JimF-LowBari Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) This is a great topic. I'm kind of a Cold War buff. Fran I'll have to dig out my "campaign medal" for winning the Cold War. When USSR/Russia "fell" the military created a pin for the occasion. IIRC it's a triangle with horizontal lines of different colors. Like a military members campaign ribbons (rectangle shaped) they wear on a dress uniform. Yeah... got one for working for Dept of Denfense during the Cold War..... Edited November 8, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 An obvious and concrete topic in your thesis might include the missions, use and influence of the US military bands -- as a direct governmental "mouthpiece" of American ideals. In addition to all the base bands of each branch, worldwide, the DC headquarters bands regularly toured extensively throughout the US and around the world acting as "America's musical ambassadors." I believe you could access a treasure-trove of materials as each of these units now has archival collections. Start by contacting each band's PR office at its DC area base location. Good luck. Steve Steve may be onto something here. Narrowing focus is the key to a good thesis. Recall first that we are discussing the Eisenhower administration (1952-58), so Glenn Miller and Barry Sadler are outside the frame, as are Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach...etc. Also, the OP references "The Eisenhower administration's use of music to buttress domestic Americanism." Note "domestic". This implies promoting a patriotic agenda here at home, rather than burnishing America's cultural image abroad as the administration had actually done by virtue of sending Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck and others on a world tour as musical ambassadors. I would suggest a focus on that event and the deletion of "domestic" from the premise. Drilling a bit deeper, it might be scholarly to examine how these particular artists were chosen, and by whom. The State Department organized these tours, I believe. Was there financial and/or logistical support from the record labels? If so, what did they receive in return? What is contained in the documents pertaining to follow up discussions as to the residual impact in foreign lands on the image of America? Radio Free Europe's iconic host Willis Conover broadcast American music continually across the continent and over the "iron curtain". Did the physical presence of the musicians make a difference? If so, how could that be measured? That's enough for a term paper, if not a master's thesis. Aside: The OP has been conspicuously absent here and may have moved on to other things. If that's the case, I'll be on my way to the library to begin preparation for my dissertation on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Armstrog cancelled his trip to Russia! Steve may be onto something here. Narrowing focus is the key to a good thesis. Recall first that we are discussing the Eisenhower administration (1952-58), so Glenn Miller and Barry Sadler are outside the frame, as are Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach...etc. Also, the OP references "The Eisenhower administration's use of music to buttress domestic Americanism." Note "domestic". This implies promoting a patriotic agenda here at home, rather than burnishing America's cultural image abroad as the administration had actually done by virtue of sending Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck and others on a world tour as musical ambassadors. I would suggest a focus on that event and the deletion of "domestic" from the premise. Drilling a bit deeper, it might be scholarly to examine how these particular artists were chosen, and by whom. The State Department organized these tours, I believe. Was there financial and/or logistical support from the record labels? If so, what did they receive in return? What is contained in the documents pertaining to follow up discussions as to the residual impact in foreign lands on the image of America? Radio Free Europe's iconic host Willis Conover broadcast American music continually across the continent and over the "iron curtain". Did the physical presence of the musicians make a difference? If so, how could that be measured? That's enough for a term paper, if not a master's thesis. Aside: The OP has been conspicuously absent here and may have moved on to other things. If that's the case, I'll be on my way to the library to begin preparation for my dissertation on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Nothing gets by Keith. Yes, Satchmo refused to go to Russia, in protest for what he saw as Eisenhower's reluctance to stand up to southern racists. He had travelled globally for the State Department to several of the African nations who were emerging from the period of European colonialism. The Eisenhower administration was very anxious to befriend them before the Soviets did and sent massive foreign aid their way. Visits by American musical artists were visible symbols of this outreach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 IIRC, the Hawthorne Caballeros did a State Dept. Cuban tour in 1956. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) IIRC, the Hawthorne Caballeros did a State Dept. Cuban tour in 1956. Didn't know about Cabs doing this, still looking for their cig commercial ad they supposedly did. Check Harvey Seeds entry in corpsreps regarding their trip to Cuba just after Fidel took over. s/ guy who has the same birthday as Fidel (different years....) Edited November 8, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Re Cabs in Cuba: They were welcomed and had a ball, as well as lots of cigars and rum and Cokes. The US at the time was supporting a shady dictator named Batista until Fidel and the boys pushed him out. He was an SOB, but he was OUR SOB, as the prevailing Pentagon lingo went. Havana had been an American playground for years with plenty of booze and gambling. The Communist takeover changed all that and was the best thing ever to have happened for Las Vegas and the US money mob, not to mention the Rat Pack boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Re Cabs in Cuba: They were welcomed and had a ball, as well as lots of cigars and rum and Cokes. The US at the time was supporting a shady dictator named Batista until Fidel and the boys pushed him out. He was an SOB, but he was OUR SOB, as the prevailing Pentagon lingo went. Havana had been an American playground for years with plenty of booze and gambling. The Communist takeover changed all that and was the best thing ever to have happened for Las Vegas and the US money mob, not to mention the Rat Pack boys. According to the Cabs website (History Section), they were invited to Cuba in 1952 but declined and were then invited again in 1959 and accepted ... there's a few pics of them parading there online if you google Hawthorne Caballeros AND Cuba ... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) Havana had been an American playground for years with plenty of booze and gambling. The Communist takeover changed all that and was the best thing ever to have happened for Las Vegas and the US money mob, not to mention the Rat Pack boys. Being totally out of the loop culture wise, I finally saw all the Godfather movies few months back via the DVR machine. Think it's G-III that has the subplot dealing with Micheal Corleoni(sp) and his buds getting kicked out of Cuba. But being a history buff I realized that it was pretty much factual with the names changed. At least Lee Stausburgs character (elderly gangster) matched Meyer Lansky (Lucky Lucianos partner) pretty well. Edited November 9, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 The trivial things I know! Scary! Nothing gets by Keith. Yes, Satchmo refused to go to Russia, in protest for what he saw as Eisenhower's reluctance to stand up to southern racists. He had travelled globally for the State Department to several of the African nations who were emerging from the period of European colonialism. The Eisenhower administration was very anxious to befriend them before the Soviets did and sent massive foreign aid their way. Visits by American musical artists were visible symbols of this outreach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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