rather 79 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: than working, so Buddy attended school at least into the 80 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: early eighteen nineties, although the records are once again a 81 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 1: little unclear there. Buddy as Charles Bolden did not appear 82 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,119 Speaker 1: in a city directory separately from Alice until eighteen seven, 83 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: when he would have been twenty years old, and at 84 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: that point he was listed as a plasterer, although in 85 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: reality he was taking a variety of temp jobs to 86 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: make ends meet. While Bolden grew up in a city 87 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: that was just full of music, he didn't start taking 88 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: Cornett lessons until a little later. That was in the 89 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: mid eighteen nineties, from a neighbor named Manuel Hall, who 90 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: worked as a cook in the French Quarter and who 91 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 1: was close with Buddy's mother, Alice. Yeah, it appears that 92 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: Alice and Manuel probably were romantically linked at some point 93 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: and possibly for a long ongoing time. Sometimes he is 94 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: kind of referred to almost as a father figure in 95 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: Buddy Bolden's life, and it was with Manuel Hall that 96 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: Buddy first played in a band. He also joined up 97 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: with Charlie Galloway, a neighbor about eight years older than 98 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: he was, who had a barbershop. At this point, barbershops 99 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: were common meeting places for musicians, so much so that 100 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: part of the Buddy Bolden mythology that has been repeated 101 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: over the years spread the false information that he was 102 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: a barber, because surely he was spending all this time 103 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: in barbershops. He was not a barber. That is just 104 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: a location where people met. There was kind of an 105 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: ongoing shuffling going on at the time, and the bands 106 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: that Buddy was part of, some of them formed really 107 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: loosely just to play for a particular party or dance, 108 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: and then others went through ongoing reorganization as the members 109 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: disagreed on the sound of the style or just moved 110 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 1: on to other groups. Yeah. I feel like if anybody 111 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: ever played in uh non orchestra type bands in high school, 112 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: they know this dance all too well, of bands falling 113 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: apart and reforming and other people meeting up and playing 114 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: in a band for a night or two. But Buddy 115 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: and Galloway started playing together not long after Buddy had 116 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: picked up the cornet. It is believed that Buddy made 117 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: appearances with Galloway's band as early as eighteen ninety four, 118 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: so that was the year that he first started taking lessons, 119 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: and as Buddy began performing around the city. He got 120 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: really good, really fast, and he garnered a following for himself. 121 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: He always had a bevy of young women who were 122 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: happy to hang around near the bandstand and hold his things, 123 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: and Buddy definitely enjoyed this attention, and he was romantically 124 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: linked to a number of ladies in the second half 125 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 1: of the eighteen nineties, and one woman, Hattie Oliver, who 126 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: was older than Buddy, kept regular company with the musician. 127 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: In eighteen seven, Hattie and Buddy had a child, Charles 128 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 1: Joseph Bolden Jr. This wasn't the beginning of a family scenario, though, 129 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: Buddy and how He weren't married, and while he did 130 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: try to financially support them for a while, it didn't 131 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: really last. Hattie went by the name Hattie Bolden for 132 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: a while in a common law arrangement, but by nineteen 133 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: hundreds she was back to going by Hattie Oliver. By 134 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: nine hundred, also just six years after he first started 135 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: taking lessons with Manuel Hall, Buddy had built a pretty 136 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: significant name for himself on the New Orleans music scene. 137 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: He was doing things differently than musicians before him had. 138 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: He played differently, and he arranged songs differently, we're going 139 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: to talk about that a little bit more towards the 140 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: end of the episode. And while the people that he 141 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: played with had been a fluid group, things started to 142 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: get some consistency in terms of band members at the 143 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: turn of the century. Willie Cornish, who had come and 144 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: gone through Buddies Band before, came back in and played 145 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: the trombone. Jimmy Johnson played the bass and was the 146 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: youngest member of the band. He could often be seen 147 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: bicycling through the town on the way to gigs with 148 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: this bay saw on his back, which delights me. There 149 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: were two clarinet players, William Warner and on the C 150 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: clarinet and Frank Lewis on the B flat clarinet. Jefferson 151 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: Mumford played guitar and Cornelius Tillman became the regular drummer 152 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: after he and Henry Zino alternated in that position for 153 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: