rand's esoteric otr

The Ballad Hunter - Pgm 2 - Blues and Hollers

Another entry in the 1940s radio series, "The Ballad Hunter", produced by the Library of Congress and featuring John Lomax and field recordings of American folk music.

"Blues and Hollers" is program number 2 from the series, matrix number MS 063262. This episode of the series includes recordings from Livingston, Indiana; Raleigh, North Carolina; Oklahoma and other locations. Songs heard include "I'm Gwine to Texas", "Two White Horses", and a discussion of the blues by Woody Guthrie. You can read more specifics about the episode, including names of songs and singers in the show, at the Library of Congress website.

The Ballad Hunter - Pgm 1 - Cheynne, Wyoming

"The Ballad Hunter" was a series of ten radio programs syndicated by the Radio Research Project of the Library of Congress and was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1941.  The series features John Lomax presenting field recordings and discussing various forms of folk music from around the US.  It's a forerunner of the type of documentaries one might hear now on public radio stations.

In the first episode of the series, "Cheyenne, Wyoming", Lomax tells the story of talking with Teddy Roosevelt about writing a forward to his book on Western folk songs.  Heard in the program are field recordings of songs such as "Jesse James", "Sioux Indians" and "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie".  The matrix number of the side is MS 063263. More information on each program in the series is at the Library of Congress website.  It's one series I'm hoping to complete on original transcription pressings.