home >> collections & research
services >> finding aids >> topical
guides
Finding Aids to Collections Organized by Topic in the Archive of Folk Culture
RADIO-RELATED FIELD RECORDINGS AND BROADCASTS INVOLVING ARCHIVE OF FOLK
CULTURE COLLECTIONS, PERSONNEL, AND RADIO PROJECTS:
A Finding Aid of Recordings in the Archive of Folk Culture
Compiled by Eric S. Haag, Jill I. Linzee, Rachel Schwartz, and
Tony Ziselberger
Series Editor: Joseph C. Hickerson
Publication Date: December 1988 Series Number:
LCFAFA No. 5
For additional information about Archive
of Folk Culture collections, contact the Folklife
Reading Room. To request copies, see our webpages regarding audio
materials and photographic materials.
Please refer to the AFC and/or AFS numbers when requesting information.
All indications of time duration listed in this finding aid are estimates.
AFS 4423-4427: 5 12" discs of Philias Bedard of St.
Renis Du Napierville, Quebec singing songs without accompaniment, with
piano accompaniment, and with a men's chorus. Recorded by Alan Lomax
at radio station
CKAC, Montreal, January 1941. (Tape copy on LWO 4872 reel 301.)
AFS 4699-4705: 7
16" discs of interviews with members of the James E.
Strates carnival including the fortune teller, "the
fat lady", and the comedian, along with pitches by the
barker. Recorded by Charles Harrell in Washington,
DC, Spring 1941, for the Library of Congress Radio
Research Project. (Tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 324-
325.)
AFS 4709-4731: 23 12" discs of interviews,
songs, and harmonica tunes. Recorded by Glenn Gildersleeve, Joseph Liss,
and Jerome Wiesner in DE and MD, June 1941, for the
Library of Congress Radio Research Project. (Tape
copy on LWO 4872 reels 325-327.)
AFS 4787-4797: 104 16" and 57 12" discs of
NC and VA musicians including recordings of the Asheville, NC, Mountain
Dance and Song Festival, and the Galax, VA, Old
Fiddler's Convention. Also includes interviews with
TVA workers on the Cherokee Dam project at
Blairsville, Ga; workers at the TVA fertilizer plant
in Muscle Shoals, AL; and recordings of TN residents
whose lives were impacted by TVA projects. Recorded
by Joseph Liss, Alan Lomax, and Jerome Wiesner, in
August 1941, in part for the Library of Congress Radio
Research Project. (Tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 332-
357.)
AFS 5099-5146: 48 12" discs containing stories,
songs (some with guitar), and dance and instrumental music of migrant
workers from Farm Security Administration camps in
central and southern California. Recorded by Robert
Sonkin and Charles Todd in August 1941, in part for
the Library of Congress Radio Research Project. (Tape
copy on LWO 3493 reels 7-10.)
AFS 6357-6375; 6453-6454: 6 16" and 15 12" discs containing
interviews from
Washington, DC, Indiana, Fisk University (TN), New
York City, and Texas documenting the reactions of
"the man on the street" to President Roosevelt's
December 7, 1941, Declaration of War. Recorded by
Bob Allen, Philip Cohen, Fletcher Collins, John Henry
Faulk, Charles Harrell, Charles Johnson, Alan Lomax,
John A. Lomax, Robert Sonkin and Charles Todd,
December 8-10, 1941, as part of the Library of
Congress Radio Research Project, for use in the Office
of Emergency Management Radio Section program "Dear
Mr. President." (Tape copy on LWO 4872, reels 406-
408.)
AFS 6386-6395: 12 16" discs of interviews
and spirituals recorded at mines, foundries, a quarry, trailer camp,
employment
center, and bus terminal. Recorded by John
Langenegger and Arthur Miller in Wilmington, NC, Fall
1941. Recorded for the Library of Congress Radio
Research Project and the United States Public Health
Service. (Tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 410-412.)
AFS 6397-6452: 4 16", 45 12", 2 10", and
5 8" discs of interviews
documenting the reactions of "the man on the street"
to war-time conditions in the USA. Recorded by Bob
Allen, Fletcher Collins, John Henry Faulk, Lewis
Jones, Vance Randolph, Robert Sonkin, and others in
various locations throughout the USA, January-February
1942, for the Office of Emergency Management Radio
Section program "Dear Mr. President." (Tape copy on
LWO 4872 reel 412.)