a while. Yeah, there is uh. I did not end 154 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: up including it in this episode just in terms of time. 155 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: It became a whole scope shift if we tried to 156 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: do it. But there is like one photograph of this band, 157 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 1: although Cornelius Tillman isn't in it, and it is one 158 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: of those sort of history mysteries. Will include a link 159 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: to a paper about it in our show notes where uh, 160 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: no one can decide how this photograph should be flipped, 161 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: because initially people saw it and thought, oh, that looks 162 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: like people are playing left handed. Uh, this must be wrong, 163 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: we'll flip it. And then they realized if they flipped it, 164 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: it looked like two other band members were playing left handed. 165 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: And this has been the source of much discussion and 166 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: analysis for years and years and years. But it's also 167 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: the possibility that it's just a posed picture where they 168 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 1: weren't holding their instruments naturally the way they would when 169 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: they were playing. Uh. So we'll link to that paper 170 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: because it's quite delightful. But in a moment, we're going 171 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: to talk about the area of New Orleans that is 172 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: very closely linked to Buddy's success. But first we're going 173 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: to pause for a word from one of the sponsors 174 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: that keeps this show going. Muddy Bolden's story goes hand 175 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 1: in hand with another story of New Orleans at the time, 176 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: and that is the red light or vice district known 177 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: as Storyville, and the city had several such districts going 178 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: back to the eighteen fifties, but Storyville, which formed in 179 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: eight was the last and the smallest of them. In 180 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: the so called busy season, which was tied to the 181 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: horse racing calendar, as many as three thousand sex workers 182 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: were working in Storyville's brothels, which were defined by a 183 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: city ordinance put forth by Alderman Sydney story that made 184 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 1: it illegal for vice businesses to operate outside the limits 185 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: of certain blocks. It's kind of an interesting thing because 186 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: it doesn't say if you're in this space you can 187 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: be doing these things. It just says if you're outside 188 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: this space, you can't be doing these things, which is 189 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: a weird way towards something like that. At one point, 190 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: near the end of the district's existence, and officer of 191 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: the Secretary of War's Commission of Training Camp Activities called 192 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: Storyville a Gibraltar of commercialized vice, twenty four blocks given 193 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: over to human degradation and lust. But despite the focus 194 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: on the seedy or lures of Storyville, it was actually 195 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: alcohol sales that turned over some of the highest profits 196 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: in the district. We actually have an episode in the 197 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: archive about Storyville, and Buddy Bolden gets to mention in 198 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: it if folks want to track that down in the archive. 199 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: Bolden and his band played all over New Orleans, just 200 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: to be clear, but his name was closely tied to 201 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: Storyville and it was a really rowdy area. There was 202 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: a unique kind of symbiosis between the red light district 203 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 1: and the music scene. The enticements of the neighborhood brought 204 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: people in, and musicians like Bolden playing in places like 205 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: the Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall gained a following and 206 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: then drew more people into the district. Yeah, kind of 207 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 1: each of the various industries going on there kept feeding 208 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: the others. And one of the most famous spots for 209 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: Bolden to play was the Union Sun's Hall, which had 210 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: been established in eighteen sixty six by a group of 211 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: free persons of color, and it was part of Black 212 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: Storyville since a lot of the Vice district would not 213 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: accept black patrons, and the Union Sons Hall also went 214 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: by other nicknames, including Kenne's Hall named I Believe for 215 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,719 Speaker 1: a musician that the predated Buddy Bolden, and Funky Butt Hall, 216 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: which was tied very closely to Bolden. He had a 217 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: song with those words and the lyrics are in the name, 218 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: and sometimes the Saturday Night dances that were going on 219 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 1: at Union Suns would drag into the morning hours, so 220 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: much so that they had to be cut off so 221 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: that the hall could be rearranged quickly and used for 222 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,560 Speaker 1: Sunday morning church services. What's interesting is that even while 223 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: Buddy was experimenting and improvising new ways to play old standards, 224 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: making in the brass more prominent and changing up the rhythms, 225 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 1: there are also accounts of his band playing places like 226 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: the Blue Ribbon Social Club, which was an organization for 227 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,439 