Life and Music of Graham Jackson

Agroundbreaking Black artist and his career in the Jim Crow South

This book is the first biographyof Graham Jackson (1903‒1983),a virtuosic musician whose life story displays the complexities of being aBlack professional in the segregated South. David Cason discusses how Jacksonnavigated a web of racial and social negotiations throughout his long career andhighlights his little-known role in events of the twentieth century.

Widely known for an iconic photo taken of him playing the accordionin tears at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral, which became a Lifemagazine cover, Jackson is revealed here to have a much deeper story. He was aperformer, composer, and high school music director known for his skills on thepiano and organ. Jackson was among the first Black men to enlist in the Navy duringWorld War II, helping recruit many other volunteers and raising over $2 millionfor the war effort. After the war he became a fixture at Atlanta music venuesand in 1971, Governor Jimmy Carter proclaimed Jackson the State Musician ofGeorgia.

Cason examines Jackson’s groundbreaking roles with a critical eye,taking into account how Jackson drew on his connections with white elitesincluding Roosevelt, Coca-Cola magnate Robert Woodruff, and golfer Bobby Jones,and was censured by Black Power figures for playing songs associated withConfederate memory. Based on archival, newspaper, and interview materials, TheLife and Music of Graham Jackson brings into view the previously unknownstory of an ambitious and talented artist and his controversial approach to thepolitics and culture of his day.