American Patchwork fieldwork

“Neighborhood investigation shows him to be a very peculiar individual in that he is only interested in folk lore music, being very temperamental and ornery. …. He has no sense of money values, handling his own and Government property in a neglectful manner, and paying practically no attention to his personal appearance" (from the FBI file on Alan Lomax, 1940–1980)

Othar Turner's Rising Star Fife & Drum band (Turner, fife; G.D. Young, bass drum; E.P. Burton, snare; Eddie Ware, snare) playing a picnic night at Othar's farm in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, August 1978:


Coal miner, union activist, and singer Nimrod Workman performs one of his original topical compositions, "42 Years."


"Hallelujah" (#146), sung by the 1982 Holly Springs Sacred Harp Convention; led by Lucy Marie Heidorn. Shot by Alan Lomax and crew using four quad-split cameras, Holly Springs, Georgia, June 1982:


Sam Chatmon performs the minstrel song "The Preacher and the Bear" at home in Hollandale, Mississippi. Shot by Alan Lomax, Worth Long, and John Bishop, August 1978:


For more videos from the American Patchwork fieldwork and information about Alan Lomax and his collections click RIGHT HERE

posted by kramer at 9:48 PM
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