Speaker 1: teenage girls, and being perfect gentleman both in their personal 228 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: behavior and in the performances. They played appropriate dance music 229 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: like Waltz's and Quadrille's and nothing jazzy at all. Yeah, 230 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: there's a cute quote from somebody that I read where 231 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: they're describing it, and I think they say, none of 232 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: that jazzy stuff, And I don't know why that charmed me. 233 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen o two, but he started seeing a woman 234 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: named Nora Bass, who he took to church for dates initially, 235 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: and the two moved in together that same year at 236 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: nineteen Philip Street, and they started living as a married couple, 237 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,959 Speaker 1: even though they were not ever legally with this basically 238 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: a common law marriage established sort of a double life 239 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: for Buddy. Nora was not part of the music scene. 240 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: She was not particularly interested in the culture of Storyville. 241 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: But even away from the music scene, he had this 242 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: other duality going on because he split his nights between 243 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: his old family home, staying with his mother Alice, and 244 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: then the rest of the time staying with Nora. Buddy 245 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 1: and Nora had a daughter named Bernadine in nineteen o three, 246 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: but Buddy's second effort at family life seems to have 247 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: been a struggle, just like it was before with Hattie. 248 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: In nineteen o four, he was back to living with 249 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: his mother full time, at least according to a city directory, 250 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: although she had at that point moved across First Street 251 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: to another home, and Buddy's sister Cora, who had married 252 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen o two and that marriage did not work out, 253 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: was also living back with their mother, Alice. But just 254 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: as his work and his fame were reaching the highest 255 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,319 Speaker 1: heights of the New Orleans scene, things really started to 256 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: crumble for him. In nineteen o six, Buddy started to 257 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,079 Speaker 1: exhibit signs of mental illness. At this point, people called 258 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 1: him King, and he keenly felt the pressure of being 259 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: called the King. He knew that he had to keep 260 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 1: coming up with new ideas to keep the audiences happy. Yeah, 261 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: there were there are stories of audiences just chanting King 262 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: Bolden over and over and over as they anticipated his 263 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: arrival on a stage, which is one of those things 264 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: that sounds like rock star amazing, but it also made 265 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: him feel really, really stressed because he wanted to maintain 266 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 1: that level. Buddy had been a heavy drinker from a 267 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: pretty young age, but that got a lot worse as 268 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: he grappled with the pressures that he felt, and what 269 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: had once seemed like mere drunkenness started to really morph 270 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: into more troubling behavior. He complained of headaches. He became 271 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: very paranoid. He was often found just mumbling to himself, 272 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: and the headaches got bad enough that they impeded his playing. 273 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: Uh said that he would play the wrong notes, and 274 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: then that would only make the situation worse because he 275 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: would realize that all of this pressure was stuff that 276 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: he could not meet if this headache was causing his 277 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: playing to suffer. Nora was still in his life at 278 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 1: this point, although they weren't really maintaining a full time marriage, 279 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: and she said at times that he seemed to be 280 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: afraid of his own hornet. He had always kept it 281 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: with him, and he worried that his position as the 282 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: as the music scenes most prominent innovator would be overthrown 283 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: by some other musician in terms of his immediate livelihood. 284 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: He started missing gigs and fighting with his band members. Yeah, 285 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: he had initially responded to this pressure by just booking 286 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: more and more gigs, like he was just going to 287 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: saturate the market. And then, of course that's impossible. When 288 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: you are stressed, the worst thing to do is make 289 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: your schedule even more intense. So it kind of kept 290 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: folding in on itself, this problem, and on Saturday, March 291 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: twenty three, nineteen o six, the police were called to 292 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: the Bolden home. Buddy had become delusional. He was convinced 293 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: that his mother, Alice, was trying to poison him, and 294 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 1: at the time, Norah's sister Dora and her mother Ida, 295 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: we're visiting the house and Buddy hit Ida. We think 296 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: will explain why there's a we think there in just 297 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: a moment with a water picture. Because the women were 298 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: afraid of more violent behavior, they called the police. Buddy 299 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: was arrested and he was booked at the twelfth Precinct 300 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: station that night. His charge is simply listed as insane. 