Field notes, manuscripts, photographs, booking contracts, correspondence, personal papers, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, interviews, and other research materials primarily relating to the history of American blues music. Collection documents the lives of significant blues musicians Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Mance Lipscomb; insight into the life, writings, and research practices of Robert "Mack" McCormick; and the business side of recording and selling the blues.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the life, writings, research practices, and business activities of blues scholar Robert "Mack" Burton McCormick who came to serve as a leading authority on the genre. Personal papers include diaries, curriculum vitae, biographical sketches, school papers, employment documents, correspondence, financial records, and an interview transcript. McCormick's writings consist of published magazine and journal articles, plays, essays, television scripts, short stories, and album liner notes. There are complete unpublished manuscripts, drafts with notes and research materials, and ideas for future work. McCormick's research practices and subjects of interest are documented in correspondence, field notes, annotated maps, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, city directories, interviews, photographic prints, negatives, slides, and contact sheets. American blues, Texas blues, and the music of significant blues artists, who McCormick served as an agent and manager for, dominated his extensive research efforts. In addition, the collection documents the recording, distribution and sale, and identification of consumer markets for American music in correspondence, contracts, agreements, music journals, publicity and promotional materials, music manuscripts, and interviews.
Throughout the collection preservation measures were performed to ensure long term use of the materials. Newspaper clippings were photocopied, and the originals were discarded. Audio cassette tapes have been reformatted and the digital copies will soon be available for research use.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into fifteen series.
Series 1: Photographic Negatives, Photographs and Slides, 1959-1998, undated
Subseries 1.1: Photographic Negatives and Contact Sheets, 1967-1977, undated
Subseries 1.2: Photographs, 1959-1998, undated
Subseries 1.3: Photographs, Texas Blues (TB), 1961-1964, undated
Subseries 2.11: Business Records, 1941-2006, undated
Series 3: Project Files, 1960-2003, undated
Subseries 3.1: Library of Congress, 1960-1964
Subseries 3.2: Newport Folk Festival, 1965-1969
Subseries 3.3: Hemisfair, 1968
Subseries 3.4: Smithsonian Institution, Festival of American Folklife 1966-1980, undated
Subseries 3.5: Other Blues Project, 2001-2003, undated
Series 4: Manuscripts and Writings, 1952-2015, undated
Subseries 4.1: Almost A Savage Joy, 1959-1980
Subseries 4.2: Another Fine Mess, 1981-1987, undated
Subseries 4.3: Blues: A New Look, 1965-1984, undated
Subseries 4.4: Blues Odyssey, 1971, undated
Subseries 4.5: Death and Tragedy, 1975-1980, undated
Subseries 4.6: Down in Texas Blues, undated
Subseries 4.7: Folk Songs of Men, 1952-1977, undated
Subseries 4.8: Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, 1958-1976, undated
Subseries 4.9: Henry Thomas, 1975-2002, undated
Subseries 4.10: Ira, George, Edward, and Lee, 1994, undated
Subseries 4.11: The Magic Room, 1961-1962, undated
Subseries 4.12: Origin of Blues, 1991-2004, undated
Subseries 4.13: Snake in the Belly, 1956-1957, undated
Subseries 4.14: Wiley, 1957-1984, undated
Subseries 4.15: Articles, Ideas and Drafts, 1961-2004, undated
Series 5: Artist Files, 1880-2010, undated
Series 6: Texas Blues Research, 1858-2011, undated
Subseries 6.1: Texas Blues Research, 1910-2010, undated
Subseries 6.2: Lead Files, 1962-1980, undated
Subseries 6.3: Trip Notes, 1960-1989, undated
Subseries 6.4: Song Histories, 1920-1982, undated
Subseries 6.5: Music, 1928-2011, undated
Subseries 6.6: Record Catalogs, 1963-2006, undated
Subseries 6.7: Maps, 1958-1989, undated
Series 7: Robert Johnson, 1910-2015, undated
Subseries 7.1: Research Materials, 1910-2015, undated
Subseries 7.2: Who Killed Robert Johnson Manuscript, 1955-2015, undated
Series 8: Office Files, 1938-2000, undated
Series 9: Correspondence, 1959-2015, undated
Series 10: Organizations, Groups and Buffs, 1961-2003, undated
Series 11: Festivals and Living Museums, 1960-2003, undated
Series 12: Music Journals, 1971-2006, undated
Series 13: Subject Files, 1896-2015, undated
Series 14: People Files, 1928-2014, undated
