Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY
Series 30: MUSIC AND DANCE
Alan Lomax (1915-2002)
Elizabeth Harold Lomax (1917- 2010)
aka: Elizabeth Lyttleton Sturz (also Elizabeth Harold Goodman)
Visitors to PMSS 1937
Recordings by the Lomax Family, 1922-1960
of Pine Mountain Settlement School and
Harlan County singers and musicians
A fiddler on Cutshin.(Fiddler John Lewis, 1930s?) [mccullough_II_075a
ALAN and ELIZABETH LOMAX Visitors
Including a List of Recordings by the Lomax Family, 1922-1960
Aunt Molly Jackson, formerly of Clay County, Kentucky, and a sort of walking encyclopedia of the oral traditions of her people, recorded her singing biography for the Archive on some sixty-one records. Story led to song and song to story. There are representatives of every type of tune sung in the mountains–English ballads, feud ballads, banjo tunes, fiddle tunes, sacred tunes, love songs, etc., with an exhaustive discussion of each type by Aunt Molly, who can tell stories as well as she can sing.
[Source: Lomax, Alan, and Ronald D. Cohen. Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge: The Library of Congress Letters; 1935-1945. Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010. Print.]
For most of his life, Alan Lomax, an extraordinary collector, ethnomusicologist, musician, producer, writer, and lecturer, recorded 20th century folk music. More than 50 years of his work has been acquired by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
ALAN LOMAX: Visit to Eastern Kentucky and PMSS, 1937
In 1933, Alan, age 17, joined his father, John Lomax, a pioneering folklorist and author, on field trips to collect folk songs for the Library of Congress. This was the beginning of Alan’s experience in creating and collecting recordings, often making field trips across the United States, sometimes with his father and other times alone, until 1942.
One of the stops by Alan and his wife Elizabeth Lomax was at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County, Kentucky, in September and October 1937. With a disk recorder and camera in hand, he scoured the surrounding area of the School for ballads and other songs, and instrumentals.
Alan was directed to Abner Boggs in Harlan County and recorded a short list of songs from the talented keeper of culture. The following are some of the recorded ballads and songs captured by Lomax when he met with Abner Boggs:
Barbara Allen http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/450
Lolly Toodum http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/448
The Years Have Passed and Gone Away http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/570
The False Young Man (Part I) http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/451
The False Young Man Part II) http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/452
A Poor Orphan Left Alone http://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/571
The Lomax Kentucky Recordings in the Library of Congress holds recordings collected by Alan and his wife, Elizabeth, during the 1937 eastern Kentucky visit. “The collection includes folk songs, ballads, hymns, camp meeting songs, union songs, coal miners’ songs, blues, children’s songs, stories; banjo, harmonica, guitar, and dulcimer music; and a large number of fiddle tunes.”
ALAN LOMAX: Accomplishments, 1940s-1990s
Alan published many books, produced CBS radio shows, as well as other pioneer projects in order to introduce folk music and its legendary performers to a larger audience and expand its popularity.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army, programming folk music for the Office of War Information and the Armed Forces Radio Service. As a producer and host on BBC,he introduced folk music to servicemen and women.
After the war, he organized concerts for the People’s Songs organization in New York, and also worked for Decca Records and the Mutual Broadcasting Network on folk music projects.
In order to avoid the distraction of the political climate in the United States during the 1950s involving investigations of those with alleged Communist leanings, Alan Lomax moved to London, England. He continued his work there, recording European traditional music.
He returned to the United States in 1958 and began working with little-known traditional music, as well as music throughout the Caribbean. His recordings were released on the Atlantic and Prestige labels in the 1960s and the Round label in the 1990s, distributing his collections world wide.
At the same time he became increasingly interested in analyzing traditional music, and produced several books and documentary films based on the interaction of music, dance, and speech with other cultural features. Many more projects, including television programs, as well as honors and awards followed throughout the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s. He retired in 1996.
**********
Alan James Lomax was born in Austin, Texas on January 31, 1915, to John Avery Lomax and Bess Bauman (Brown) Lomax. He had three siblings, Shirley, John and Bess.
In 1930, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, and a year later, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He left Harvard in 1932 when his mother died and he could no longer afford attending school. Later, in 1936, he returned to the University of Texas where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.
Alan married Elizabeth Harold (born 1917 in Blanco, Texas) on February 16, 1937, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They were married for 12 years and had one child, Anne. Elizabeth assisted Alan in much of his work during that time. The couple divorced in 1949.
Alan’s second marriage was to Antoinette Marchand in the Carribean in 1961. They divorced in 1967.
He died on July 19, 2002, at the age of 87, in Pinellas County, Florida.
SELECTED RECORDINGS by the Lomax Family, 1922-1960
John Avery Lomax Sr. (1867-1948) and Ruby T. Lomax
Alan Lomax (1915-2002) and Elizabeth Lomax
The following is a partial list of recordings by the Lomax family during the years 1922 to 1960. The recordings were selected from a list compiled by staff at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
John and Ruby Lomax never came to Pine Mountain to record. However, their son, Alan Lomax and his wife, Elizabeth, arrived in 1937 to gather music from the area and made a trip to Pine Mountain Settlement School.