301 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: The newspapers picked up the story, and this is the 302 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: only press coverage that Buddy ever got in his lifetime. 303 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: It ran as a brief news blurb and the New 304 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: Orleans Item and the Daily Picune. The two newspapers differ 305 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: on one key detail, though one item says that Buddy 306 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: struck his mother, the Piaune says that it was his 307 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: mother in law. Both agree that the wound was not serious. 308 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: Though later that year, most of Bolden's bandmates were no 309 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: longer playing with him. It is unclear if they got 310 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: frustrated with his behavior and walked out or if he 311 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: just got super angry and fired them, but those relationships 312 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: were severed. A series of musicians cycled through his group 313 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: on his gigs from that point on, including several that 314 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: really had poor reputations on the music scene, and we're 315 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: likely just taking advantage of this unstable situation for their 316 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 1: own benefit. Stories from this time in Buddy's life all 317 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: paint a picture of a man who was at times disoriented, 318 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: referring in conversations to people no one seemed to know 319 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: short changing bandmates on their payouts and clearly losing touch 320 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: with reality. On September three, six, Buddy, like every other 321 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: musician in New Orleans, was booked to march in the 322 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: Labor Day Parade, but he walked off the parade route. 323 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: There have been several different stories as to whether he 324 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: was part of some kind of altercation or whether he 325 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,719 Speaker 1: just left and was and felt like he was unable 326 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,439 Speaker 1: to complete the route in the very hot and humid weather. 327 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: But after that day, his mental state started declining really quickly. 328 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,200 Speaker 1: On Saturday night September eight, so just a few days later, 329 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 1: his mother called the police again. His booking record at 330 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: four am Sunday morning once again lists insanity as the 331 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: reason he was arrested, and then, for reasons unknown, his 332 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 1: given address, which his mother gave the police, was not 333 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: his home, but a nearby vacant lot that was situation 334 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: did across the street from the home of his close 335 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: friend Lewis Jones. There's been speculation that she and his 336 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: friend Lewis both felt like they didn't know what to 337 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: do with him, and they were trying to maybe like 338 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 1: just get him out of their lives in sort of 339 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: a passive way. But we don't know. Buddy was released 340 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: after this arrest, but he never played his cornet again. 341 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: The next several months were spent drinking and hanging around 342 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: his mother's house, occasionally lapsing into angry and violent behavior. 343 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: He was arrested for insanity again on March seven. Was 344 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: mother Alice and sister Cora couldn't manage him anymore, and 345 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: on April four, after almost a month in jail, he 346 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: was examined by a doctor and committed to the Jackson 347 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: Insane Asylum. His declaration of insanity review and paperwork to 348 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: list him as judicially committed, though weren't completed for another month. 349 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: The cause of insanity was listed simply as alcohol, and 350 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,439 Speaker 1: he made the trip to Jackson on June five. His 351 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: years and treatment are not entire really well documented. Some 352 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: of those documents probably existed and have gone missing, but 353 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: he was sort of treated in this weird catch all 354 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: category that black men were frequently lumped into. The treatment 355 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,360 Speaker 1: was kind of along the lines of how they would 356 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 1: treat manic depressives at the time. That is no longer 357 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: a term that would be used, but it was basically like, 358 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:22,360 Speaker 1: we don't know, they seemed violent, we're going to kind 359 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,880 Speaker 1: of give them this non individualized and kind of unspecific 360 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:31,479 Speaker 1: course of treatment. It's actually not until in nineteen examination records, 361 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: so again, that is almost twenty years after he was 362 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: committed to the asylum that the diagnosis of dementia precox 363 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 1: paranoid type appears. That terminology is outdated now. It was 364 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: used for a while interchangeably with the term schizophrenia, and 365 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 1: then it was supplanted by the use of the word 366 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: schizophrenia completely at one point. We will talk more about 367 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: Buddy's time in Jackson in just a moment, but first 368 00:19:54,560 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: will pause to take another quick sponsor break. Initially, Alice 369 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:09,200 Speaker 1: and Coral Bolden visited Buddy in the asylum at fairly 370 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: regular intervals, and at one point they even thought that 371 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: he might be well enough to return home, although his 372 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: doctors cautioned against it. But over time, Buddy became less 373 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: and less responsive, and eventually he didn't recognize his mother 374 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: or sister, and the Bolden's eventually stopped visiting. They would 375 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: instead write letters to the hospital staff asking after Buddy's wellness, 376 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: and they would receive reassuring, although not too reassuring replies. 