Joseph Stephen James, of

Douglasville, Georgia The city of Douglasville is the county seat of Douglas County, Georgia, United States. , the city had a population of 34,650, up from 30,961 in 2010 and 20,065 in 2000. Douglasville is located approximately west of Atlanta and is part of th ...

, was a lawyer, community leader,

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

singer, composer, and a reviser of the tunebook known as ''

The Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tun ...

''.

Life

Joe S. James was born March 20, 1849, in Campbell County (now in Douglas County), the son of Stephen and Martha (Shipleigh) James. He was an attorney and was active in local civic and political life. He was the first mayor of Douglasville, was instrumental in the establishment of Douglasville College, in obtaining the city's first water and phone systems, and in bringing several industries to the city. James held membership in the Methodist Church and the Masonic Lodge. He was owner and editor of ''The New South'', newspaper of the city of Douglasville. J. S. James married Margaret Elizabeth Maxwell in 1869, and they had seven children: Margaret Odessa, Stephen Edwin, Infant twin sons, Eunice Lettitia, Lois Cleveland, and Joe S., Jr. He died in 1931 and is buried in

As Sacred Harp singer and leader

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...

singing, J. S. James was important as a musical leader, as an author of prose works, and as a tunebook editor. His works include ''A Brief History of the Sacred Harp and Its Author, B. F. White, Sr., and Contributors'' (1904), ''Union Harp and History of Songs'' (1909), ''Sacred Tunes and Hymns'' (1913), ''Explanation of the Sacred Harp'' (1920) and, probably most important, the ''Original Sacred Harp''. The latter tunebook was released in 1911. It added alto parts to most of the songs and restored several songs that had been deleted in the 1869-70 revision of ''The Sacred Harp'' by B. F. White and the

Southern Musical Convention The Southern Musical Convention was the first ''Sacred Harp'' musical convention, organized by B. F. White and others in 1845. It was formed at Huntersville in Upson County, Georgia. From its founding until 1867, White's ''The Sacred Harp'' was ...

. James supervised the revision and was head over a revision committee appointed by the United Sacred Harp Musical Association. This edition continued a tradition that stemmed from B. F. White's own time and in turn was extended in the so-called "Denson" revisions, which form the basis of the 1991 Edition, now the most widely used Sacred Harp volume. (For details of this history, see

.) James' 1911 book quickly embroiled him in two controversies. He was sued by W. M. Cooper, editor of a rival Sacred Harp edition, for plagiarism of the alto parts as written by Cooper. James brought a suit against J. L. White for White's revision of ''The Sacred Harp'', claiming infringement of copyright and seeking $3000 in damages.Further information on a lawsuit by James against J. L. White has not been discovered. This may be a case of a reporter for ''The Atlanta Constitution'' conflating the split between James and White in the United Musical Association with a lawsuit of W. M. Cooper against J. S. James. Cooper's suit against James was for $3000 in damages. Compare "Rival Singers Meet In Three-Day Session" in ''The Atlanta Constitution'' (Saturday, September 13, 1913, p. 5) with "Gospel Singers Holding Rival Festivals" in ''The Atlanta Georgian and News'' (Friday September 12, 1913, p. 5) James led in organizing the ''United Sacred Harp Musical Association'' in 1904, which he hoped would function as a sort of "National Association" of Sacred Harp singings and conventions.

Notes

Sources

* ''A Brief History of the Sacred Harp and Its Author, B. F. White, Sr., and Contributors'', by Joe S. James, privately printed, 1904. *''Introduction and History of the Original Sacred Harp'', by Ruth Denson Edwards, (in the 1971 Edition, ''Original Sacred Harp''). *''Newspaper Accounts from the Atlanta Constitution and Atlanta Journal of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, 1904-1956'', compiled by John Plunkett. * ''The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music'', by Buell E. Cobb, Jr., University of Georgia Press, 1978, 1989. * ''White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands'', by George Pullen Jackson, University of North Carolina Press, 1933. *Steel, David Warren with Richard Hulan (2010) ''The Makers of the Sacred Harp''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

External links

Cooper v. James
a report from the Music Copyright Infringement Resource.
Union Harp and History of SongsSacred Tunes and Hymns
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Joseph Summerlin 1849 births 1931 deaths Shape note Sacred Harp