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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
On Friday, February 21, the American Folklife Center will host a discussion and screening of clips from the upcoming film premiere of “This Ain’t No Mouse Music!”: The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records with the filmmakers Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling. Please join us from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm in the Whittall …
Posted in: AFC Events, Folk Music, Folksong
Posted by: Kate Stewart
Although folksingers Pete Seeger, Guy Carawan, and Frank Hamilton registered copyright on “We Shall Overcome” in 1960, the song has a long and fascinating history with contributions from many activist-singers. We can trace it back to two separate songs from over a hundred years ago, the lyrics from “I’ll Overcome Some Day” written by the …
Posted in: African American History, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Folk Music, Oral History, Pete Seeger
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
What could the songs sung, composed, and/or danced by Americans from the colonial period to the present teach us about the history of the United States? How could U.S. history help us to better understand American songs? These are questions explored in the new online presentation The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America. …
Posted in: Folk Music, Folksong
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
The following is a guest post from Bertram Lyons, the digital assets manager and a folklife specialist at the American Folklife Center’s archives at the Library of Congress. This post originally appeared on the Association for Cultural Equity site and is reposted with permission. Prior to his arrival at the Library, Lyons was the archivist at the …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Folk Music
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On behalf of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, I’m sad to pass along the news of the death of Pete Seeger, a longtime friend of the AFC Archive and a giant in the folk music world, one of the most significant American folk musicians ever. Many AFC staff members have personal …
Posted in: AFC Events, Alan Lomax, Folk Music, Folksong, Pete Seeger
Posted by: Stephen Winick
“Soldier’s Joy” is one of our favorite fiddle tunes, and one of the oldest and most widely distributed tunes in the English-speaking world. There are numerous renditions of this piece located throughout Library of Congress collections, many of which are online. Let’s take a brief tour of this American classic. “Soldier’s Joy” appeared in late eighteenth-century sheet …
Posted in: Folk Music, Folksong, Old Time Music
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
This week we’re hosting three digital humanities scholars at the American Folklife Center to discuss potential research projects that would draw upon AFC collections. It got me thinking about digital humanities inquiry in developing and understanding the AFC Archives. Across our history, we have embraced new media, explored data- and metric-driven approaches to studying and computing …
Posted in: AFC Events, Archival Practice, Folk Music, Folksong
Posted by: Stephen Winick
As the Old Year turns to the New Year, thousands of people around the world will sing along to “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish song that has come to be firmly associated with New Year’s celebrations. The song has a fascinating history, and we’re lucky at the Library of Congress to have several unique items …
Posted in: AFC Events, Folk Music, Folksong, Holidays
Posted by: Stephen Winick
St. George and the Data Dragon: A Digital Assets Mumming Performed by American Folklife Center Staff with Guests Script drawn from multiple plays in the James Madison Carpenter Collection. Compiled by Stephen Winick, with additional material by Stephen Winick, Jennifer Cutting, Theadocia Austen, Hope O’Keeffe, and the company. Digital assets jargon courtesy of Bertram Lyons. …
Posted in: AFC Events, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Holidays, Mumming