Shame on you Nonny James!

Subject: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: GUEST,MissMollyGoodGolly
Date: 27 Jul 06 - 06:30 PM

My friend who is a member of a new Shropshire band called Driftwood sent their CD into the Nonny James show. She played several tracks from the CD, offering some constructive and negative criticism throughout, but why oh why did she add further insult to injury with her opening comments which referred to my friend (who is black) having a reedy, folky and very strange voice which "doesn't have that "wonderful, black girl voice".

Maybe Nonny herself, being such a talented, intelligent and thinking woman in a fortunate enough situation to get herself heard all around the world, would like to follow that up by describing what that "wonderful black girl voice is!"

My cynical stereotypical, pidgeonholeing thoughts has ideas about what she could have meant, but her comments just left me thinking that now I know why the folk scene is so predominantly white! Shame on you Nonny James.

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jul 06 - 10:54 PM

Yes...lots of shame. I don't need to meet this person who said that. That 'person' would get Scorched and it wouldn't be pretty.

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: Mr Red
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 02:47 AM

Nonny is somewhat outspoken, but if you make the effort to contact her she usually reports that on air. If you have a gig in the area - call her up in the first hour and she will, like as not, talk to you on air. Its free publicity.

And she can get it wrong sometimes. And in extremis can be contrite.
But a full frontal attack will not endear her. Try thanking her for the publicity but.................

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 04:51 AM

Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston, etc etc etc.
All black singers, without vocal similarities.
What a stupid thing to say, not so much racially prejudiced as aurally challenged methinks.
Giok

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 07:24 AM

Badly phrased, I think. There are some stereotypical wonderful folk voices of black female folk singers - think Odetta, think the singer whose name escapes me but went into childrens TV and made a commercial for the conservatives at the last election (or of course think Jo-Ann Kelly who was white). There is that type of delivery and belting voice. It is a stereotype and it is perceived as a "black" delivery.

I suspect it is a case of engaging mouth before putting brain in gear, rather than anything sinister.

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: Trevor
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 09:48 AM

And I'm sure that anybody who has seen Driftwood (we've had the pleasure of being on the same bill a number of times) would have real difficulty in recognising the description of Diane's voice as 'reedy'.

I like Nonny, and her show - a bit careless I would guess.

Subject: RE: Shame on you Nonny James!
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 28 Jul 06 - 10:12 AM

I listened to the clips on the Driftwood site and thought the singing, indeed the whole band's delivery, very watered-down poppy. What was strange about the vocals was the peculiar bending of what were - as far as the traditional material is concerned - perfectly good tunes. Dunno about reedy but she certainly sounded like a 'black girl' to me; the one at the karaoke at my local pub, and no different from various 'white girls' of that ilk.