Jeannie Cheatham waited until her 78th year to tackle thisbook-writing racket, so don’t expect her to be intimidated by herlate start. After all, this is a woman who didn’t release her firstalbum under her own name until she was 57, who didn’t grace herfirst national magazine cover until her 63rd year. Late starts arenothing new to Jeannie Evans Cheatham.
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Hear a Clip – Meet Me With Your Black DrawersOn
Read An ExcerptThe longtime San Diego County jazz icon — with her husband,Jimmy, she co-leads the long-running Sweet Baby Blues Band –recently had her autobiography “Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On:My Life in Music” ($24.95) published by the University of TexasPress. If their now-defunct Sunday night jam sessions at theSheraton and, later, Bahia, are the stuff of legend, her bookcaptures the fullness of a career that extends far beyond SanDiego. She writes about her teen years during World War II inAkron, Ohio; the years when Jimmy was musical director for jazzdrummer Chico Hamilton; a long stint in Madison, Wis.; Jimmy’syears leading the UC San Diego jazz program; and their arrival onthe national stage in the 1980s up to the present.
Still actively performing with Jimmy, Jeannie recently spoke byphone about her new career as an author. Perhaps the mostinteresting aspect of “Meet Me” is that Jeannie never set out towrite a book.
“I was just going to write a little short story about Big Mama(Thornton) and Little Mattie because of how they grew up togetherand they were so faithful to each other. And after we did ‘ThreeGenerations’ (‘… of the Blues,’ for KPBS-TV in 1992), I keptthinking how no one was writing about Big Mama.
“I kept digging back, until I came to realize I was writing myown story.”
Even at that, Jeannie said she didnít really work on the book ina formal manner the first few years.
“No way. Most of the time I was writing stuff on the bus or inthe mall. It seemed like I wrote better when I was in motion.”
The book has a distinctive structure, with short chapters eachdetailing an event, a person, a turning point. Jeannie said thatall came about organically through the process of writing.
“There was no design at all,” she said. “I just wrote until Iended. I didnít extend just because I needed extra paper. … If Igot inspired to write something, I wrote. Then Iíd put a chaptertitle on it. I never had a timetable.
“This is my first book, after all; nobody told me how I’msupposed to write!”
All of which may explain Jeannie’s old-school method of writingwhat is a 400-plus page book: by hand.
“I wrote it longhand on a yellow striped pad. I had a woman whodid all the typing for me. I’d do some chapters and then I’d takethem down to her on the yellow pad and she’d type them up forme.”
To the surprise of no one who has encountered the Cheathams,Jeannie said her husband was involved throughout: “Jimmy would lookover every chapter.”
Jeannie said her one regret is that the book was published afterthe deaths of Stanley and Helen Oakley Dance, the venerable jazzand blues journalists who retired to Vista in the 1980s and struckup a strong friendship with the Cheathams. Stanley had helped DukeEllington write his autobiography, and Helen wrote a respectedbiography of Texas bluesman T-Bone Walker.
Jeannie said she never even got to pick Stanley or Helen’s mindsabout the writing craft because while they were still alive, shedidn’t yet realize she was writing a book.
In fact, Jeannie said she purposely kept any potentialinfluences to a minimum.
“I wouldn’t even read anyone else’s autobiographies orbiographies until I was finished,” she said. “I didn’t want to beimpressed or even feel I was unconsciously copying anybody. I don’tthink I have anybody else’s style at all.”
Now that the book is finally in stores, Jeannie said she hopesthose who read it find something to take away from it.
“I just hope they get the black experience,” she said. “Andperhaps they can find something in there that can help them or givethem encouragement. I think the whole theme of the book isresilience — the Big R.”
And for those just looking for a little light reading?
“It’s also an inside look at the jazz world and the world ofentertainment,” she added. “It’s not all pretty; by the time youget on stage and do one hour, you’ll see how much it takes to getout there.”
With her first book under her belt, Jeannie said she and Jimmymight record another album. And might she take pen to paperagain?
“I might like to squeeze out one more book,” she allowed.”Maybe.”
A novel? A history?
She pondered this for a few seconds before breaking outlaughing.
“I’ve no idea,” she admitted.
Discography
While the Cheathams have appeared on numerous recordings in asupporting role, these are albums in which they recorded as leaders(Jeannie’s book includes a sampler CD with six of their mostpopular songs). All are on Concord Records:
“Sweet Baby Blues” 1984
“Midnight Mama” 1985
“Homeward Bound” 1987
“Back to the (Neighbor)hood” 1988
“Luv in the Afternoon” 1990
“Basket Full of Blues” 1991
“Blues & the Boogie Masters” 1993
“Good Nuz Bluz” 1995
Video
In 1983, San Diego documentary filmmaker Paul Marshall featuredJeannie Cheatham along with Sippie Wallace and Big Mama Thornton ina KPBS-TV special, “Three Generations of the Blues.”
In 1991, Marshall taped the Cheathams and their Sweet Baby BluesBand for a special one-hour episode of his KPBS-TV jazz series,”Club Date.”
Neither video is in print from KPBS, but you may be able to findthem in an online auction or a video specialty shop.
Contact staff writer Jim Trageser at (760) 631-6628 orjtrageser@nctimes.com.