Series 15: Audio Cassette Tapes and Digital Files, 1941-2007, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Burton "Mack" McCormick (August 3, 1930-November 18, 2015) was a self-taught folklorist who spent a lifetime researching, collecting, and writing about vernacular music in the United States. Most of his work focused on the blues and other musical traditions of Black, brown, and white communities living throughout Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. After experiencing a difficult, transient childhood and eventually dropping out of high school, McCormick settled in Houston, Texas and began to work a series of odd jobs while relentlessly pursuing his goal of becoming a successful writer. Although researching and writing about music came to occupy most of his time, he also pursued passions as a screenwriter and novelist. The volume of historical research and personal interviews he conducted from the 1950s through the early 1970s is remarkable, and his published writings during this period about music and the musicians he doggedly studied were lauded by his peers as among the best in the field. Along the way he worked for a time as a manager for the careers of the Texas songsters Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, and briefly ran his own record label. He made hundreds of hours of field recordings with musicians living throughout the South. He collaborated with colleagues such as Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records, and Paul Oliver, with whom McCormick spent over a decade researching and writing a manuscript on the history of Texas Blues. Beginning in the late 1960s, he was contracted by the Smithsonian Institution as a field worker for its annual Festival of American Folklife, and around the same time began researching the life of blues legend Robert Johnson for a manuscript that McCormick wrote and re-wrote but failed to publish in his lifetime.
McCormick's research, along with his personal archive, became the stuff of legend among fellow blues researchers and enthusiasts, particularly after his publishing output dwindled in the 1970s. He lived with a bipolar disorder that drew him into bouts of depression and paranoia. He came to distrust many of those colleagues working most closely with him, and sometimes shared untrue information to throw them off the trail of his research discoveries. He also "borrowed" heirloom photographs from the family members and descendants of blues artists and, in several cases documented in this collection, he refused to return them. Overcome with challenges that lay both within and without his control, he came to describe the massive archive in his Houston, Texas home as "the monster," and spent his final decades attempting with little success to publish his writings.
Related Materials:
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
W. C. Handy Collection, NMAH.AC.0132
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 3, African American Music, NMAH.AC.0300
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 16: Country, Western, and Folk Music, NMAH.AC.0300
Duke Ellington Collection, NMAH.AC.0301
Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints, NMAH.AC.0389
Program in African American Culture Collection, NMAH.AC.0408
Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, NMAH.AC.0415
Alan Strauber Photoprints, 1990-1994, 1999, NMAH.AC.0517
Jonas Bernholm Rhythm and Blues Collection, NMAH.AC.0551
Ray McKinley Music and Ephemera, NMAH.AC.0635
Bluestime Power Hour Videotapes, NMAH.AC.0657
Edward and Gaye Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, NMAH.AC.0704
Bill Holman Collection, NMAH.AC.0733
Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Arrangements, NMAH.AC.0740
Harry Warren Papers, NMAH.AC.0750
Benny Carter Collection, NMAH.AC.0757
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews, NMAH.AC.0766
Fletcher and Horace Henderson Collection, NMAH.AC.0797
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection, NMAH.AC.0808
William Russo Music and Personal Papers, NMAH.AC.0845
Milt Gabler Papers, NMAH.AC.0849
Leonard and Mary Gaskin Papers, NMAH.AC.0900
Bobby Tucker Papers, NMAH.AC.1141
Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, NMAH.AC1222
Duncan Schiedt Jazz Collection, NMAH.AC1323
Maceo Jefferson Papers, NMAH.AC1370
Jazz and Big Band Collection, 1927-1966, NMAH.AC.1388
Nick Reynolds Kingston Trio Papers, NMAH.AC.1472
McIntire Family Hawaiian Entertainers Collection, NMAH.AC.1511
Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, NMAH.AC.1512
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Arhoolie Business Records and Audio Recordings, 1960-2016, CFCH.ARHO
Moses and Frances Asch Collection, 1926-1986, CFCH.ASCH
National Museum of American History's Division of Culture and the Arts
Artifacts acquired as part of the collection include:
Washburn style G guitar, serial number 46472, Accession number 2019.0234.01.
