John Lomax was the first to record folk songs in the wild in the early 10's. He opened the way for many other folklorists and ethnomusicologists around the world, desperate to save local cultures that could quickly disapear.
John Lomax at work: Afro-american worksongs (1933-1939)
John Lomax, pioneer in field recording and in preservation of American folk songs, travelled with his son Alan through southern states of the US in 1933, to collect folk songs of the Afro-american people. This was as essential for the preservation of a whole culture, as totally new.
L o s t S o n g s 