Inside the Texas State Prison is a surprising story of ingenuity; optimism and musical creativity. During the mid-twentieth century; inmates at the Huntsville unit and neighboring Goree State Farm for Women captured hearts all over Texas during weekly radio broadcasts and live stage performances. WBAP�s Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls took listeners inside the penitentiary to hear not only the prisoners? songs but also the stories of those who sang them. Captivating and charismatic; banjo player Reable Childs received thousands of fan letters with the Goree All-Girl String Band during World War II. Hattie Ellis; a young black inmate with a voice that rivaled Billie Holiday�s; was immortalized by notable folklorist John Avery Lomax. Cowboys; songsters and champion fiddlers all played a part in one of the most unique prison histories in the nation. Caroline Gnagy presents the decades-long story of the Texas convict bands; informed by prison records; radio show transcripts and the words and music of the inmates themselves.
2016-07-12 2016-07-12File Name: B01IBN95BM
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