Jerry Zolten is an American writer, advocator for, and producer of

American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

. A Professor at Penn State University, he is best known as the author of a book tracing the 90 year career of the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

Dixie Hummingbirds

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

group and their influence on both

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

and secular music. He also writes about and is a noted expert on the history of American stand-up comedy. Zolten is also known for numerous articles and album liner notes on blues,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, and gospel music as well as collaborations on musical projects with

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

and

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...

. His more recent writings and musical releases include "The Beatles as Recording Artists" in '' The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles'', biographical and musicological entries on Paramount recording artists for ''The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records 1917–1927'', and ''Chimpin' the Blues with Robert Crumb and Jerry Zolten'', an audio collection of conversation and rare blues and blues-related recordings from the early 20th Century. In 2017 he co-produced and narrated the public radio program ''Time to Lay It Down: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War''.

Undergraduate Years

As an undergraduate at Penn State, Zolten was president of the Penn State Folklore Society. He performed in numerous musical groups, most notably a

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

, the ''New Old Time Wooley Thumpers''. The Wooley Thumpers opened for Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company at a 1968 Penn State performance. With the group and as a single, Zolten performed at diverse venues such as the Jawbone Coffeehouse, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, and Lewisburg Penitentiary. The Wooley Thumpers also recorded a single in 1969 for Buddah Records. Billed on the label as "Protozoa," a name assigned by the label, the tracks, written as parodies of then popular "bubblegum music," were "Ring Around My Rosie" and "Pink Hippopotamus." (Buddah 142

Music Production

Zolten was instrumental in resurrecting the career of the Grammy-winning Fairfield Four, producing two albums, ''Wreckin' the House/Live at Mt. Hope '' (Dead Reckoning) and, by their bass singer Isaac Freeman, ''Beautiful Stars'' (Lost Highway). Among his public radio productions are ''Chimpin' the Blues'

a history of early blues and pre-blues co-hosted with underground cartoonist

, ''In the Spirit'

a history of Black gospel music, and ''Boppin' With Pekar''

'' an overview of jazz music, jazz history with

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

and special guest, artist

Phoebe Gloeckner Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner (born December 22, 1960), is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist. Early life Gloeckner was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother was a librarian and her father, David Gloeckner, was ...

. Zolten along with Mark Bernhard and Ken Womack produced in conjunction with Penn State Altoona, Monmouth University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Southern Indiana a series of GLORY DAYS/A BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SYMPOSIUM conference/conferences. (2005, 2009, 2012) In collaboration with the GRAMMY Museum and the Guthrie Foundation, Zolten produced WOODY@100 at Penn State, a 2012 Centennial Celebration of American folk music icon Woody Guthrie.

Awards

Best Research Recorded Blues and Gospel Music Award, 2004, ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections), Great God a’Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music by Jerry Zolten (Oxford University Press) Recipient of the Kjell Meling Award for Distinction in the Arts and Humanities, 2010. Recipient of a 2018 PRNDI Award as co-producer, writer, and narrator of the public radio program ''Time To Lay It Down: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War.'' , url=//http://atimetoheal.wpsu.org/soundtrack/

Publications

* ''Speaking to an Audience : a practical method of preparing and performing''(with Gerald M.Phillips). Bobbs/Merrill- Macmillan 1985 * "The Media-Driven Evolution of the African American Hard Gospel Style as a Rhetorical Response to Hard Times" ''The Howard Journal of Communications'' Volume 7, Number 3, 1996 * "Jumpstartin' the Blues: Piedmont Bluesman Archie Edwards" ''Living Blues'' April 1996 * "In Memoriam: Samuel Bayard" ''Sing Out!'' May 1997 * "A Rough Rugged Road: From Georgia to Chicago to Hollywood with

Bumble Bee Slim Admirl Amos Easton (May 7, 1905 – June 8, 1968), better known by the stage name Bumble Bee Slim, was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist. Biography Easton was born in Brunswick, Georgia, United States. Several original sources con ...

" ''Living Blues'' September 1997. * "Terry Evans...I Write About People Coming Together" ''Living Blues'' Nov-Dec 1999. * with Robert Duran, "The effect of reticence on college students' use of electronic mail to communicate with faculty," ''Communication Education,'' Volume 50, Issue 2, 1997 * " 'I Ain't Lyin'! The Unexpurgated Truth about Rudy Ray Moore" ''Living Blues'' May–June 2001. * ''Great God A'Mighty!:The Dixie Hummingbirds - Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music'' Oxford University Press, 2003 ''New York Times'' review * "The Beatles as Recording Artists," ''The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles'' Cambridge University Press, 2009 *Contributor, ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore'' http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR3035.aspx * "A Tale of Two Technologies...And the Buffalo Ragged Five, Pioneering Country Music Recording Artists," (Commissioned by the Country Music Hall of Fame) ''The Old-Time Herald'' 2007. * “Music of the Soul,” in ''The Gospel at Colonus'',

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

Program, 2010. * “Making a Joyful Noise: Music Traditions in Huntingdon County’s African American Community (Commissioned by the Huntingdon County Arts Council), ''From These Hills and Valleys'', 2010 * with Mark Bernhard and Ken Womack "Glory Days : a Bruce Springsteen Celebration" '' Interdisciplinary literary studies'' Volume 9, Number 1, 2007. * with Ken Womack and Mark Bernhard, ''Bruce Springsteen, Cultural Studies, and the Runaway American Dream'' Ashgate, (2012)

In the News

*Review...New York Time

*Jerry Jazz Musicia

*Rock's Back Pages.

*The Horace Digby Repor

*''Research/Penn State'
Entry on Penn State experts database
*Santoro, Gene, ''Highway 61 Revisited/The Tangled Roots of American Jazz, Blues, Rock & Country Music'

*Pittsburgh Post Gazett

*Pittsburgh Post Gazett

*Radio Program Downloads...WRT

*Salt Lake City Deseret New

*Penn State Liv

*Altoona Mirro

*Town and Gow

*Take Note Penn State Public Broadcastin

With Fairfield Four bass singer Isaac Freeman. *Race Matters - Race and Humor Penn State Public Broadcastin

With comedian Carlos Mencia. *Washington Post Book Revie

*Hazleton Times Leade

*Altoona Mirro

*Altoona Mirro

*Centre Daily Time

*Atlantic City Pres

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zolten, Jerry American musicologists Living people Pennsylvania State University alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty Year of birth missing (living people)