Set of quills (or panpipes) made and played by blues artist Joe Patterson. Accession number 2019.0234.02.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Audio recordings acquired as part of the collection are listed in The Guide to the Mack McCormick Audio Tapes Collection prepared by Jeff Place, 2020-2022.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Susannah Nix to the Archives Center in 2019.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to original materials in boxes 76-80 is prohibited. Researchers must use digital copies.
Additional materials have been removed from public access pending investigation under the Smithsonian Institution's Ethical Returns and Shared Stewardship Policy.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
2.ACT-1092-103 Lord Invader "Happy Land of Canaan" (2 takes) 3.ACT-1092-105 Lord Invader "Where Jonah Gone" 5.ACT-1092-106 Lord Invader "10,000 to Bar Me None" 6. ACT-1092-107 Lord Invader "When You Hear I Die" 7. ACT-838 Lord Invader "Jackie Robinson" 8. ACT-319 Sam Manning "Poor Me" 9. ACT-507 segment of People's Hoot radio program Lord Invader "Matilda" 10. ACT-507-101 Pete Seeger' "Little Black Bull" 11. ACT-689 Lord Invader "Brown Girl in the Ring" 12. ACT-1881 Lord Invader "Mama My Stomach Offend Me" 13. ACT-876 Lord Invader :Labor Day Carnival" 14. ACT-856 Lord Invader "When You Hear I Die" 15. ACT-2546-101 Lord Invader "Pepsi Cola" 16. ACT-2546-102 Lord Invader "Instrumental" 17. ACT-2115-101 Lord Invader "Tongue-Tied Baby" 18. ACT-2115-102 Lord Beginner "Nora, War is Over" 19. ACT-2892 MacBeth "Melda" 20. ACT-3176 Johnny Walker "Argos Paper" 78s dubbed from Dick Spottswood: 21. Victor 80288 Felix Gonzales Orchestra "Cabaniguan den el Progresso" 22. Victor 46333 Sexteto Habanero "Preludios de Godinez" 23. Bluebird 2249 Lydia Mendoza "Lidya-Guapango, Vivre Para Ti 24. Bluebird 2474 Lydia Mendoza "Margarita, Margarita
Track Information:
102 Happy Land of Canaan (ACT-1092) / Lord Invader.
104 Where Jonah Gone (ACT-1092) / Lord Invader.
105 10000 to Bar Me One (ACT-1092) / Lord Invader.
106 When You Hear I Die (ACT-1092) / Lord Invader.
107 Jackie Robinson (ACT-838) / Lord Invader.
108 Poor Me (ACT-319) / Sam Manning.
109 Matilda (ACT-507) / Lord Invader.
110 Little Black Bull, The (ACT-507) / Pete Seeger. Banjo. English language.
111 Brown Girl in the Ring (ACT-689) / Lord Invader.
112 Injection (Mama My Stomach Offend Me)(ACT-1881) / Lord Invader.
113 Labor Day Carnival (ACT-876) / Lord Invader.
114 When You Hear I Die (ACT-856) / Lord Invader.
115 Pepsi-Cola (ACT-2546) / Lord Invader.
116 Calypso Dance (ACT-2546) / Lord Invader.
117 Tie-Tongued Baby (ACT-2115) / Lord Invader.
118 Nora, War is Over (ACT-2115) / Lord Beginner.
119 Let Me Go, Melda (ACT-2892) / Macbeth the Great.
120 Argos Paper (ACT-3176) / Johnny Walker.
121 Cabaniguan den el Progresso / Felix Gonzalez.
122 Preludios de Godinez / Sexteto Habanero.
123 Lidya-Guapango, Vivre Para Ti / Lydia Mendoza. Spanish language.
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only..
