Arizona Dranes

"Arizona" Juanita Dranes (May 4,[1] 1889 or 1891 – July 27, 1963) was an American blind female gospel singer and pianist. Dranes was one of the first gospel artists to bring the musical styles of Holiness churches' religious music to the public in her records for Okeh Records and performances in the 1920s. She was also one of the first professional woman gospel singers. Her distinctive, nasal vocal style and piano playing that incorporated boogie and ragtime, influenced later gospel artists.

Biography

Juanita Drane (or possibly Drain) was born blind in 1889 or 1891[2] in Sherman, Texas. Drane attended the Texas Institute for Deaf, Dumb and Blind Colored Youth in Austin from 1896 to 1910. She learned to play piano in her early teens.[3]

Drane had been believed to be of both African-American and Mexican descent,[4] but research by Michael Corcoran for He Is My Story: the Sanctified Soul of Arizona Dranes disproved Mexican heritage.[5]

Her correct last name is "Drane", as listed in the official enrollment record for the 1896–1897 school year at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her name was spelled "Drane" at school, though she was billed as "Dranes" later in life. Because both parents were illiterate, the surname was written down as it was pronounced. Corcoran's research found a probable cousin named "Doran," which would be pronounced "Drane" in the black southern dialect of the time.

Career

After graduating from the Texas Institute, she returned to Sherman for ten years. Around 1922, Dranes joined the Church of God in Christ Church in Wichita Falls. She soon became a favored singer-pianist of the founder, Bishop Charles Mason and was well utilized in the COGIC circles. She incorporated a syncopated, ragtime style in her gospel accompaniment and soon established the songs "I Shall Wear A Crown," "My Soul's a Witness for the Lord," and "Lamb's Blood Has Washed Me Clean" as COGIC standards.[6]

Dranes introduced piano accompaniment to Holiness music, which had previously been largely a cappella, and accompanied herself in the barrelhouse and ragtime styles popular at the time.[7] She began recording in 1926 with Okeh Records,[7] first as a solo artist and later with choirs and various other artists and groups. She was one of the first professional women gospel singers and sang at COGIC meetings in the Bible Belt, touring Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.[3]

Although she last recorded in 1928, she continued touring through the 1940s. She moved to Los Angeles in 1948 and died there on July 27, 1963.[8] Later gospel artists, such as Roberta Martin and Clara Ward, were heavily influenced by her piano playing; Dranes' nasal singing style also influenced artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe.[9][10]

References
  1. Carpenter, Bil (2005). "Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia": 125. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Olson, Ted (February 12, 2013). "The Sanctified Soul of Arizona Dranes". Oxford American. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013.
  3. Goodall, N. H. (1994). "Dranes, Arizona Juanita". Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 355–356. ISBN 0-253-32774-1.
  4. "Arizona Dranes". The Blues Trail. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  5. Corcoran, Michael. "He Is My Story : The Sanctified Soul Of Arizona Dranes". Amazon.co.uk. ASIN B008DL3YJC. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  6. "COGIC Women in Gospel Music". Patheos.com. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. "First recorded gospel pianist got her start in Austin". Austin360.com. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  8. Shreve, Bradley. "DRANES, ARIZONA JUANITA [BLIND ARIZONA]". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  9. "Arizona Dranes, Forgotten Mother Of The Gospel Beat". NPR. August 19, 2012.
  10. "COGIC Women in Gospel Music". Patheos.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.

Further reading
  • Dodge, Timothy. The School of Arizona Dranes: Gospel Music Pioneer (Lexington Books, 2013) 195 pp.
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