“Talking ’Bout My Generation”: Visual History Interviews—A Practitioner’s Report

Abstract

The critical appreciation of videotaped oral history interviews has been hampered by one-dimensional interpretations of the spoken word alone. The addition of the visual dimension in which voice and gestures are necessary constituents to the reading of the material has so far been widely ignored. Unjustly so, because it enriches the discipline with new interpretative approaches that can lead the way to a more human evaluation of historical events and personalities, thereby enlivening the dry facts that empirical historical sciences usually provide. The article will endeavor to describe what we see when we listen, and how this visual component can enhance informative values. “‘Talking ’Bout My Generation’” discusses these aspects in connection with African American culture and music. The following sound bites are part of a series of videotaped oral history interviews with some of the most influential artists, producers and music managers in the history of recorded music. Historically, they cover the period from the 30s to the 60s of the last century. Featured is hitherto unpublished interview material of the soul singer Ben E. King, the Southern musician Jimmy Johnson, the record producer Jerry Wexler, Solomon Burke, who needs no introduction, and Joel Dorn, the wonderful former jazz producer for the iconic Atlantic Records label.