In Search of Georgia
MAP Explores the History of Concerts at ϳԹ
Jackie Hartling Stolze
Imagine yourself backstage before a concert at ϳԹ in the late ’70s. The Persuasions, a five-man a cappella group, is about to take the stage.
But lead singer and founder Jerry Lawson has a problem — the zipper on his jacket is stuck.
A resourceful ϳԹ student working that long-ago concert jumps into action, runs to his dorm room, grabs a bar of soap, runs back, and rubs soap on the zipper to loosen it.
It works!
The Persuasions go on to perform a show that “shatters every sheet of glass in the South Lounge,” according to the S&B review. At the end of the concert, Lawson tells the crowd that it wouldn’t have been possible without that student’s help.
“Come out here — everyone give him a round of applause!” Lawson says, pulling the student up onstage to sing “Working on a Chain Gang” with them.
This is just one of thousands of stories alumni tell about their memorable concert experiences.
Concerts at ϳԹ
Four ϳԹ students — Maya Albanese ’26, Hayden Davis ’25, Jackie Harris ’26, and Bowen Wei ’25 — spent their summer working with Professor of History Sarah Purcell ’92 to research the history of concerts at ϳԹ.
The Mentored Advanced Project or MAP is a research project that provides a chance for students to work closely with a faculty member. This MAP includes a focus on the life and work of legendary ϳԹ staff member Georgia Dentel. During her 41-year career at the College, she brought more than 1,000 concerts to ϳԹ, including the Jackson Five, The Police, Jefferson Airplane, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, just to name a few.
Each student’s research takes a different focus. Albanese is researching Dentel’s life and work. Davis is building a timeline of concerts on campus. Harris is exploring how concerts relate to the history of student life at ϳԹ. And Wei is focusing on the issues and protests of the era and how they affected the campus culture.
Georgia on My Mind
Dentel was “the woman who put ϳԹ on the musical map,” according to The ϳԹ Magazine. She accepted a position as activities counselor at the College in 1960, with the mission to provide students with something to do on the weekends.
Turns out, what the students wanted was concerts, and Dentel delivered, and then some, until her retirement in 2001.
Three of the students came to the MAP knowing nothing about Georgia Dentel. Before long, though, they were amazed by what they had discovered about Dentel’s impact on the culture of ϳԹ.
“Through our research, we’ve seen how many of these events and concerts ultimately came down to the work of Georgia Dentel, which is kind of insane,” Harris says. “She really made a difference in the caliber of acts that came to ϳԹ.”
Purcell, the L.F. Parker Professor of History, says the project came to life thanks to alumni interest and financial support, led by Kit Wall, Pat Irwin DHL ’12, and Bob Render, all ’77. Many ϳԹians, particularly from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, worked closely with Dentel on concerts when they were students at ϳԹ and remember her fondly.
“She’s a presence in the past of the College,” Purcell says.
The Stories Behind the Story
Concerts occupy a privileged space in the collective memory of ϳԹ, Purcell says. But the official history of ϳԹ includes only sparse information about concerts, or about Dentel.
“We’re trying to bridge a gap between memory, interpretation, and history.” Purcell says. “It’s really pretty important.”
The project is built on oral history interviews with alumni and others who were affected by Dentel’s work. The MAP students are learning how to use historical methodology and procedures to collect and preserve the stories and create an archive.
“One of the philosophies of oral history, actually, is trying to get the stories behind the story,” Purcell says.
At the end of the project, a website will provide access to the “stories behind the story,” as well as biographical and career information about Dentel and an interactive timeline of the concerts.
Hometown Girl
Albanese, a history major and American studies concentrator from the Boston area, has been researching Dentel and interviewing people who remember her. It’s a good fit for Albanese’s interest in women’s history and her desire to tell the stories of women and girls.
Albanese’s research led her to Dentel’s hometown — Ackley, Iowa, where her family owned and operated Dentel’s Grocery.
One of Albanese’s best sources has been the , which has filled in some of the missing details. “It’s just this … small-town newspaper where everyone really knows everyone,” Albanese says. For instance, she learned that as a schoolgirl, Georgia Dentel was rarely absent or tardy, and that she often scored 100 on her spelling tests.
also documented her achievements — she was salutatorian of her high school class and graduated with honors from University of Iowa, where she was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Hoping to put all this information into context, Albanese organized a trip to Ackley with her fellow MAP students to understand Dentel’s early life in small-town Iowa.
On the Road to Ackley
When they drove into downtown Ackley, the four ϳԹians looked around and realized that “small town” is a relative thing.
In her autobiography, Dentel describes a busy place with many stores and businesses. Ackley today is much smaller. The downtown includes a coffee shop, a pizza place, an ice cream shop, and a pub.
But Iowa’s small towns are known to be friendly places, and the people of Ackley met the ϳԹ students with warmth, interest, and generosity.
At the Ackley Public Library, their first stop, the librarian shared copies of Dentel’s high school yearbook and her autobiography. At the coffee shop — where Wei was excited to order a coconut latte — the barista saw them and said, “You must be the folks from ϳԹ!”
Huh? Turns out Ronnie Phillips from the Ackley Heritage Center had already been in that morning. “He’s super excited to meet you!" the barista told them.
At the museum, Phillips shared some Dentel family photos and documents as well as product tags from Dentel’s Grocery.
He also took them to visit the cemetery where Dentel is buried.
The trip to this tiny town was a big success. “The people there were so friendly and just ridiculously helpful in trying to answer every possible question they could,” Harris says.
Life in Iowa
Harris, a history and Spanish major from Iowa City, is focusing on how concerts are related to the history of student life at ϳԹ. For instance, how did major concerts, like Pete Seeger or Bruce Springsteen, affect the student experience? And not just the big concerts, but also the consistency and quality of cultural events?
To that end, Harris says they’re trying to understand and create a coherent narrative about the history of student life at ϳԹ.
Dentel’s work made a huge difference in the lives of students. Harris mentions the memorable Duke Ellington appearance at ϳԹ in the late ’50s. The band invited then-ϳԹ student Herbie Hancock ’60 to jam with them after the show. “Herbie’s student band got to be the opener, too,” Harris says.
Other students have had unforgettable personal interactions with the artists who come to campus, Harris says. For instance, there was the performer who brought their dog with them to ϳԹ. Their contract stipulated that the dog had to be walked every day, so a ϳԹ student walked her dog around town.
A Concerts Timeline
Davis, a history major from Kalamazoo, Mich., understands why alumni are passionate about concerts. He feels the same way. He credits Georgia Dentel for the culture that still exists on campus.
“She was incredible,” Davis says. He suggests that in terms of cultural significance, Dentel is one of the most important p