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Category: Pete Seeger

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

The Candidate’s a Dodger: An Electoral Folksong from Oral Tradition to Aaron Copland

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: this is the first in a series of posts about a classic item from the AFC archive, “The Dodger.” [See the first post here.] [See the second post here.][See the third post here.] Second note: we’ve also created a podcast version of these stories. Download our “Dodger” podcast here! As Election Day draws near, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Lomax Challenge Videos Part 1

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: This post was co-written with AFC Folklife Specialist Jennifer Cutting. It is part of series of blog posts celebrating the centennial of Alan Lomax’s birth, and also part of another series celebrating the 40th anniversary of AFC!    Part Two of this series of posts is now available, featuring videos of contemporary artists performing French …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Treasures of the AFC Archive Banner #4

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is the fourth in a series of six posts presenting AFC’s new traveling exhibit Treasures of the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit takes the form of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about AFC, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our archive. Originally conceived …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Lead Belly, Alan Lomax and the Relevance of a Renewed Interest in American Vernacular Music

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following is a guest blog post by Dom Flemons, a musician and singer who currently tours and records as “The American Songster.”  Dom was one of the founders of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, with whom he has played at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, and with whom he won a GRAMMY Award.  Dom …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Buffalo Gals

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Note: a second part of this article is available presenting further research: “Who Were Those Gals?: Buffalo Gals Revisited,” Folklife Today, August 17, 2020. “Buffalo Gals” is an example of a song with a complicated “life.” Tracing the background of an old folksong or folk tune can be difficult, and often its origins can only …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Tracing the Long Journey of “We Shall Overcome”

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 …