377 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: These missives generally stated that Buddy was in good health, 378 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 1: but that he showed no improvement in regards to his 379 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: mental state. In seven, Buddy's daughter Bernadine, who was twenty 380 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:48,879 Speaker 1: four at the time and hadn't had contact with him 381 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: since she was four, wrote to the hospital from Evanston, Illinois, 382 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: and she asked about her father's condition. Bernadine's mother, Nora, 383 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: hadn't maintained a relationship with the Bolden so she didn't 384 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,679 Speaker 1: really know what her father's status was, and so the 385 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: hospital wrote her back and said that he was not improving. 386 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: I feel like that's a whole story. I would be 387 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: very interested to hear, like at what point did she 388 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,680 Speaker 1: decide she wanted to reach out and like how did 389 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: she end up in Illinois? And we don't really have 390 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: those pieces of the puzzle. Uh. There is one really 391 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,919 Speaker 1: bittersweet aspect of Bolden's time in the asylum. So in 392 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, and music therapy program was started there 393 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: by a doctor E. M. Richards, who was himself a musician, 394 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: and there was a jazz band that formed with some 395 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: of the black patients, although Buddy was not one of them, 396 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: but on occasion, according to staff accounts, Buddy would just 397 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,360 Speaker 1: walk up to the bandstand and grab a trumpet or cornet, 398 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: depending on what was there, and play, but almost no 399 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: one realized that they were in the presence of a 400 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:51,919 Speaker 1: former bandstand. King. Buddy's mother, Alice Bolden, died on August 401 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: eleven one, and when Cora wrote their usual letter to 402 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: the asylum asking after her brother, she included this news 403 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: and the letter the hospital just responded to let her 404 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: knew that her brother was having heart trouble. Bud He 405 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 1: died on November four in Parker General Hospital, which is 406 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: part of the same property as the asylum. His cause 407 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: of death was cerebral arterial sclerosis. No death notice ran 408 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: in the paper, and the city that had celebrated him 409 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: as King Bolden at one time had no idea that 410 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,399 Speaker 1: he had died. Today, we don't know where Buddy Bolden 411 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: is buried exactly. He was buried in Whole Cemetery in 412 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: a pauper's grave on city owned land. His sister, Cora 413 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,199 Speaker 1: had been either unable or unwilling to pay the burial 414 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: fee of five dollars. She also wasn't able to keep 415 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: up with the payments that were needed for maintenance of 416 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: the grave site. So after two years, his body was 417 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: exhumed and reburied at a greater depth to make room 418 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: for a fresh grave on top of his. Yeah, that 419 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: cemetery has since become very overgrown. There's a general sense 420 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: of it's kind of somewhere right around this area, but 421 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: we really don't know, and there are likely several more 422 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,439 Speaker 1: burials on top of it in addition to that one 423 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: that happened a couple of years later. Buddy's brief but 424 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: intense time as a New Orleans musical celebrity is much 425 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: discussed by historians as the point where Dixie Land jazz 426 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: was born. But this discussion also gets a little bit 427 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: tricky because we have no recordings of him playing. We 428 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: don't know exactly what he sounded like, and so everything 429 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: is an interpretation of descriptions that other people have given, 430 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: and sometimes those accounts contradict one another because their subjective. 431 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: One thing that I noticed that was interesting reading some 432 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,919 Speaker 1: of those is like some people would be like, he 433 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: had amazing tone, and other people would be like, he 434 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: didn't have tone, but he had really good rhythm, And 435 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: like there were just these literally completely contradicting accounts of 436 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: what he sounded like. There has been speculation that Bolden 437 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: and an early incarnation of his band made a cylinder 438 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: recording sometime before, but if they did this, that recording 439 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,919 Speaker 1: has been lost and it has eluded historian searches, of 440 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: which there have been many. Because of a mythical nature 441 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: of Buddy's work and the lack of documentation of it, 442 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,879 Speaker 1: there are ongoing disagreements about what did and didn't originate 443 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 1: with him. If you've ever watched the kin Burns jazz 444 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:15,119 Speaker 1: documentary series went, Marcellist attributes what's called a big four beat, 445 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: which is a syncopated pattern that accents the second fourth 446 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 