Tuesday 27 July 2010

Alan Lomax Archive

I noticed in the Independent today there is an article on how the Alan Lomax archive is starting to filter through on to YouTube. For the uninitiated Lomax was a great collector of folk, blues, country, and other world music. He travelled across the US in the 30's and 40's, recording artists, and then moved on to Europe in the 50's. If you have ever listened to Moby's Play album then you will have heard Alan Lomax samples. The American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress acquired the Lomax collection in 2004. He was the first to record Leadbelly and Muddy Waters, and also recorded people such as Jelly Roll Morton and Woody Guthrie.

Between 1978 and 1985 he also travelled through the south and southwest of the US, recording for PBS. It is some of this footage that you can now find on a special channel on YouTube.

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