Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo

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Kristina R. Gaddy Rhiannon Giddens

Go Back and Fetch It

Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo

Kristina R. Gaddy, Rhiannon Giddens

$46.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

The University of North Carolina Press
16 September 2025

Theory of music & musicology; Musical scores, lyrics & libretti; General & world history; Social & cultural history; Ethnic studies

For the first time, this groundbreaking songbook collaboration by music writer Kristina R. Gaddy and Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens makes nineteen examples of early Black Atlantic music accessible and playable for today’s musicians, music enthusiasts, and historians. Presenting music from 1687 through the 1860s in modern treble clef and banjo tablature, along with the rich stories behind each song, Gaddy and Giddens take readers on a journey from the Caribbean across the Americas.

Immensely readable for amateurs and professionals alike, Go Back and Fetch It explains the significance of early Black Atlantic music and how the patterns of tunings, melodic lines, and lyrics shed light on the impact that Black American music has had on nineteenth-century popular music, early country, old time, and bluegrass. Each tune pairs with an engaging essay on its historical background and how the tune transformed over time, as well as information about the collector. Deeply researched and carefully approached, this essential source restores the roots of Black music to the musical canon.

By: Kristina R. Gaddy, Rhiannon Giddens
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 279mm, Spine: 25mm
ISBN: 9781469690575
ISBN 10: 1469690578
Pages: 120
Publication Date: 16 September 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Kristina R. Gaddy is the author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History, among other books of nonfiction. Rhiannon Giddens is a Grammy Award-winning singer, instrumentalist, and composer, a MacArthur recipient, and a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Reviews for Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo

""An impressive two-pronged reclamation project that shines a light on early Black music from the Americas. . . . Go Back and Fetch It stands in stark contrast to the brazen attempts to erase African American history and culture that are taking place in the United States today.""--Living Blues ""Giddens and Gaddy make a perfect team for this book, with Rhiannon's knowledge of the music and how to play it, and Kristina's of the history of the instrument. It's certain to be a welcome and valuable contribution to the library of any banjo enthusiast. . . . May there be many more such volumes.""--Bluegrass Today