AFS 7092: 1 16" disc of songs by five
black longshoremen from the Ball Steamship Company. Recorded at radio
station
WDAE in Tampa, FL in January 1944 by John Becker and
Alan Lomax. (Tape copy on LWO 5111 reels 7-8.)
AFS 13,577-13,671: 2 12", 24 10", 43 8", 1 7.5",
3 7", and 22 6" discs of
voice tests, letters, sea chanties, air checks, and
other material. Recorded by Robert W. Gordon at
various locations ca. 1929-1932. (Tape copy on LWO
5111 reels 432-436.)
Air and voice checks on the following:
AFS 13,602 AFS 13,607
AFS 13,613 AFS 13,618-20
AFS 13,630-35 AFS 13,637-38
AFS 13,641 AFS 13,648-52
AFS 13,655-57 AFS 13,659-61
AFS 13,663 AFS 13,671.
AFS 23,019-23,155: 2 5" tapes, 18 7" tapes, and
117 C-60 cassettes of ethnic radio broadcasts recorded for the Ethnic
Broadcasting in America Project of the American
Folklife Center. Recorded, mostly off the air, by
Theodore Grame, Elena Bradunas, Alan Jabbour, and
others, at locations throughout the USA during 1977-
1978. Documentation includes Theodore Grame's _Ethnic
Broadcasting in the United States_ (Washington, DC:
American Folklife Center, 1980, PN1991.8.E84G7) and
extensive manuscript materials. (RXA 4458-4477; RYA
2887-3003.)
Broadcasts Involving Folk Archive Personnel and Collections
AFS 2507-2514: 8 12" discs of radio programs
on American folksong, arranged with commentary by the French Broadcasting
Company, ca. 1939. The songs on these programs were
duplicated from originals in the Archive. (Tape copy
on LWO 4872 reel 161.)
AFS 4491-4524: 34 16" discs of two radio
series produced by CBS in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Both
series, "American School of the Air" (1939-1941) and
"Back Where I Came From" (1940-1941) are hosted by
Alan Lomax and spotlight a specific genre of American
folk music in each show. Programs feature traditional
musicians such as The Bogtrotters, the Golden Gate
Quartet, Woody Guthrie, and Leadbelly. Radio programs
recorded at several radio stations, 1939-1941. (Tape
copy on LWO 4872 reels 311-317.)
AFS 6314-6316: 3 16" discs of radio programs
compiled by Robert Sonkin and Charles Todd from recordings they made
in
CA, 1940-1941, for the Library of Congress. Includes
interviews, camp council meetings, readings of
original poems, dance tunes, and songs and ballads
of the American Southwest. Produced for radio station
WNYC, New York City, by Sonkin and Todd in 1942.
(Tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 401-402.)
AFS 8765: 1 16" disc of an interview
of Duncan Emrich, Chief of the Folklore Section of the Library of Congress,
by
Paul Gilson. Recorded for French Broadcast in the
recording laboratory of the Library of Congress
AFS 8766 1 16" disc of a radio interview between David Brinkley
of NBC News and Duncan Emrich, Chief of the Folklore
Section of the Library of Congress. They discuss
American folklore and the recorded collections in the
Archive and play examples. Broadcast on radio station
WRC (NBC), Washington, DC, ca. 1947. (Tape copy on
LWO 5111 reel 140.)
AFS 8969: 1 16" disc of Mutual Broadcasting
System's radio program "This Week in Washington." Washington
correspondent and Chief of Washington News Bureau,
Albert L. Warner's weekly news commentary includes
information about the Library of Congress Folk Archive
under the direction of Duncan Emrich. Mentions
recordings produced by the Library and plays examples.
Broadcast from radio station WOL, Washington, DC, ca.
1947. (Tape copy on LWO 5111 reel 174.)
AFS 9148-9149: 2 16" discs of Alan Lomax
and the gittin' down on the mutual radio network.
AFS 13,488-13,501 14 16" discs of CBS "American School of the Air" and
"Folk Music in America" radio programs, October 1939-
ca. January 1945. Songs are introduced and sung by
Alan Lomax and others. Topics include English
ballads, black worksongs and spirituals, love, hobo,
outlaw and children's game songs, and play parties.
