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

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.