The holiday seasons in 1938 and 1939 in New York City were the scene for two monumentally important concert events: The "From Spirituals To Swing Concerts" on December 23, 1938 and December 24, 1939 were a "coming out" party for African-American music at the epicenter of the entertainment world, Carnegie Hall. These were the first events at such a high level of society to feature both white and black performers, interracial ensembles, and an integrated audience. Many great artists performed, from Count Basie to Benny Goodman to Ida Cox to Big Bill Broonzy, who was introduced as a singing sharecropper, even though he was a seasoned performer. Meade "Lux" Lewis, Ida Cox The Golden gate Quartet, Big Joe Turner.and many others also performed. The event was controversial enough to scare off most sponsors. Producer John Hammond finally found a sponsor in the Marxist publication "New Masses" (which did nothing to quell the controversy!). The "From Spirituals To Swing" concerts set in motion many musical trends: the boogie woogie craze, the beginnings of the folk-blues revival, the style known as "blues shouting" -- and the myth of Robert Johnson. Producer John Hammond wanted Johnson on stage but found out that he had been murdered. He then booked Bill Broonzy, but still played two Robert Johnson records from the stage. For some reason, Hammond also felt the need to dress up the history of the concerts, recording "on-stage" announcements twenty years later that never happened at the events, and including in the concert albums some tracks cut at a studio session before the concerts took place. Nevertheless, these concerts mark a musical and cultural milestone in our history.

The holiday seasons in 1938 and 1939 in New York City were the scene for two monumentally important concert events: The "From Spirituals To Swing Concerts" on December 23, 1938 and December 24, 1939 were a "coming out" party for African-American music at the epicenter of the entertainment world, Carnegie Hall. These were the first events at such a high level of society to feature both white and black performers, interracial ensembles, and an integrated audience. Many great artists performed, from Count Basie to Benny Goodman to Ida Cox to Big Bill Broonzy, who was introduced as a singing sharecropper, even though he was a seasoned performer. Meade "Lux" Lewis, Ida Cox The Golden gate Quartet, Big Joe Turner.and many others also performed. The event was controversial enough to scare off most sponsors. Producer John Hammond finally found a sponsor in the Marxist publication "New Masses" (which did nothing to quell the controversy!). The "From Spirituals To Swing" concerts set in motion many musical trends: the boogie woogie craze, the beginnings of the folk-blues revival, the style known as "blues shouting" -- and the myth of Robert Johnson. Producer John Hammond wanted Johnson on stage but found out that he had been murdered. He then booked Bill Broonzy, but still played two Robert Johnson records from the stage. For some reason, Hammond also felt the need to dress up the history of the concerts, recording "on-stage" announcements twenty years later that never happened at the events, and including in the concert albums some tracks cut at a studio session before the concerts took place. Nevertheless, these concerts mark a musical and cultural milestone in our history.