(Tape copy on LWO 5111 reels 425-428.)
AFS 17,482: 1 7" tape of Voice of America
radio program (Studio One series) "The Sound of American Folk Music."
Features Joseph C. Hickerson, Head of the Archive of
Folk Song who discusses his involvement in folk music
studies and performance, provides a history of the
Archive, and introduces sample recordings from Archive
holdings. Recorded in Washington DC, March 4, 1975,
and broadcast ca. July 4, 1975. (LWO 8351.)
AFS 19,355: 1 C-90 cassette of National
Public Radio's program "Fifty Years of Folk Festivals," a documentary
on the growth of folk festivals in the United States.
Narrated by Robert Montiegel, with discussants Archie
Green, Alan Jabbour, Ralph Rinzler, and Joe Wilson.
Examines festival evolution through recordings of
performers, promoters, folklorists, and audiences.
Concludes with a program of blues piano by Big Chief
Ellis. Written and produced by Deborah J. Lamberton
and Michael J. Weiss as part of National Public
Radio's "Folk Festival U.S.A" series, and broadcast
in 1978. (LWO 12,755.)
AFS 23,157: 1 C-90 cassette of program
entitled "The Music of Alan
Jabbour," part of the radio series "Music Down Home."
Host Gary "The Radio Ranger" Stanton conducts a
telephone interview with Alan Jabbour, Director of
the American Folklife Center, who discusses his collection
and performance of traditional American fiddle tunes.
Includes recordings of Jabbour performing fiddle tunes
and old-time music with Bobby and Tommy Thompson and
Bert Levy of the Fuzzy Mountain String Band and Sandy
Bradley and Tommy Thompson from Bradley's LP recording
Sandy's Fancy. Recorded at radio station WFIU-FM,
Bloomington, IN, October 21, 1982. (RYA 3004.)
AFS 24,214-24,220: 6 10" and 1 7" tapes of "The
Wisconsin Patchwork," a
series of thirteen one-half hour radio programs
containing selections from the University of
Wisconsin/ Library of Congress field survey of
Wisconsin folk music conducted between 1940 and 1946.
Broadcast by radio station WHA of Madison, WI, in
1984.
AFS 24,259 C-90 cassette of a National Public Radio "All Things
Considered" program. Alan Jabbour discusses the
activities of the American Folklife Center and the
Archive of Folk Culture in an interview conducted by
Susan Stamberg, on the occasion of the tenth
anniversary of the American Folklife Center. Broadcast
by NPR member stations on May 22, 1986. (RYA 6185.)
AFS 24,278-24,284: 7 C-60 cassettes of the "Our
Musical Heritage" radio
series. Each program explores a separate instrument
or genre of music and, using materials drawn from the
Archive of Folk Culture, attempts to represent as many
different ethnic traditions and geographic areas as
possible. Produced and hosted by Bob Carlin at radio
station WHYY-FM, Philadelphia, PA, and aired by
National Public Radio member stations in 1985 and
1986. (RYA 6651-6657.)
AFS 24,366 1 C-60 cassette of George Armstrong's radio program
"The Wandering Folksong." Armstrong interviews Joseph
C. Hickerson on the history and services of the
Archive of Folk Culture. Recorded at the Library of
Congress, Washington, DC, May 1974. Broadcast
December 4, 1974, on radio station WFMT, Chicago, IL.
(LWO 8837.)
ADDENDA
_The Ballad Hunter_ (AFS L49-L53) is a set of five recordings available
for public sale (on LP and cassette) from the Library of Congress. Released
in 1958, each side represents a CBS "American School of the Air" radio
program prepared and narrated by John A. Lomax as part of the Library of
Congress
Radio Research Project. A catalog and order form for these and other folk
LP's published by the Library is available upon request from the Archive
of Folk Culture.
The following Library of Congress publication is available from the
Government Printing Office: _Radio Broadcasts in the Library of Congress,
1924-1941: A Catalog of Recordings_. Compiled by James R. Smart. Clothbound
xiv + 149pp. 1982 8x10 1/2 10 illus. LC 81-607136 S/N 303-000-00139-7.
|