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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The following is a guest post by American Folklife Center Reference Librarians Melanie Zeck and Todd Harvey. Staff at the American Folklife Center continue to use new digital tools to support remote discovery and access for our resources by users of all kinds. Whether you are a community scholar, a teacher, an academic researcher, a …
Posted in: AFC Publications, Bluegrass, Geographical Guides
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Summer solstice was traditionally a time of revelry as the end of planting and the beginning of summer were celebrated. As the summer crops ripen, the fruit of the labor of planting is celebrated in various ways, especially the harvest of staple crops. The grain and hay harvests in late July and early August is …
Posted in: Foodways, Native American History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
There are a great many ways of expressing love of one’s country and some interesting examples of expressions of love of the United States, and the peoples that became part of the United States, can be found in American Folklife Center Collections. In addition to some familiar songs, this blog will introduce several songs that …
Posted in: Folk Music, Folksong
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
For some time I have been intrigued by the beautiful voices of four young men, singers in the Holloway High School Quartet, recorded by John W. Work III in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1941. To mark African American Heritage Month this year, I thought I would try to find out a little more about them. I have …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
When I was a child, in about 1960, I remember two of my father’s cousins getting into an animated discussion about Marian Anderson and the time they resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Although I was not old enough to understand the event they were talking about, it made a strong impression. …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
At this time of year the reference staff of the American Folklife Center staff are often asked about the origins of Christmas carols. Here are a few examples of songs with interesting histories. Some of the oldest Christmas songs came from folk plays that were popular in the Middle Ages. The Juan B. Rael Collection …
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
One hundred years ago this month, February 26, 1917, what is generally acknowledged as the first recording of jazz was released. “Livery Stable Blues,” performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band [1] was a best-selling record for Victor, but is a problematic “first” as it is a recording of a white band performing an African …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Blues, Folk Music, Folksong, Jazz
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This is the second part of a two-part article on the folklore of trains. Part one, focusing on the development of railroads in the United States and related songs and lore can be found here. Part Two: Trains and American Culture The coming of the railroads made profound changes in life and culture in the …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Bluegrass, Charles Lafayette Todd, Folksong, George Korson, John Lomax, Legends, Robert Sonkin, Robert Winslow Gordon, Sam Eskin, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
One reason I became interested in the study of folklife was to learn through the voices of peoples who are often under-represented in history. As this is the end of February, African American History Month, and March is Women’s History Month, it seems a good time to take a look at what African American women …
Posted in: African Americans, Folk Music, Folksong, Herbert Halpert, John Henry Faulk, Oral History, Willis Laurence James, Zora Neale Hurston