AFC 1935/002: John Lomax Southern States Collection, 1934-1935
Six hundred twenty-six 12-inch discs of church services, instrumentals, songs, and stories recorded in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., by John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax, Ruby T. Lomax, and Harold Spivacke, 1933-37. [catalog record]
AFS 73: One disc containing songs sung by Aunt Molly Jackson, of Clay County, Kentucky, recorded in Wilton, Connecticut, March 1935. (10 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4844 reel 6B)
AFS 74-75A; 76-77: Four discs containing songs performed by James Howard (with fiddle) and G. D. Vowell, recorded in Harlan, Kentucky, August 1933. (45 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4844 reels 6B-7A)
AFC 1937/001: Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lomax Kentucky Collection (1937)
Two hundred and twenty-eight 12-inch discs of songs and instrumentals recorded in eastern Kentucky by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax, September and October 1937. Includes performances by Boyd Asher of Hyden, Nora Bagley of Pine Mountain, Maynard Britton of Big Creek, Bill Bundy of Manchester, Tilman Cadle of Pineville, George Davis of Hazard, Jack Garland of Arjay, Jim Garland of Pineville, Munroe Gavedon of West Liberty, Mrs. Nell Hampton of Salyersville, Theophilus G. Hoskins of Hyden, James Howard of Harlan, J. M. Mullins of West Liberty, Mrs. Liza Pace of Hyden, W. M. Stepp of Salyersville, Luther Strong of Hazard, G. D. Vowell of Harlan, Clay Walters of Salyersville, and Walter Williams of Salyersville. (AFS 1374-1601) (32 hours; tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 101A-117A) [catalog record]
AFC 1948/003: Artus Moser Recordings
117 12-inch discs of ballads, songs and fiddle tunes recorded in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee by Artus M. Moser, 1942-46. Includes Jean Ritchie, Marcus Martin, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Maud Gentry Long.[catalog record]
AFS 7927-7944: Eighteen discs containing ballads, fiddle tunes, and songs primarily of Kentucky performers, recorded at the Renfro Valley Folk Festival in Renfro Valley, Kentucky, April 1946. Includes performances by Pleaz Mobley of Manchester and Jean Ritchie of Viper. (2 hours and 15 minutes; tape copy on LWO 5111 reels 75A-76B)
AFC 1951/019: Jean Ritchie recordings, May 1951
One 10-inch tape of songs sung by Jean Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky. Recorded at the Library of Congress by Herman Norwood, May 1951. (1 hour; LWO 1816) (AFS 10,089) [catalog record]
AFC 1951/020: Virgil Sturgill recordings, June 1951
One 10-inch tape of songs sung with dulcimer accompaniment by Virgil L. Sturgill, originally of Sutton’s Branch, Kentucky. Recorded at the Library of Congress by Herman Norwood, June 1951. (1 hour; LWO 1821) (AFS 10,095) [catalog record]
AFC 1952/015: Jean Ritchie and George Pickow Recordings
Three 7-inch tapes of songs and instrumentals recorded in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee by George Pickow and Jean Ritchie, 1950-51. [catalog record]
AFS 10,491: One tape containing songs and sermons of an Old Regular Baptist Church service recorded in Jeff, Kentucky, summer 1951. (1 hour; LWO 1922 reel 1; additional tape copy on LWO 8011 reel 46A)
AFS 10,492B: One tape containing banjo tunes and songs performed by Lee Sexton of Ulvah, Kentucky, summer 1951. (30 minutes; LWO 1922 reel 2B; additional tape copy on LWO 8011 reel 46B)
AFC 1960/006: John Cohen Folk Music of Kentucky Collection
Two 10-inch tapes of songs, instrumentals, and a church service recorded in Kentucky by John Cohen, 1958. Includes performances by Willie Chapman of Lothair, Bill Cornett of Hindman, James Crase of Bear Branch, George Davis of Hazard, Corbett Grigsby of Hazard, Martha Hall of Mason’s Creek, Roscoe Holcomb of Daisy, Lee Sexton of Ulvah, Mr. and Mrs. John Sams of Combs, Marion Sumner of Hazard, and Martin Young of Hazard. (AFS 11,710-11,711) (3 hours; LWO 2857- 2858) [catalog record]
AFC 1971/001: Eleanor Jean Bonar Collection of Songs from Iowa and Kentucky
Ten linear inches of manuscript pages of ballad texts, folk songs, popular songs, and poetry collected from family members (especially the Bonar-Batchelder family), friends, high school students, and published sources. Many are from the Appalachian Region, some songs were collected by Lona Counts at Berea College (Kentucky), recorded from oral tradition. Contributors from Iowa are the focus for the collection, as is shown on Bonar’s hand-drawn map. Most song texts date from 1930-1939, a scrapbook has clippings dated 1894-1954 with articles from the popular press by or about other folksong collectors, including John Jacob Niles, Jean Thomas, Helen Hartness Flanders, and George Korson, plus articles on temperance songs. A few items are song texts in family papers dated 1853-1874, and there are musical transcriptions of tunes for some of the songs. Also includes three pamphlets: “American Folk Lore Paul Bunyan Tales” / Charles E. Brown (Madison, Wisc.: State Historical Museum, 1922); “Mountain Ballads for Social Singing” / selected by James Watt Raine, music collected by Cecil J. Sharp (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1923); and “Little Studies in American Music for Home Project Groups and 4-H Girls’ Clubs” / Fannie R. Buchanan (Ames, Iowa: Iowa State College Extension Service, Nov. 1937). [catalog record]
