Family Field Study: Africa, and a Life of Glamor

In 1966, my grandparents and six of their children traveled to Malawi, Africa. My Grandfather, a seasoned American radio show host, was sent to Africa by USAID to help establish the first profitable radio station in Africa. After a 14-hour flight, their family waited at the airport for a chauffeur and while they waited, my Grandfather paced back and forth saying, "We're in Africa. I can't believe we're in Africa." This is where my interview with my Grandmother began; Malawai, 1966. 

Simon: Hi Grandmother! Thank you so much for helping me with my project. I am fortunate enough to have both sets of grandparents heavily involved in music, and both having incredible experiences in different countries. But I like you better than I like my Dad's parents, so now you're stuck with me for the next little while! I want to start with Africa. Why did you move there?

Grandmother: Your Grandfather (Everett "Van" Vandagriff) was requested to go there by the USAID. They had a radio station with the BBC in Malawi, but they didn’t have anyone that knew how to run it. And it was certainly not profitable. We went there so Van could show the locals how to run it. We were very happy in Africa. I'll never forget the first day we were there. Van was pacing in the lobby saying “We're in Africa. I can’t believe we are in Africa.”

Simon: Did all the kids go with you?

Grandmother: Only the first six, including your mother. The three youngest weren't born yet.

Simon: What was your home like?

Grandmother: The house was gorgeous. The floors were red marble, every room had a fireplace. It was so strange, we even had servants! Five of them. They didn’t let me cook or clean or anything, they would get offended if I tried. That took some getting used to, since I did all of that myself back home.

Simon: Can you tell me a little bit more about what Grandfather did there?

Grandmother: Van worked at the local radio station. You couldn't really listen to the radio the way we did in America. They were so unorganized and Van had to train everyone and give them structure. When we first got there, Malawi was poverty stricken. They needed the station to make money, which was part of Van’s job. He sold air time to different companies. He cancelled the contract with BBC because they were not paying for the radio station. Van was responsible for creating the first profitable radio station in Africa.

Simon: Was Grandfather a DJ? 

Grandmother: Not a DJ so much as a host. You remember, he had an amazing radio voice.

Simon: I remember, I loved his voice. What did the radio station play?

Grandmother: News and music mostly. It wasn’t African music, mostly British and American pop music.

Simon: Was music a part of your daily lives there? If so, what was the music like? Did you enjoy it?

Grandmother: Music has always been a part of our daily lives, no matter where we lived. And I loved the music we heard in Africa, but we didn't actually get to experience too much of it. I had friends from the US that came with us, and we danced a lot and spent so much time together dancing.

Simon: African dances?

Grandmother: No, we didn't participate in African dances, that was a bit frowned upon. Sometimes, we would sneak into "The Bush" and watch the local people sing and dance.

Simon: Did you go to church in Africa? If so, what was the music like? 

Grandmother: We lived a mile away from church, and we had two drivers that would take us to church. One car would take us and another would take the kids. Every week, there were huge lines of people waiting to get into church. They would come in halfway through the Mass, and then leave whenever they wanted. It was a little bizarre. Almost all of the music was English or Latin, not in African. 

Simon: What did your kids think about the music in Africa?

Grandmother: I honestly couldn't tell you. I don’t remember that specifically. It was just such a huge change of life that I was mostly making sure that my kids were safe and happy.

Simon: You mentioned that you danced a lot while you were there. How did you listen to the music that you danced to in Africa?

Grandmother: We danced a lot there, and everywhere else! You should know this, our family is always dancing. Anyway, I think it was mostly records. There was this tall, gorgeous African man that loved to dance with me. I can’t remember what the song was, but every time it came on, he and I would dance together. We all did so much dancing.

Simon: Did you still listen to American popular music while you were in Malawi?

Grandmother: Yes, that was pretty much all we could listen to.

Simon: Was there a nightlife where you lived in Africa? If so, tell me more about the music there.

