The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing

Rating:
Summary: Poorly Researched.
Review: Jean Boyd's poorly researched book should hardly to be taken seriously. She managed to gather up most of her source material from various researchers who have gone the distance and has compiled it as her own. She also quoted from some faulty publications, in her chapter on 'Western Swing Guitarists', namely, Guitar Player Magazine. Boyd quotes freely from the September 1983 GP article I wrote on Bob Wills' Texas Playboys guitarist Junior Barnard, which thanks to their editorial staff (especially assistant editor Jim Ferguson), butchered my manuscript to the point it contained little factual information. Boyd never checked out any of the false information provided by GP in their published version of my article nor did she take the time to read the corrections I provided in the December 1983 GP issue. In addition to this, she confused much of the published information and made matters even worse in her book. To ad insult to injury, she never attempted to contact me to verify or refute any of the information even though I am noted in her text as 'Barnard's biographer'. Neither Boyd nor her publisher, The University of Texas Press, has provided a copy of this book. Requests for a courtesy copy have gone ignored. I have provided them with a corrected manuscript in the event should they decide to reprint the book. I hope that the book does not see a 2nd edition and here is why:

In addition to these problems with Boyd's book, there are a multiplicity or factual errors in other chapters of the book, far too many to go into here. There are many great artists who were productive and influential in the golden era of the Southwest music scene playing jazz, blues and Western Swing who she only gives an honorable mention and in some cases neglects reference altogether. These are glaring omissions considering some of the unknowns Boyd allotted numerous pages to. This is especially irritating considering the wealth of information available, much of which never been published on some of the more effluent progenitors of this music who have never had their day.

At best this is slip-shod research where Boyd has basically borrowed from many sources and turned out a college funded volume with a text that wasn't purged of errors, with little or no verification of facts, nor inclusion of important figureheads that should have been covered in depth. I consider the work highly irresponsible and considering the publisher I am incensed that they not only paid Boyd to write it, but they published it with little or no thought as to the quality of the material. Nor with any respect for the unsuspecting consumer who might decide to add this book to their collection unaware that the book is little more than pulp fiction. An 'oral history' it is not, as another reviewer's comments well stated. I have come to expect this kind of tripe from Guitar Player and other rags that grace the rack, but when an institute of higher education foists off something this bad which bears the name of one of their associate professors I am not amused and you the consumer shouldn't be either. I borrowed a copy and now I am returning it.

I give the book 1 star for the photographs.

Buddy McPeters
Bay Area, CA USA

Rating:
Summary: Poorly Researched.
Review: Jean Boyd's poorly researched book should hardly to be taken seriously. She managed to gather up most of her source material from various researchers who have gone the distance and has compiled it as her own. She also quoted from some faulty publications, in her chapter on 'Western Swing Guitarists', namely, Guitar Player Magazine. Boyd quotes freely from the September 1983 GP article I wrote on Bob Wills' Texas Playboys guitarist Junior Barnard, which thanks to their editorial staff (especially assistant editor Jim Ferguson), butchered my manuscript to the point it contained little factual information. Boyd never checked out any of the false information provided by GP in their published version of my article nor did she take the time to read the corrections I provided in the December 1983 GP issue. In addition to this, she confused much of the published information and made matters even worse in her book. To ad insult to injury, she never attempted to contact me to verify or refute any of the information even though I am noted in her text as 'Barnard's biographer'. Neither Boyd nor her publisher, The University of Texas Press, has provided a copy of this book. Requests for a courtesy copy have gone ignored. I have provided them with a corrected manuscript in the event should they decide to reprint the book. I hope that the book does not see a 2nd edition and here is why:

In addition to these problems with Boyd's book, there are a multiplicity or factual errors in other chapters of the book, far too many to go into here. There are many great artists who were productive and influential in the golden era of the Southwest music scene playing jazz, blues and Western Swing who she only gives an honorable mention and in some cases neglects reference altogether. These are glaring omissions considering some of the unknowns Boyd allotted numerous pages to. This is especially irritating considering the wealth of information available, much of which never been published on some of the more effluent progenitors of this music who have never had their day.

At best this is slip-shod research where Boyd has basically borrowed from many sources and turned out a college funded volume with a text that wasn't purged of errors, with little or no verification of facts, nor inclusion of important figureheads that should have been covered in depth. I consider the work highly irresponsible and considering the publisher I am incensed that they not only paid Boyd to write it, but they published it with little or no thought as to the quality of the material. Nor with any respect for the unsuspecting consumer who might decide to add this book to their collection unaware that the book is little more than pulp fiction. An 'oral history' it is not, as another reviewer's comments well stated. I have come to expect this kind of tripe from Guitar Player and other rags that grace the rack, but when an institute of higher education foists off something this bad which bears the name of one of their associate professors I am not amused and you the consumer shouldn't be either. I borrowed a copy and now I am returning it.

I give the book 1 star for the photographs.

Buddy McPeters
Bay Area, CA USA

Rating:
Summary: Good pickins' from the memories of those who played it
Review: Ms. Boyd (no relation to the Boyd brothers Bill, Jim and Clyde who hotted up the radio waves around Dallas in the late '40s) went to the trouble to look up many of the stars of western swing and record their stories.

It's a workmanlike effort, clearly stating its generalizations from the oral histories, and offering many quotes from those who played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, the Sons of the Pioneers, and dozens of the less famous and more specialized bands.

There are a number of pages of photographs.

Rating:
Summary: Fair
Review: This is not what I'd call an oral history. There were interviews but the bland voice that tells this story is the author's. Jean Boyd is not a storyteller. A lot of the information conflicts with what I've read elsewhere but there is no perspective. Also odd is to seperate the chapters by instrument so there is no chronological sense. It then becomes the story of the mucians. It's interesting but not a great book.