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~~Lord Larehip~~ · 11-14-2014, 10:11 AM

Blues music might have perished unnoticed by the world if not for the efforts of men who sought to capture it either for study or for profit. Today we owe them a debt of gratitude. Without their efforts, blues could have probably would died in an unmarked grave. One of the more enterprising was Alan Lomax who accompanied his father, John, to the sharecroppers’ fields and to the prisons of Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana with a field recording unit capturing the talent of the rural South who most likely would never have been heard otherwise. In this way, Lomax discovered extremely influential bluesmen—Huddy Ledbetter (Lead Belly), Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. He also made field recordings of Son House (Eddie James, Jr.) and Willie Brown although he was not the first. The prison recordings, released as Negro Prison Blues and Songs, is beautifully recorded and incredibly haunting. If Lomax had recorded nothing else, he deserved to be remembered for this one set of recordings alone.

Negro Prison Songs / "Rosie"1947 [RARE] - YouTube

Alan Lomax Recordings- Levee Camp Holler - YouTube

But Lomax recorded a great deal more. He traveled the world recording all kinds of folk music. He is partly responsible for the genre called “world music.” He conducted extensive interviews with influential artists of various genres around the globe. He authored a number of books on the cultural importance of music including Folk Song Style and Culture considered one of the most important works on the correlation of music and culture ever written (Lomax was a graduate of the University of Texas with a degree in philosophy). Lomax was a guitarist and songwriter himself. He and his father cowrote “The Days of 49” which Dylan covered on his album “Self Portrait” (1970). Regarded by the right wing as a communist, Lomax was frequently investigated by the FBI whom he grew to greatly dislike. Lomax’s prison recordings prove that blues has its origins in work songs and “hollers” whether in the prison yard or the cotton field. Lead Belly, after all, was an ex-convict who appeared to know hundreds of songs. I consider the prison recordings to be an essential blues document.

11-14-2014, 10:11 AM	#7 (permalink)
~~Lord Larehip~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 899	Blues music might have perished unnoticed by the world if not for the efforts of men who sought to capture it either for study or for profit. Today we owe them a debt of gratitude. Without their efforts, blues could have probably would died in an unmarked grave. One of the more enterprising was Alan Lomax who accompanied his father, John, to the sharecroppers’ fields and to the prisons of Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana with a field recording unit capturing the talent of the rural South who most likely would never have been heard otherwise. In this way, Lomax discovered extremely influential bluesmen—Huddy Ledbetter (Lead Belly), Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. He also made field recordings of Son House (Eddie James, Jr.) and Willie Brown although he was not the first. The prison recordings, released as Negro Prison Blues and Songs, is beautifully recorded and incredibly haunting. If Lomax had recorded nothing else, he deserved to be remembered for this one set of recordings alone. Negro Prison Songs / "Rosie"1947 [RARE] - YouTube Alan Lomax Recordings- Levee Camp Holler - YouTube But Lomax recorded a great deal more. He traveled the world recording all kinds of folk music. He is partly responsible for the genre called “world music.” He conducted extensive interviews with influential artists of various genres around the globe. He authored a number of books on the cultural importance of music including Folk Song Style and Culture considered one of the most important works on the correlation of music and culture ever written (Lomax was a graduate of the University of Texas with a degree in philosophy). Lomax was a guitarist and songwriter himself. He and his father cowrote “The Days of 49” which Dylan covered on his album “Self Portrait” (1970). Regarded by the right wing as a communist, Lomax was frequently investigated by the FBI whom he grew to greatly dislike. Lomax’s prison recordings prove that blues has its origins in work songs and “hollers” whether in the prison yard or the cotton field. Lead Belly, after all, was an ex-convict who appeared to know hundreds of songs. I consider the prison recordings to be an essential blues document.