The success of recording and selling Southern vernacular music in the 1920s led to the beginning of the country music industry. Talent scouts and recording engineers traveled throughout the South seeking commercially marketable music played and sung by local residents. From October 13 through 18, 1929, musicians from all areas of Virginia were invited to Richmond to record their music. A temporary studio was set up probably in the Polk Furniture Company on Broad Street. In recent years a two-CD set of the Richmond recording session was released. It contains a couple of songs back from 13 different musical groups. The CD set is called “Virginia Roots: The 1929 Richmond Sessions.”
Among the musical groups that took part in the Richmond sessions was the group The Golden Crown Quartet who sang unaccompanied four-part, African American gospel harmony. They were formed in 1919 and from 1939 to 1950 had a weekly radio broadcast. One of the songs they recorded at the Richmond session was “Scandalize My Name.” I do not know the history of the song in which the writer after shaking hands in turn with his mother, father, sister, and preacher found that as soon as “my back was turned” they each in turn “scandalized my name.”
As the political campaign season for 2011 is getting underway, I find myself thinking about this gospel song more and more. Both political parties spend too much time trying to scandalize the name of the other. Such efforts occur early in campaigns and are often low-key. In my own case, the Republican Party of Virginia has sent out at least four, full-color, slick postcards with footnotes that supposedly portray my record in office. The suggestion in the cards, the automated telephone calls, and the newspaper ad is that I should be “sent packing.” The fine print indicates that the cards were “not being sent on behalf of any candidate.” Interesting that a political party would be willing to make such expenditures I suppose on behalf of good government. More likely the Party intends to be the bad guy in raising suspicion or doubt about my public record, enabling a candidate to enter the campaign with the negative campaigning being done for him. This technique has been known to work in some areas, but I believe the voters of my district are too sophisticated to be influenced by it.
Of course, my voting record is totally open to public examination and discussion. All my thousands of votes are available at legis.virginia.gov. Likewise, my campaign contributions and spending are available for public scrutiny at vpap.org. Hopefully none of this information will be misused to try to do what the gospel hymn says, “to scandalize my name.”
Ken Plum is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
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