AFC 1977/022: Richard Chase Appalachian Recordings
Twenty-one 10-inch, 10 12-inch discs, and 1 4-inch, 1 5-inch, and 5 7-inch tapes of songs and tales recorded in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia by Richard Chase and others, 1935-53. Richard Chase’s field recordings of Appalachian folklore and music. Ballads by Horton Barker and others, shape note and gospel singing, 19th c. sentimental and comic songs, tales, games and recitations recorded in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky. Also recordings of Chase and others in various non-folk performances.[catalog record]
AFS 19,041-19,047: Seven tapes containing ballads, instrumentals, and songs by Clarence Garrett recorded in Pleasant View, Kentucky, by Richard Chase, December 1945. (4 hours; LWO 9615 reels 1-7)
See Also:
Alan Lomax Biography – Lomax Family at the American Folklife Center, The Library of Congress.
Berea College Hutchins Library Database for material about and by the Lomaxes
PMSS Song Ballads and Other Songs 1923
Wells Record 14 PMSS Folk Songs and Dances 1913-1928
The Lomax Kentucky Recordings – A collection of field recordings made on Presto discs by Alan Lomax and his wife Elizabeth Lomax in eastern Kentucky in September and October 1937 for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. The collection includes folk songs, ballads, hymns, camp meeting songs, union songs, coal miners’ songs, blues, children’s songs, stories; banjo, harmonica, guitar, and dulcimer music; and a large number of fiddle tunes.
PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL
is represented by the Girl’s Octet 1936-38:
Ayres, Georgia
Ayers, Joan (Joanna)
Ayers, Ruby
Christian, Lela
Christian, Lucille
Christian, Ruth
Hall, Fern
NAN MILAN Student
COMMUNITY
Bagley (Begley), Nora
Boggs, Abner
Return To:
MUSIC and DANCE Guide
VISITORS Guide to Consultants, Guests, and Friends of PMSS
MUSIC PMSS Girls Octet 1936-38
|
Title |
ALAN LOMAX |
|
Alt. Title |
John Lomax ; Ruby Lomax ; Ruby T. Lomax ; John Avery Lomax Sr. ; Lomax Family ; |
|
Identifier |
https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=15571 |
|
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY |
|
Alt. Creator |
Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ; |
|
Subject Keyword |
Alan Lomax, Elizabeth Lomax, Pine Mountain Settlement School, John Avery Lomax Sr., Ruby T. Lomax, Aunt Molly Jackson, recordings by the Lomax Family, Richard Chase, Eleanor Jean Bonar, John Cohen, George Pickow, Jean Ritchie, Virgil Sturgill, Artus Moser |
|
Subject LCSH |
Lomax, Alan. |
|
Date |
2014-10-16 |
|
Publisher |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY |
|
Contributor |
n/a |
|
Type |
Collections ; text ; image ; |
|
Format |
Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet |
|
Source |
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Visitors to PMSS Series 30: MUSIC AND DANCE |
|
Language |
English |
|
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Visitors to PMSS ; Series 30: MUSIC AND DANCE ; |
|
Coverage Temporal |
1922-1960 |
|
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; |
|
Rights |
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
|
Donor |
n/a |
|
Description |
Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Alan and Elizabeth Lomax and the Lomax Family ; clippings, photographs, books by or about [Alan and Elizabeth Lomax and the Lomax Family; |
|
Acquisition |
n/d |
|
Citation |
“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Processed By |
Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ; |
|
Last Updated |
2014-10-16 hhw ; 2017-12-04 aae ; 2023-06-30 aae ; 07-09-2023 aae ; 02-01-2024 hhw ; |
|
Bibliography |
Sources “Alan James Lomax” Family Tree on familysearch.org. Accessed 01 July 2023. Internet resource. “Find A Grave Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKJ-DFD4 : accessed 01 July 2023), Alan Lomax, citing record ID 49629236, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. Internet resource. “United States 1950 Census”, database, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:6XTL-7X6X : Accessed 01 July 2023. Entry for Alan Lomax, 3 May 1950. Internet resource. Bibliography The Lomax Kentucky Recordings – A collection of field recordings made on Presto discs by Alan Lomax and his wife Elizabeth Lomax in eastern Kentucky in September and October 1937 for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. |
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