The work of ethÂnoÂmuÂsiÂcolÂoÂgist father and son team John and Alan Lomax was intendÂed to preÂserve the local musiÂcal culÂtures of the UnitÂed States and regions around the world against an encroachÂing mass media threatÂenÂing to erase them. But the thouÂsands of Lomax recordÂings, films, books, artiÂcles, and othÂer docÂuÂments not only conÂserved regionÂal music; they also helped transÂform mass culÂture by introÂducÂing local forms that have since become part of a globÂal musiÂcal gramÂmar. Lomax and his son Alan — “the man who recordÂed the world,” as biogÂraÂphÂer John Szwed called him — popÂuÂlarÂized folk music thirÂty years before Dylan recordÂed his first album and were among the first white lisÂtenÂers to recÂogÂnize the genius of Robert JohnÂson.
Alan Lomax began travÂelÂing the counÂtry with his father in 1933. In 1939, “while doing gradÂuÂate work in anthroÂpolÂoÂgy at ColumÂbia UniÂverÂsiÂty,” notes a biogÂraÂphy at Lomax’s AssoÂciÂaÂtion for CulÂturÂal EquiÂty, “he proÂduced the first of sevÂerÂal radio series for CBS. AmerÂiÂcan Folk Songs, WellÂsprings of Music, and the prime-time series, Back Where I Come From, exposed nationÂal audiÂences to regionÂal AmerÂiÂcan music and such homeÂgrown talÂents as Woody Guthrie, Lead BelÂly, Aunt MolÂly JackÂson, Josh White, the GoldÂen Gate QuarÂtet, Burl Ives, and Pete Seeger,” who described Lomax as “more responÂsiÂble than any othÂer perÂson for the twenÂtiÂeth-cenÂtuÂry folk song revival.”
Alan Lomax brought blues, flaÂmenÂco, calypÂso, and SouthÂern balÂlad singing, “all still relÂaÂtiveÂly unknown genÂres,” to New York in the 1940s with conÂcert series like The MidÂnight SpeÂcial at Town Hall. “The main point of my activÂiÂty,” he once said, “was… to put sound techÂnolÂoÂgy at the disÂposÂal of The Folk, to bring chanÂnels of comÂmuÂniÂcaÂtion to all sorts of artists and areas.” A perÂformer himÂself, he coined the term “culÂturÂal equiÂty” to describe this work, a means of advoÂcatÂing for musiÂcal culÂtures left behind by comÂmerÂcialÂizaÂtion, the “culÂturÂal gray-out,” as he called it. From his first field recordÂings in 1933 to his 1993 Land Where the Blues Began, which earned a NationÂal Book CritÂics Award, he stayed true to that misÂsion.
Lomax and his father’s work has been “comÂpiled across sevÂen decades” by the Lomax DigÂiÂtal Archive, which proÂvides free and open access to “the entireÂty of Alan’s phoÂtographs and open-reel tape recordÂings — made between 1946 and 1991… as well as tranÂscripÂtions of his 1940s radio proÂgrams, and a selecÂtion of clips from his film and video-work of the 1970s and 1980s.” This huge, searchÂable library supÂpleÂments already masÂsive Lomax colÂlecÂtions online, such as that housed at the AssoÂciÂaÂtion for CulÂturÂal EquiÂty, and includes “the entire 70 hours of their KenÂtucky recordÂings and the 39 hours of MisÂsisÂsipÂpi recordÂings,” notes a press release. “This latÂter mateÂrÂiÂal includes the first recordÂings of MudÂdy Waters, HonÂeyÂboy Edwards, and Sid Hemphill.”
FurÂtherÂmore, the Lomax DigÂiÂtal Archive feaÂtures online exhibits that “allow for thoughtÂful, conÂtext-rich exploÂrations into speÂcifÂic aspects of the colÂlecÂtion.” The first preÂsenÂtaÂtion, “TrouÂble Won’t Last Always,” comÂpiles songs from a series launched durÂing the panÂdemÂic that “speak to themes of loneÂliÂness, isoÂlaÂtion, optiÂmism, endurance, tranÂscenÂdence..,” all uniÂverÂsal human expeÂriÂences. Lomax believed, his daughÂter Anna Lomax Wood said, “that all culÂtures should be looked at on an even playÂing field. Not that they’re all alike. But that they should be givÂen the same digÂniÂty.” His own digÂniÂfied approach helped ensure that we could hear and learn from local hisÂtorÂiÂcal voicÂes from around the world even as ecoÂnomÂic and politÂiÂcal inequities sought to silence them for good. Enter the Lomax DigÂiÂtal Archive here.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
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