Review: It's Been Beautiful: “Soul!” and Black Power Television, by Gayle Wald

Abstract

Book Review| December 01 2017 Review: It's Been Beautiful: “Soul!” and Black Power Television, by Gayle Wald It's Been Beautiful: “Soul!” and Black Power Television, by Gayle Wald. Photographs by Chester Higgins. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015. x, 278 pp. Tammy L. Kernodle Tammy L. Kernodle TAMMY L. KERNODLE is Professor of Musicology at Miami University. Her research focuses on African American music and has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She is the author of Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams (Northeastern University Press, 2004) and served as associate editor of the Encyclopedia of African American Music (ABC-Clio, 2011) and as a senior editor for the revised Grove Dictionary of American Music (Oxford University Press, 2013). Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Musicological Society (2017) 70 (3): 873–877. https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2017.70.3.873 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Tammy L. Kernodle; Review: It's Been Beautiful: “Soul!” and Black Power Television, by Gayle Wald. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 December 2017; 70 (3): 873–877. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2017.70.3.873 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the American Musicological Society Search Disconcerting, peculiar, provocative, and transformational are words that describe the history of the engagement between television, black America, and black music culture. Television, more than any other form of media, has historically been valued for its potential as an effective tool in fostering public sentiment. While the first generation of dramatic and comedic shows featuring black characters did not challenge the racial and ethnic stereotypes that had been advanced through popular culture, this changed with the highlighting of black music and black musicians on television during the 1950s and 1960s. Programs such as Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town (later called The Ed Sullivan Show), Steve Allen's Tonight Show, and Shindig! provided important platforms for the promotion of black music, black artistry, and racial pride. One needs only look to the countless baby boomers who recall seeing the Supremes or the Temptations on Ed Sullivan during the early... You do not currently have access to this content.