Post by Admin on May 18, 2015 19:35:26 GMT
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey (1899-1993)
Photo: From The Story of the Blues, by P. Oliver
Original entry by
Ian Hill, University of Georgia,
03/11/2005
Last edited by NGE Staff on 04/15/2013
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey first gained recognition as a blues pianist in the 1920s and later became known as the father of gospel music for his role in developing, publishing, and promoting the gospel blues. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1981.
Early Life and Career
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born in Villa Rica on July 1, 1899, to Etta Plant Spencer and Thomas Madison Dorsey, an itinerant preacher and sharecropper. Dorsey was first exposed to music in church, where he heard shape-note singing and emotional,
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey began his career as a blues pianist at the age of twelve in Atlanta. In 1916 Dorsey moved to Chicago, where he assumed the leadership of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey's Wild Cats Jazz Band in 1924 and began recording with "Tampa Red" Whittaker in 1928.
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey moaning spiritual songs. His mother was a respected organist, and Dorsey began playing the instrument at a young age.
In 1908 the family relocated to Atlanta, where Dorsey was introduced to a broader spectrum of secular music, especially on the Decatur Street scene. He worked at the Eighty-One Theater, where he witnessed performances by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, met Bessie Smith, and learned from house pianists Ed Butler, James Henningway, and Lark Lee, as well as from Eighty-One Theater house pianist Eddie Heywood. From age twelve to fourteen Dorsey played at house parties and brothels in Atlanta, gaining the nickname "Barrel House Tom."
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Thomas A. Dorsey - Grave
Photo: From The Story of the Blues, by P. Oliver
Original entry by
Ian Hill, University of Georgia,
03/11/2005
Last edited by NGE Staff on 04/15/2013
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey first gained recognition as a blues pianist in the 1920s and later became known as the father of gospel music for his role in developing, publishing, and promoting the gospel blues. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1981.
Early Life and Career
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born in Villa Rica on July 1, 1899, to Etta Plant Spencer and Thomas Madison Dorsey, an itinerant preacher and sharecropper. Dorsey was first exposed to music in church, where he heard shape-note singing and emotional,
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey began his career as a blues pianist at the age of twelve in Atlanta. In 1916 Dorsey moved to Chicago, where he assumed the leadership of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey's Wild Cats Jazz Band in 1924 and began recording with "Tampa Red" Whittaker in 1928.
"Georgia Tom" Dorsey moaning spiritual songs. His mother was a respected organist, and Dorsey began playing the instrument at a young age.
In 1908 the family relocated to Atlanta, where Dorsey was introduced to a broader spectrum of secular music, especially on the Decatur Street scene. He worked at the Eighty-One Theater, where he witnessed performances by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, met Bessie Smith, and learned from house pianists Ed Butler, James Henningway, and Lark Lee, as well as from Eighty-One Theater house pianist Eddie Heywood. From age twelve to fourteen Dorsey played at house parties and brothels in Atlanta, gaining the nickname "Barrel House Tom."
Continue Reading
Thomas A. Dorsey - Grave