Grandmother: The nightlife was all in people’s homes, not bars or clubs or anything. And at this time, we were not allowed to wear short skirts in public, so we would wear long skirts when walking to our friends house, and then change into our party clothes. And then change back when we left our friends houses. We were a bit sneaky.

Simon: Did you still listen to traditional African music after you came back to America?

Grandmother: Even when we were in Africa, we were not privy to a lot of their traditional culture. There was such a ridiculous social divide and it was very frustrating. When I tried to befriend our servants or any of the locals, it wasn't very well-received. In fact, it wasn't received at all. Our servants and other locals completely shut down when I was social with them. They weren't used to that from white people and didn't know how to respond. In terms of the music, there hasn’t been an avenue to do so until recent technology came along, and I’m not really tech-savvy. 

In America:

Simon: Were there musical celebrities that you were a big fan of?

Grandmother: Franky Carl was a marvelous pianist. My mother loved him and I loved him and I had to have all his records.

Simon: Were there any famous musicians, either through their life or death, had a great impact on society or on you personally?

Grandmother: Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorothy had wonderful music, and they were extremely influential in the music field. There was a lot of big band music at that time, and that was their wheelhouse. In terms of personal impact, any music that I could dance to had an affect on me! Especially the twist, we were among some of the first people to do the twist!

Simon: Did you get to meet any celebrities?

Grandmother: Many of them, as part of Van’s work! Although, at that time they probably weren't considered celebrities. We were part of a group that discovered up-and-coming artists, and they would go on his show. He discovered the Kingston Trio!

Van and I hosted a party for all these elite, arrogant people at the University of Missouri, and the Kingston Trio was there before they got famous. This particular party was one that Van was hosting after one of his radio shows. That was a huge part of Van's job, was hosting parties and meeting lots of very interesting people.

Simon: I imagine that you were always as glamorous as you are today, sipping martinis and smoking with your girlfriends. Was there a particular kind of music that was more glamorous than others?

Grandmother: I was very glamorous! Cocktail dresses, cigarette holders, lots of parties. It was part of Van’s job to party a lot. I remember in particular, one event, there was a group of us listening to the Kingston Trio! This was years after we discovered them. That was a very popular style of music at the time. And what would be known as jazz or big band today, was known as “pop” back then.

Simon: I’m a huge fan of Judy Garland, who did a lo of big band music. Did you watch or listen to her at all?

Grandmother: She was a beautiful actress. Sad life, but an absolutely wonderful performer. I loved her music, Judy was one of THE people that influenced music in that era, she was incredible.

Simon: Did your music taste change after you met Grandfather?

Grandmother: My parents were both dancers, amazing dancers. When I was a teenager, we would go to the club as a family, my parents and I. And that didn’t change after I got married. Your Grandfather and I, and all the kids, danced at home, we danced when we went out, we danced in church. We were always dancing.

Simon: What is your first memory of music?

Grandmother: With my daddy and I. All I can remember is that I would be cooking dinner with daddy, and we would be dancing. Like I said, dancing was just a part of life.

Simon: Was there any style or genre of music that was off-limits when you were a kid?

Grandmother: Nope. I think being dancers, we just listened to all kinds of music. There was always music playing. Even after we got married and had kids, there was dancing. Your parents and all their siblings are wonderful dancers. Salsa, polka, ballroom, everything.

Simon: What do you think of music that kids listen to today?

Grandmother: *heavy sigh* I don’t listen to modern music very often. I’ve been to a few weddings where they played today’s music and I can appreciate it, but it isn’t my first choice. They also don’t dance at weddings the way we used to. They just go out on the floor and jump up and down. I wouldn’t call that dancing.

Simon: Did you and Grandfather have any special music or songs that you liked to listen to?

Grandmother: All music was special to me and Van. We loved it so much. So much spontaneous dancing. I had some favorite dances with favorite people, but I would really use any excuse to dance.

Simon: What makes you feel connected to a piece of music?

Grandmother: Well, this may come as a shock to you... If I could dance to it, I was connected to it.

*Interview Concluded*