AAAMC Speaks

IU’s new docuseries, ‘AAAMC Speaks,’ features influential Black musicians, scholars, industry leaders

January 30, 2021

A new, limited-run documentary series from Indiana University, “AAAMC Speaks,” highlights the unique holdings of IU’s Archives of African American Music and Culture through interviews with influential Black music industry leaders and seminal scholars in Black music research. The series is hosted by Tyron Cooper, director of AAAMC, who conceptualized the series with directors Ethan Gill and Haley Semian from IU Bloomington’s Office of the Provost.

Cooper said “AAAMC Speaks” helps bring alive the archives’ rich collections, which contain extensive, often rare materials covering a range of African American musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era.

RSVP to the Feb. 12 premiere

AAAMC holdings are a treasure trove of materials meant to be shared with the widest audience possible in order to inspire and cement the story of Black life, creativity, scholarship and business acumen, which has major impact on diverse communities around the world.

Tyron Cooper
Watch the trailer for AAAMC Speaks, first episode airing February 12, 2021.

Each episode is about 20 minutes and focuses on highlights from the archives along with an interview with a Black music industry scholar, musician, or industry professional on the guest’s own legacy and ongoing role in the culture. The docuseries helps convey the depth and breadth of the archives’ materials—including valuable audio, video, and printed materials (including such items as performance posters and programs, original song lyrics, and sheet music)—highlighting the significance of Black music in shaping other genres of music and American culture in general.

In episode one, which debuts Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. EST on IU Bloomington’s YouTube channel, Cooper interviews Eddie Gilreath, an industry veteran and executive whose 50+-year career has included working with such record labels as Motown, Warner Bros, Geffen, and Island Records. When he started out in the field, Gilreath was one of very few Black executives in the music industry. He went on to work with top musicians from multiple genres including The Jackson Five, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, U2, Aerosmith, George Benson, Al Jareau, Bob Marley, Kitaro, The Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Pat Matheny, Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Meatloaf, George Clinton, and James Taylor.

Gilreath said he and Cooper connected in about 2018, at the culmination of his career. “I found that I wasn't quite finished as of yet,” Gilreath said. As the two talked more and got to know each other, Cooper asked if Gilreath would consider housing some of the materials from his illustrious career at AAAMC. “I was not only beyond satisfied with how they treat and maintain their collection, I was humbled that they thought that I was worthy to be part of it,” he said. Gilreath is certain that the “AAAMC Speaks” docuseries will inspire and educate future generations on some of the music industry’s most important artists and historical figures. “I am extremely proud to say that I was part of this extraordinary effort.”

Archival photos from the first episode of AAAMC Speaks featuring Eddie Gilreath.

The series is an example of advances IU’s commitment to expanding and showcasing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and representation.

“AAAMC Speaks” offers a tangible means for a deeper understanding of race, gender, representation, and identity within the Black community as communicated through musical expression. 

Co-director of the project Ethan Gill said that archives typically play a supporting role in providing source materials for documentaries. “I have yet to find a documentary series about an archive and their holdings,” Gill said. “What we’re producing feels unique in the academic and research world. My goal for 'AAAMC Speaks’ is to present these significant characters and their legacies in an informative, entertaining, and celebratory way. It also excites me knowing that these documentaries can help further students’ understanding of the industry and their contributions to society.”  

A virtual YouTube watch party will accompany the releases, which will go live at the end of each month from February to May 2021, with two in February to celebrate Black History Month. Future episodes feature composer and musician Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, whose work has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall and performed all over the world, including by notable legend Duke Ellington; alto saxophonist Michael Burton, who has worked with Jill Scott, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, New Edition, and Anita Baker and performed on the “Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Steve Harvey Show,” “Ellen,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live;” IU’s own Portia Maultsby, the Laura Boulton Professor Emerita of Ethnomusicology in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology and founding director of both the AAAMC and the IU Soul Revue; and avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist Reggie Workman, who was a member of the John Coltrane Quartet in the early 1960s.

Watch "AAAMC Speaks"

Watch all episodes as they air on the IU Bloomington YouTube channel