By naming a Virginia string Band "The Hill Billies", Ralph Peer accidentally gave a name to an yet-unnamed-by-the-music-industry musical genre.
Dance ! Tonight ! …at the barn !
...or more acurately: dance tonight at home, just like at the barn parties ! Thanks to recorded fiddle tunes with calls and the WLS National Barn Dance artists.
The John Lomax legacy: field recordings for the preservation of folk songs.
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.
First year celebration !
There is not much to celebrate: one year of work isn't that important. Though I wanted to look back at the records I wanted to own when I started collecting, or at those wich gave me the will to collect.
Variations on a theme: Dipper Mouth Blues
As one of the most important song in Jazz history, Dipper Mouth Blues was played and recorded many times over the years. The versions slightly changed from one recording to another, so did the credits...[updated on June 26th 2020]
Odd coupling on a Bluebird record.
Jazz and Country are not usually coupled together...
Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra on V-Disc
A few of the many sides of Tommy Dorsey on V-Disc. Some were released for the first time, but not all. [updated on 06/2021]
Forgotten gospel: C. & M.A. Gospel Quintette
A gospel group of the mid 20's that does not sound like what we expect nowadays.
Early jazz recordings in Paris: F. Howard Jackson & his orchestra (the complete session).
Totally forgotten today, the Howard Jackson's orchestra was one, if not the first american band to record "jass" in France. [updated 11/2021]
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