26 Mar 04 - 08:14 AM (#1146599) Subject: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: GLoux Library of Congress Assembles Folk Music By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 24, 2004 Filed at 7:05 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Library of Congress has assembled the world's greatest array of American folk music, dance and stories by acquiring the collection of Alan Lomax, adding it to recordings made by his father, John Lomax, beginning more than 70 years ago. Alan Lomax died in 2002 at 87. He began working with his father when he was 18. ``If there'd been no Alan Lomax, there'd be no Paul Simon, no Carlos Santana, no Grateful Dead,'' said Mickey Hart, longtime Grateful Dead drummer. He is also a collector of folk music and a member of the board of the American Folklife Center, the library office in charge of the collection. Hart believes strongly that all music has a basis in tunes loved by ordinary people of each culture and is to be understood in relation to that culture. When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a set of variations to the tune of ``Twinkle, twinkle, little star'' he was working from a French song that has nothing to do with stars. It's about a child complaining that his father wants him to think like a grown-up instead of just eating candy. John Lomax took the initiative of recording such musicians as Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly,'' McKinley ``Muddy Waters'' Morganfield and David ``Honeyboy'' Edwards. He recorded hours of Woody Guthrie's songs and stories. ``Throughout the world,'' said singer Pete Seeger, ``folksong collectors tend to dig up old bones from one graveyard and put them into another graveyard -- their filing cabinets. But Alan Lomax and his father John wanted the American people to once again sing the wonderful old songs of this country which they never heard on the radio.'' There are 400,000 feet of movie film in the Alan Lomax collection, more than 5,000 hours of sounds, 2,450 videotapes, 2,000 books and academic journals and 40 yards of letters, scripts, notes, manuscripts. Alan Lomax founded the Association for Cultural Equity to foster his aim of preserving oral traditions, now directed by his daughter, Anna Lomax Wood. His collection was housed at its headquarters in New York's Hunter College. The library acquired it with an anonymous donation in an undisclosed amount." |
26 Mar 04 - 09:42 AM (#1146665) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: Stilly River Sage That wasn't acquired with chunk change! What a huge collection. Thanks for posting this. Now let the Lomax debate begin. . . |
26 Mar 04 - 10:03 AM (#1146678) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: Amos Why does this remind me of the villany in the Mudcat Enterprise thread?? Must be my Bush obsession! :>)) A |
26 Mar 04 - 11:28 AM (#1146759) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: dick greenhaus Does anyone know how this impacts Rounder's fine set of re-issues of the Lomax material? |
26 Mar 04 - 11:30 AM (#1146762) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: Backstage Manager(inactive) The Alan Lomax Collection has announced that Rounder will continue its work in reissuing the Collection. |
26 Mar 04 - 11:37 AM (#1146768) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: GUEST Reliable sources are saying the "anonymous donation in an undisclosed amount" came from the foundation of a "masked and anonymous" singer-songwriter who is frequently bashed by Mr. Greenhaus and other Mudcatters. |
26 Mar 04 - 11:50 AM (#1146779) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: GUEST Michael Jackson bought the Lomax collection for the LoC? |
26 Mar 04 - 06:33 PM (#1147078) Subject: RE: LoC Aquires Alan Lomax Collection From: Burke GO HERE for the full press release. |