1: beat of a march to Bolden. But that beat might 447 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: have started any number of places, including after Buddy was 448 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: no longer playing regularly, and it's unlikely a definitive origin 449 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,840 Speaker 1: point that anybody will ever be able to conclusively prove. Yeah, 450 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: if you wanna, um, you know, read some online arguments, 451 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: go and just search around the internet for like that 452 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: footage and watch all of the comments be about that's 453 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: not true when Marcellas doesn't know what he's talking about. Uh, 454 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 1: it's pretty interesting, but basically, really again, it's that thing 455 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: where he's he's mythological in nature at this point, and 456 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: you could say things weird things that he invented and 457 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: we don't know, but there's also every possibility that that 458 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: he did do that. And even though Buddy hadn't started 459 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: learning Cornett until he was a teen, as we mentioned, 460 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: which is late for a kid in New Orleans at 461 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,880 Speaker 1: the time, he had an incredible ear and he could 462 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:13,640 Speaker 1: pick up a song just by hearing it and then 463 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: kind of playing around with it on his cornet briefly 464 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: to make sure he had it worked out. Whether he 465 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: was able to read music is another hotly debated point, 466 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 1: but he was a skilled improviser. Sometimes he would maybe 467 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: forget a segment of a song while playing and he 468 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: could just fake his way through it, or he would 469 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: just fake his way through songs that he maybe just 470 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 1: didn't really know all that well. To begin with that 471 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: main biographer who's written about Bolden that I mentioned earlier, 472 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: Donald M. Marquee, warrant in his book that this skill, 473 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: when people talk about it, should not be equated with 474 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: the improvisational jazz of today. It was more of a 475 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,159 Speaker 1: way of embellishing a known melody and setting it to 476 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: a different beat to create something New He also wasn't 477 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: just playing his own thing. He was playing all kinds 478 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 1: of music almost anywhere he could to establish himself as 479 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 1: a musician. Hot music, the place where Bolden was really innovating, 480 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 1: combined the brass band marches that were common in New 481 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: Orleans with blues and ragtime, and this is where Dixieland 482 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 1: jazz begins. But it's important to contextualize it as happening 483 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: in the same dance halls where waltzes and quadrilles were 484 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: also being played, and by musicians who could cover all 485 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,160 Speaker 1: of that territory. Yes, sometimes I think if you read 486 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 1: sort of a glossy blurb version of it, it sounds 487 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: like he's only this rebel that's out playing his own 488 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,960 Speaker 1: versions of things. And really he was accomplished at covering 489 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: all of the bases that he might be required to. 490 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: After Bolden's death, the ideas that he pioneered, both in 491 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 1: the sounds, songs and arrangements, as well as the style 492 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,200 Speaker 1: of bands continued to evolve in Louisiana and beyond. String 493 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: bands and orchestras started to give way to smaller jazz 494 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: ensembles like the ones that Buddy had put together, and 495 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 1: new Orleans quickly established itself as the birthplace of Dixie 496 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: Land jazz, as well as a place where the music 497 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: form evolved and took other shapes. But He's life has 498 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: been featured in a lot of works over the years. 499 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 1: The novel Coming Through Slaughter, published in nineteen seventy six 500 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 1: by Michael and Dachi, features a fictionalized version of Bolden's life. 501 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: A biopic called Bolden with an exclamation Point was filmed 502 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,200 Speaker 1: in and is still listed us in post production on IMDb. 503 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,399 Speaker 1: They have also been theatrical productions where he's featured as 504 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: a character and he makes cameos and a number of 505 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: pieces of fiction. On September six, n which would have 506 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: been Buddy's hundred and nineteenth birthday, he finally got a 507 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: New Orleans jazz funeral, and that was attended by his 508 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:40,199 Speaker 1: granddaughter and great granddaughter. Six years later, the City Council 509 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 1: of New Orleans named a block of Tulu Street Buddy 510 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 1: Bolden Place. Oh, this is one of those things where 511 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: I think about We've talked about it on the show before, 512 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 1: how our knowledge of mental health treatment and diagnosis has 513 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 1: evolved a great deal. But it's one of those places 514 00:27:55,880 --> 00:28:00,439 Speaker 1: where I personally feel slightly cheated, similar to how we have. 515 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: We talked in our Dwight Fry episode about how if 516 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: he had only sought medical treatment, he could have had 517 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: potentially a much longer acting career and given us heaven 518 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:12,879 Speaker 1: only knows what kind of amazing performances. Similarly, but