The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #95840   Message #1868539
Posted By: Artful Codger
25-Oct-06 - 03:42 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Excluded from 'Songs of the Cowboys'
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Excluded from 'Songs of the Cowboys'
The Fifes' additional material relates to these same songs, directly or as parodies or take-offs. I'm seeking unrelated songs.

Per Gardner, Lomax lifted from Songs of the Cowboys without acknowledging he had done so; in fact, Lomax said the songs had appeared "never before in print" and (spuriously) contended he hadn't seen a copy of Thorp's book until after the publication of his own collection. Thorp returned the favor in kind by failing to cite Lomax when incorporating material from Lomax's book.

A separate issue was Thorp's own failure to state his authorship of several texts in the original edition, notably, "Little Joe, the Wrangler". Consequently, they were republished by Lomax and others without attribution. Thorp was unable to successfully sue for royalties later, when various folks recorded these unattributed works. Lomax did properly credit Thorp in a later edition.

To reiterate my request: Has anyone found and copied incomplete songs which Thorp collected but never published? Also welcome would be songs he published later in various newspapers and magazines; he continued collecting throughout his life.