Jerry
Zolten
Professor, Stand-Up Comedian,
Professor, Stand-Up Comedian,
Author, Record Producer
After a couple
of years of stand-up comedy, Jerry Zolten left it all to join academia
. As an Associate Professor of Communications Arts
& Sciences and American Studies at Penn State
University, where he teaches,
Integrative Arts 100W: "Stand-Up Comedy and Social
Change."
Jerry Zolten is author of:
. As an Associate Professor of Communications Arts
& Sciences and American Studies at Penn State University, where he teaches,
Integrative Arts 100W: "Stand-Up Comedy and Social Change."
Jerry Zolten is author of:
"Great God A'Mighty! The
Dixie Hummingbirds:
Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel
Music," published by Oxford University Press; the story of that
famed black
gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds, best known
for their work on "Loves Me Like a Rock" with Paul Simon.
gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds, best known
for their work on "Loves Me Like a Rock" with Paul Simon.
Jerry Zolten has also
produced two records for the legendary Fairfield Four, and their bass
singer Isaac Freeman, who appear and perform in the George Clooney movie
O Brother Where Art Thou: "Isaac Freeman & the
Bluebloods Beautiful Stars," recorded on Lost Highway Records; and
"The Fairfield Four Wreckin' the House," recorded on Dead Reckoning
Records.
Author and radio host of
"In The Spirit," a history of African American gospel music featuring
interviews with Horace Boyer, Isaac Freeman of the Fairfield Four, Ira
Tucker and Howard Carroll of the Dixie Hummingbirds; Zolten is also
co-host with internationally famous cartoonist R. Crumb (creator of Fritz
The Cat), on the widely broadcast public radio special production,
"Chimpin' The Blues," an offbeat, off-the-cuff, one-hour excursion
into the early days of the blues and jazz of the 1920's and 30's.
Seasoned with plenty of yuks, anecdotes, trivia and needle drops from
early phonograph records comprising the collections of R. Crumb and Jerry
Zolten, "Chimpin' The Blues," is a sure pleaser for jazz, blues and gospel
enthusiasts. .