he 519 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,159 Speaker 1: was only thirty when he was sent to the asylum. Like, 520 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: think of the music he could have played had he 521 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: actually gotten reasonable treatment for his mental illness um and 522 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: maybe taking better care of his body along the way. Uh. So, 523 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,439 Speaker 1: I'll just feel selfish in wanting to travel back in 524 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,959 Speaker 1: time and fix those problems. Uh. I have way more 525 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: upbeat listener mail since this ends on kind of a 526 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: sad place. There are two pieces of listener mail. They 527 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: are both related to our recent episode on the straw 528 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,160 Speaker 1: Hat Riots. Uh. The first is from our listener Michael, 529 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: and he writes, Hi, Holly and Tracy. I've been listening 530 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: to your show for many years now. My wife and 531 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: I very much enjoyed listening to your episodes about China's 532 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: greatly Forward as we traveled from Taiwan to London by 533 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: train via Beijing and the Trans Siberian Rail itself a 534 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,720 Speaker 1: great subject for a future podcast. That sounds like an 535 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: amazing trip. I most recently listened to your episode about 536 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: the straw hat riot. I now live in western Massachusetts, 537 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: but I grew up in a small town called Luton 538 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: that was the center of the hat trade in England. 539 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: Plaid straw was such an important fixture in the town 540 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: that it features on the town crest in the form 541 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: of a straw beehive and a wheat sheaf. The local 542 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: football team, that is what we would call soccer in America, 543 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: is nicknamed the Hatters, and there's a whole museum dedicated 544 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,680 Speaker 1: to the hat trade. In the museum, they have a 545 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: number of interesting exhibits, including the remains of the town 546 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: hall clock that burnt down during the Peace Day riots. 547 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: But my favorite is a policeman's hat made of local 548 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: straw that does not seem to offer the bobby much protection. 549 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,000 Speaker 1: Thank you for your shows, and I can't wait to 550 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: listen to next week's installment. And he sent a really 551 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 1: cool picture of this hat. I like that that kind 552 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,479 Speaker 1: of just verifies what we've talked about a little bit 553 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: in that episode that there were entire communities, particularly in 554 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: Great Britain, that really like ran on the straw hat trade. 555 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: Are other email is from our listener Steve also about 556 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: the straw hat riots uh, and he mentions his grandfather 557 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: Max I'm gonna paraphrase a little bit who grew up 558 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 1: in New York's Jewish Lower East Side, UH, and would 559 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,479 Speaker 1: often tell Steve stories about when he was growing up 560 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: and how he got into fights all the time. And 561 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: he said he often bragged about grabbing straw hats off 562 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: men's heads and then running away with them. And I 563 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: never knew this was a common thing until I heard 564 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,520 Speaker 1: your podcast. But you omitted something important from your discussion. 565 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: I think the hat snatching was very much a class issue, 566 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: lower class kids snatching boaters off of middle and upper 567 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: class men. Lots of the hat snatchers were living hand 568 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: to mouse, and it must have felt a little bit 569 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 1: like justice to see the richer men suffer. UH. That's 570 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: an interesting point of view on it. I had not 571 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: really thought about that, and it wasn't really discussed in 572 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: any of the news articles from the time that I 573 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: looked at. But it is an interesting thought. It's one 574 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:55,160 Speaker 1: of those instances of the thing that's conjuring to mind 575 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: is not historical in any way. But but the topsy 576 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: turvy day in the movie The Hutchback of Notre Dame 577 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: by Disney, where you know, all of the lower class 578 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,960 Speaker 1: people get to be high falutint for a day in 579 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: that example, and there are instances of that in various 580 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: social structures, so it's possible. Uh. If you would like 581 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: to write to us, you can do so at History 582 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: podcast at how stuff works dot com. We can also 583 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: be found across the spectrum of social media as Missed 584 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 1: in History. You can also find us online at missed 585 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 1: in History dot com, where all of the episodes of 586 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: the show that have ever existed are, including the ones 587 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: the Tracy and I are on, which have little show 588 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: notes and some some reference notes. UH. If you would 589 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: like to subscribe, we highly encourage you to do that. 590 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:40,320 Speaker 1: You can do that on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart 591 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:47,960 Speaker 1: Radio app, or wherever it is that you listen. For 592 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how 593 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 1: staff works dot com.