• Programs
  • Apply
  • Give
  • College of Fine Arts Home
  • Students
    • Advising
    • Areas of Study
    • Degrees
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Student Organizations
    • Studios
  • Admissions
    • Apply
    • Auditions
    • Scholarships
    • Theory Readiness Quiz
    • Deadlines
  • People
    • Directory
    • Musicians for Hire
    • Faculty Research
    • Music Advisory Board
    • Alumni Connections
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Outreach
  • Facilities
    • Concert Halls
    • Recording Studio
    • Electro-Acoustic Music Studio
    • Technical Department
  • Donate
    • Giving
    • Medici Circle
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • College of Fine Arts Home
Home › News & Events › Events › “Si Si Rider”: Chuck Berry, Freddy Fender, and the Sex Scandals That Rocked Pop Music Presented by Tyina Steptoe, Associate Professor of History

“Si Si Rider”: Chuck Berry, Freddy Fender, and the Sex Scandals That Rocked Pop Music Presented by Tyina Steptoe, Associate Professor of History

Lecture Friday January 31, 2020 - 4:00p.m. to 5:00p.m.

Venue: Fred Fox School of Music, Green Room

“Si Si Rider”: Chuck Berry, Freddy Fender, and the Sex Scandals That Rocked Pop Music

Presented by Tyina Steptoe, Associate Professor of History

 

Friday, January 31, 2020

Green Room, Fred Fox School of Music, 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Free Admission

Please join us for a reception following the presentation

 

This colloquium is the twenty-eighth in a continuing series of lectures, to take place on the last Friday of the month. Each features a presentation by a faculty member, student, or guest in the areas of Composition, Musicology, or Music Theory (CMT), followed by a time for questions, comments, and general discussion. It is hoped that these monthly sessions will be an opportunity to communicate current ideas and research in these areas within the Fred Fox School of Music.

 

Tyina Steptoe: “Si Si Rider”: Chuck Berry, Freddy Fender, and the Sex Scandals That Rocked Pop Music

This presentation argues for a western reorientation to the history of race, sex, and early rock ‘n’ roll by looking at the arrests and convictions of musicians Chuck Berry and Baldemar Huerta, better known as Freddy Fender, in 1960. Berry was convicted of violating the Mann Act after crossing state lines with Janice Escalanti, an Apache teenager he met in El Paso. Freddy Fender, a Texas-born Mexican-American musician, was arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana. He spent nearly three years in Angola state prison. He and his fans felt that the arrest and conviction stemmed from the fact that the married Fender was having an affair with an Anglo woman. Drawing on court documents, memoirs, and news coverage, this presentation examines the tensions that fueled these scandals: the mobility of men of color west of the Mississippi River, civil rights-era anxieties over sex and racial integration, and concerns about gender conformity in the early Cold War.

 

About the presenter:

 

Tyina Steptoe is an associate professor of history at the University of Arizona who writes and teaches about race, gender, and culture in the United States. Her book, Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City, shows how, despite the existence of Jim Crow laws that created a black/white racial binary, converging migrations to Houston—particularly those of ethnic Mexicans and Creoles of color—complicated ideas of blackness and whiteness and introduced different understandings about race between the 1920s and 1960s. The book also uses music to examine these racial complexities, tracing the emergence of Houston’s blues and jazz scenes as well as the hybrid forms of these genres that arose when migrants forged shared social space and carved out new communities. Houston Bound won the Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book of 2016 (North American) from the Urban History Association, the 2017 W. Jackson Turrentine Book Prize from the Western History Association, and the 2017 Julia Ideson Award from the Friends of the Texas Room (Houston Metropolitan Research Center).

 

Currently, Professor Steptoe is working on several projects that explore race, culture, and history—a collection of primary documents from the Jim Crow era, a manuscript that explores the history of sexuality and gender in rhythm and blues music, and a monograph on the singing group, New Edition. Committed to work that reaches beyond the walls of the university, she has served as historical advisor for the television show, “Who Do You Think You Are,” appearing on a 2016 episode. She also hosts a weekly radio program on 91.3 KXCI called “Soul Stories,” which explores the roots and branches of rhythm and blues music.

News & Events

  • News
  • Events
  • Outreach
June 2023
SMTWTFS
--------123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930--
View All Events

Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Join us tonight at 7:30pm to hear a fantastic program featuring our own Fanya Lin performing Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto and Respighi's Pines of Rome conducted by recent graduate Yudai Ueda. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

University of Arizona School of Music faculty artist, Fanya Lin, piano, was recently featured on Arizona Illustrated.

Dr. Lin is performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 this Saturday with the Tucson Repertory Orchestra in Crowder Hall at 7:30 p.m.

https://music.arizona.edu/events/…

Tickets:
... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
3 weeks ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Congratulations to our School of Music graduates as they step into the spotlight. May their talent resonate through the world and inspire others to follow their passion.

#graduation
#UAZMusicGrads
#graduates
... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 68
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 3

Comment on Facebook

Congratulations graduates 🎓

Beautiful photos capturing immense joy and celebration!! Congratulations to our graduates and a special thank you to faculty and staff in the School of Music!!

Mazel tov

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
3 weeks ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Congratulations Fred Fox School of Music graduates! ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 135
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 5

Comment on Facebook

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

How do I apply

Congratulations to you all! I am so proud of each of you and I want to say thank you for sharing your talents, passion, dedication, and creativity with us in the School of Music!

♥️♥️♥️♥️

♥️♥️♥️♥️

View more comments

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
3 weeks ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Photos from Arizona Arts's post ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 19
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 weeks ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Photos from Arizona Arts's post ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 36
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

Brava!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Load more
  • Students
    • Advising
    • Areas of Study
    • Degrees
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Student Organizations
    • Studios
  • Admissions
    • Apply
    • Auditions
    • Scholarships
    • Theory Readiness Quiz
    • Deadlines
  • People
    • Directory
    • Musicians for Hire
    • Faculty Research
    • Music Advisory Board
    • Alumni Connections
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Outreach
  • Facilities
    • Concert Halls
    • Recording Studio
    • Electro-Acoustic Music Studio
    • Technical Department
  • Donate
    • Giving
    • Medici Circle

Fred Fox School Of Music

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 North Olive Road
Music Building, Room 109
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: musicweb@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1655

Fax: 520.621.8118


Console

Copyright © University of Arizona 2023

University Privacy Statement

College of Fine Arts

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 North Olive Road
Music Building, Room 111
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: finearts@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1302

Fax: 520.621.1307