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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Although the Library of Congress is temporarily closed to the public and staff are, as possible, working from home, the work of the Library continues. It is heartening to see that one of the most labor intensive areas of work, putting archival collections online, continues in spite of the precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic. The …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Bess Lomax Hawes, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
When I was writing my blog on “Great Lakes Ships and Shipping” in 2018, I naturally wanted to look at the field notes Alan Lomax wrote when he was collecting these songs. But this was no easy task. His field notes were online, but only as page image scans. The notes were handwritten and they …
Posted in: Alan Lomax
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This is one of two articles, each focusing on one ethnographic recording of an African American song of World War I. To read the article about “Trench Blues” select here. African Americans left to serve in World War I, beginning one hundred years ago in June 1917, landing in France on June 25. They had …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folksong, John Lomax, World War I
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This post is also featured on the Library of Congress Blog as “World War I: ‘Trench Blues’ — An African American Song of the War.” Head over there to find more WWI stories from the Library’s collections honoring the centennial (2017-2018). There is another Folklife Today post about an African American World War I song …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folksong, World War I
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
As we approach the end of the centennial year of the birth of Alan Lomax, it seems appropriate to look at recordings of songs and music he collected celebrating Christmas, the new year, and Epiphany. The recordings presented here are all part of the collections of the American Folklife Center, but many have been put …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Burl Ives, christmas, Folk Music, Folksong, Holidays, New Year's Day, Woody Guthrie
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, Charles Lafayette Todd, Folksong, George Korson, John Lomax, Legends, Robert Sonkin, Robert Winslow Gordon, Sam Eskin, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Part two of this article is available at this link. Part One: The Development of the Railroads The advent of railroads in the United States is part of the country’s coming-of-age story as an industrial power during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because of this, trains and people associated with the developing railways became …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Austin Fife, Charles Lafayette Todd, Charles Lafayette Todd and Robert Sonkin, Cowboys, Folksong, John Lomax, Legends, Robert Sonkin, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Zora Neale Hurston
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The collections of the American Folklife Center reflect a long history of ethnographic interest in Luso-Hispanic American music and song. Much of the early collecting work focused on peoples of the regions that formerly belonged to Spain. In this post I’ll provide a quick overview of the Hispanic-American music in AFC’s online collections. Spanish Songs …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Caribbean Americans, Easter, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Holidays, John Lomax, Juan B Rael, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Sidney Robertson Cowell