49:), the son of Stephen and Martha (Shipleigh) James. He was an attorney and was active in local civic and political life. He was the first mayor of Douglasville, was instrumental in the establishment of Douglasville College, in obtaining the city's first water and phone systems, and in bringing several industries to the city. James held membership in the Methodist Church and the Masonic Lodge. He was owner and editor of
105:. James supervised the revision and was head over a revision committee appointed by the United Sacred Harp Musical Association. This edition continued a tradition that stemmed from B. F. White's own time and in turn was extended in the so-called "Denson" revisions, which form the basis of the 1991 Edition, now the most widely used Sacred Harp volume. (For details of this history, see
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conflating the split between James and White in the United
Musical Association with a lawsuit of W. M. Cooper against J. S. James. Cooper's suit against James was for $ 3000 in damages. Compare "Rival Singers Meet In Three-Day Session" in
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J. S. James married
Margaret Elizabeth Maxwell in 1869, and they had seven children: Margaret Odessa, Stephen Edwin, Infant twin sons, Eunice Lettitia, Lois Cleveland, and Joe S., Jr. He died in 1931 and is buried in
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Steel and Hulan (2010, 126) note a disagreement concerning James's middle name: it "is given as
Summerlin in some sources, including a publisher's directory from 1908, but family sources agree on Stephen."
93:. The latter tunebook was released in 1911. It added alto parts to most of the songs and restored several songs that had been deleted in the 1869-70 revision of
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singing, J. S. James was important as a musical leader, as an author of prose works, and as a tunebook editor. His works include
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Newspaper
Accounts from the Atlanta Constitution and Atlanta Journal of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, 1904-1956
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Further information on a lawsuit by James against J. L. White has not been discovered. This may be a case of a reporter for
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in 1904, which he hoped would function as a sort of "National
Association" of Sacred Harp singings and conventions.
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164:(Saturday, September 13, 1913, p. 5) with "Gospel Singers Holding Rival Festivals" in
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A Brief
History of the Sacred Harp and Its Author, B. F. White, Sr., and Contributors
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A Brief
History of the Sacred Harp and Its Author, B. F. White, Sr., and Contributors
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James' 1911 book quickly embroiled him in two controversies. He was sued by
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205:, by Buell E. Cobb, Jr., University of Georgia Press, 1978, 1989.
231:, a report from the Music Copyright Infringement Resource.
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singer, composer, and a reviser of the tunebook known as
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Introduction and
History of the Original Sacred Harp
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189:, by Ruth Denson Edwards, (in the 1971 Edition,
214:Steel, David Warren with Richard Hulan (2010)
183:, by Joe S. James, privately printed, 1904.
203:The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music
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218:. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
89:(1920) and, probably most important, the
41:Joe S. James was born March 20, 1849, in
209:White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands
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129:United Sacred Harp Musical Association
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168:(Friday September 12, 1913, p. 5)
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235:Union Harp and History of Songs
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87:Explanation of the Sacred Harp
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216:The Makers of the Sacred Harp
166:The Atlanta Georgian and News
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127:James led in organizing the
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103:Southern Musical Convention
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240:Sacred Tunes and Hymns
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118:J. L. White
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99:B. F. White
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265:Shape note
249:Categories
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101:and the
85:(1913),
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175:Sources
135:Notes
109:.)
19:, of
37:Life
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