Field Recordings Volume 4: Mississippi & Alabama 1934-1942 (Document, 1997)

In the present malaise that the United States currently finds itself, almost every taxpayer-funded federal program has come under attack regardless of the critics' political persuasions. Socialism has always been a dirty word in my country despite the fact that the government has practiced it to one degree or another since at least the 1930s. Although our corrupt elected officials bear most of the blame for all the wasteful expenditures that are contributing to the humongous national debt, that does not mean every project financed with public money necessarily has to be a boondoggle. One of the best examples that supports my belief is the vast collection of folk music recordings collected for the Library of Congress primarily by John and Alan Lomax during the 1930s and early 1940s. That this monumental undertaking was achieved during the depths of the Great Depression and the difficult early days of US involvement in World War II makes it even more remarkable. While there are those who might question the economic return on this kind of project, there is no question that America - and the rest of the world for that matter - is aesthetically and culturally richer because of these audio documents. And when it's all said and done, these things that preserve our heritage are far more important than money ever will be.

"HUMOROUS" SIGN OUTSIDE OF PARCHMAN FARM, CIRCA MID 1960s

As its full title indicates, Field Recordings Volume 4 contains material gathered by the elder Lomax in Mississippi and Alabama during the years 1934, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, and 1942. Frank Jordan's "I'm Going to Leland," Jim Henry's "I Don't Mind the Weather if the Wind Don't Blow," and Big Joe Butler's "Diamond Joe" provide three more outstanding examples of the seemingly limitless number of unaccompanied vocal performances obtained from Parchman Farm, whereas "Old Cold 'Taters" by Lester Fairley, J.B. Thomas, Clyde Smith, and Theodore Smith and recorded at the Piney Woods School near Jackson, Mississippi sounds like a coon song done in the style of a gospel quartet. On the Eva Grace Boone tracks, which Tony Russell's booklet notes describe as "game songs and folk rhymes," she is backed by a group of children and their polyrhythmic hand-clapping. The recordings by Anne Williams and the (sister?) duo of Catherine and Christeen Shipp are in a similar vein and close out the set of material from Mississippi.

VERA HALL

Leading off the Alabama tracks, "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" by an unknown group of children more or less picks up where the preceding selections left off. The Blind Jesse Harris performances that were recorded in Livingston, however, are fascinating in spite of their limitations. The ancient-sounding songster is hardly a virtuoso on accordion, and the poor sound quality of the material does not exactly help matters. Nevertheless, there is something very moving about his singing voice. Although obviously compromised by the ravages of time, it still retains a salt-of-the-earth vitality in its ability to provide the listener with an opportunity to hear echoes from a distant past. Of all the tracks, I find "Spanish War" to be the most interesting since it's a rare recorded example of piece on the Spanish-American War, while bad-man ballads such as "Railroad Bill" and "Stagolee" in addition to other late-1800s/early-1900s songs including "Boll Weevil" and "Take a Whiff on Me" place Harris in similar company with Henry Thomas, Lead Belly, and other proto-bluesmen. The titles by Richard Amerson, Henry Hankins, the McDonald Family, the Doc Reed-Henry Reed-Vera Hall trio, Harriet McClintock, and Hettie Godfrey consist of wide-ranging examples of Alabamian a cappella traditions, including work songs ("Steamboat Days," "Ho Boy, Caincha Line?"), gospel music ("Down on Me," "Certainly Lord"), and even a lullaby ("Go to Sleep").

DISC-CUTTING MACHINE (ON LEFT) AND RECORDING EQUIPMENT
INSIDE OF THE LOMAXES' CUSTOMIZED CAR USED FOR FIELD RESEARCH

MISSISSIPPI
1. I'm Going to Leland - Frank Jordan
2. I Don't Mind the Weather if the Wind Don't Blow - Jim Henry
3. Diamond Joe - Big Charlie Butler
4. Old Cold 'Taters - Lester Fairley
5. We're Goin' Around the Mountain - Eva Grace Boone
6. Sissy in the Barn - Eva Grace Boone
7. Little Rose Lee - Eva Grace Boone
8. Old Lady Sittin' in the Dining Room - Eva Grace Boone
9. Little Sally Walker - Eva Grace Boone
10. All Around the Maypole - Eva Grace Boone
11. Ol' Uncle Rabbit - Katherine & Christeen Shipp
12. See-Lye Woman (Sea Lion) - Katherine & Christeen Shipp
13. Gwan Roun' Rabbit - Anne Williams
14. Satisfy - Anne Williams

ALABAMA
15. It Ain't Gonna Rain No More - Unidentified Group
16. Boll Weavil - Blind Jesse Harris
17. Railroad Bill - Blind Jesse Harris
18. Tilas Mack - Blind Jesse Harris
19. Stagolee - Blind Jesse Harris
20. Spanish War - Blind Jesse Harris
21. All the Friends I Got Is Gone - Blind Jesse Harris
22. Goin' to War - Blind Jesse Harris
23. Brady - Blind Jesse Harris
24. Sun Going to Shine in My Door Some Day - Blind Jesse Harris
25. Meridian Jail House - Blind Jesse Harris
26. Didn't He Ramble? - Blind Jesse Harris
27. Take a Whiff on Me - Blind Jesse Harris
28. Kansas City - Blind Jesse Harris
29. I'm Gwine to Texas - Richard Amerson
30. Steamboat Days (Steamboat-Loading Holler) - Richard Amerson
31. Ho Boy, Caincha Line? (Lining Track) - Henry Hankins
32. Rosie - The McDonald Family
33. Knock John Booker to de Low Ground - The McDonald Family
34. Trouble So Hard - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
35. Choose Yo Seat - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
36. Handwriting on the Wall - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
37. Another Man Done Gone - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
38. Boll Weavil Blues - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
39. Down on Me - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
40. Certainly, Lord - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
41. Job, Job - Doc Reed, Henry Reed, & Vera Hall
42. Poor Little Johnny - Harriet McClintock
43. Go to Sleep - Harriet McClintock
44. All Hid - Hettie Godfrey