Did You Know Lt. Europe?

This week, you can meet the Alabaman who, although his name is largely forgotten, changed American music forever.

By Chuck Reece

Feb 9, 2023

Over the last decade, I've written countless words about the people who hid much of history from Southerners. The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the thousands of local school boards who followed their edicts kept generations of Southern schoolkids from learning the truth about our region's past.

But once you dig into our history, you find stories of Southerners of brilliant achievement that absolutely delight you. Even though I've scoured the recesses of our musical history for decades, I never knew the story of Lt. James Reese Europe, who served our nation admirably during World War I — and who was playing jazz before most folks even knew the word. Our dogged musical scribe Rob Rushin-Knopf brings us Europe's story this week.

Another thing I've done frequently over the past 10 years? Try to answer this question: Which states are actually part of "the South"? No one can declare a definitive answer to that, but I've always been a bit generous with my answer. I think you can include Texas and Oklahoma in our region — at least the eastern parts of those states. Thus, Salvation South this week ventures, for the first time, as far west as Oklahoma city for a story about a young Native American who teaches his culture and history through the beers he makes. Tony Rehagen's story about Jacob Keyes will touch your heart and make you thirsty both.

And we round out this week with a prose lament from Florida penned by a Tampa Bay poet, John Davis Jr., whose works have graced our pages before. You'll love taking a brief side trip to Wauchula with him.

Thanks for spending part of your week with Salvation South. Come back anytime and bring your friends. Y'all are always welcome to have a seat in our porch swing.

Chuck Reece

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Chuck Reece is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Salvation South, the weekly web magazine you're reading right now. He was the founding editor of The Bitter Southerner. He grew up in the north Georgia mountains in a little town called Ellijay.