Music and Family

I chose to interview both my Granny Gail and Papa Bennie, on my mom's side of the family. I interviewed my granny first, and my papa last. The interviews took place in separate rooms, so their answers were not skewed by one another.

When asked what kind of music she listened to growing up, my Granny Gail replied that she did not remember listening to a lot of music when she was a young child, but as a teenager she enjoyed listening to Big Band and the music of the 50's. She also said that she usually listened to music in the afternoons, during quiet time, using a record player. When it came to dancing, she said that they used to Shag. When I asked her what her parents and/or teachers thought about the music she listened to, she said, "I imagine they liked it. They never said anything different." She also said that she enjoyed singing in church and that the environment was worshipful. She answered that she simply liked the sound of the music and that she enjoyed it, when asked why she liked the music she did. She also said that she did not necessarily turn to a certain genre due to life experiences, and she was never exposed to music outside of her own culture.

My Papa Bennie said that he listened to gospel music as a child. After I pried a little bit more about the music he listened to, he said that he liked to listen to Country music as a teenager. The technology he used to listen to music was the radio. Papa said that he did not experience a lot of dancing until he got into college, where people would go to parties to go dancing. He experienced music at church and at home, and he sang in the Glee Club at school. His parents approved of the music that he listened to and sang. When I asked him about why he chose to listen to certain types of music, he explained that as he got older he still enjoys listening to Country music, but that he likes Gospel a bit more, and sometimes Classical music.

I think that both of my grandparents got strangely shy while I was interviewing them, especially my Papa Bennie. He did not tell me this in the actual interview, but he has shared with me before, that he once went to a Little Richard concert at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. The concert he attended took place during the time of segregation. He had to sit in the balcony, along with the other white people, while the black people were allowed to dance on the main floor. I wanted to share this information because I thought it was significantly different from what occurs at concerts today. I also realize that Little Richard is not a Gospel singer or a Country singer, so I am really not sure how valid this interview was.