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
117 Quejas de Zenaida, Las (Zenaida's Complaints) / Andrés Berlanga. Bajo sexto.
118 Camioncito Pasajero (The Little Bus) / Conjunto Tamaulipas. Accordion.
119 Al Pie de la Tumba (By Your Tomb) / Conjunto Tamaulipas. Accordion.
120 Troquero, El (The Truck Driver) / Conjunto Tamaulipas. Accordion.
121 En Cada Vida Hay Un Momento (In Everyone's Life There Is a Moment) / Leo Garza, Noe Rocha. Accordion,Bajo sexto,Bass,Drum.
122 Quiero Que Sepas (I Want You to Know) / Chavela Ortiz, Raymond Flores. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
123 Besos y Copas (Kisses and Drinks) / Chavela Ortiz, Brown Express (Musical group). Accordion,Bajo sexto.
124 Nubes, Las (The Clouds) / Familia (Musical group), Little Joe & La Familia, Little Joe Hernandez. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
Local Numbers:
Arhoolie.425; Arhoolie.3015
FP-ARH-CD-425
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
1994 El Cerrito, California Arhoolie
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only; No Duplication.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
126 El Chicano / Nortenos de Nuevo Laredo (Musical group). Accordion,Fiddle,Guitar.
Local Numbers:
FP-ARH-CD-7001
Folklyric.7001
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
1994 El Cerrito, California Folklyric
General:
Previously released as 78- or 45-rpm recordings. Originally issued as compact disc. Program notes and English translations of texts (35 p. : ports.) inserted in container.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only; No Duplication.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Mi Unico Camino / Conjunto Bernal. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
102 La Cuquita / Narciso Martínez. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
103 Feliz Sin Ti / Lydia Mendoza.
104 Cuatro o Cinco / Tony de la Rosa. Accordion.
105 Ausensia / Narciso Martínez. Accordion.
106 Por Tu Ausensia / Carmen y Laura.
107 Mi Pecosita / Beto Villa. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
108 Gregorio Cortez / Maya y Cantu. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
109 Recuerdo Quedo, Un / Trio San Antonio. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
110 Tres Consejos / Hermanas Mendoza. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
111 La Primavera / Juan Lopez. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
112 La Tijerita / Juan Lopez. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
113 Mujer Hermosa / Valerio Longoria. Accordion.
114 Pensamiento / Conjunto Bernal. Bajo sexto,Accordion.
115 Qiereme Vidita / Chelo Silva.
116 Pachuca Blues / Beto Villa. Accordion.
117 La Novia Antonia / Conjunto Bernal.
118 Corina, Corina / Freddie Fender. Guitar.
119 Que Mala / Shades (Rock music group). Bajo sexto,Accordion.
120 Corazon del Pueblo / Isidro Lopez. Accordion.
121 Tarde Pa' Arrepentirnos / Isidro Lopez. Accordion,Saxophone.
122 Porque me Abandonas / Agapito Zúñiga. Accordion.
123 Tu Destino / Lydia Mendoza. Accordion,Twelve string guitar.
124 Nubes, Las / Wally Almendarez. Accordion.
Local Numbers:
FP-ARH-CD-0013-7
FLP.122427
FLP.122427 ;.Arhoolie.341
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
El Cerrito, California Arhoolie 1991
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Texas, United States.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Conjunto Music Workshop / Jose Maldonado, Juan Antonio Tapia, Silvestro Amadeo Flores. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
102 Native Traditions / Jose Guadalupe Aleja Bautista, Marta Cruz Moreno.
101 Conjunto Music / Flores, Amadeo y su Conjunto. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
Local Numbers:
FP-1998-CT-0223-7
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 1, 1998.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Conjunto Music / Flores, Amadeo y su Conjunto. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
102 Rio Conversations / Marta Cruz Moreno.
Local Numbers:
FP-1998-CT-0225-7
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 1, 1998.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
101 Culture, Local Development Projects / Dolores Venegas, Jose Isabel Quiroz Garcia.
102 Art Traditions / Clemente Zamarippa, Juan Estevan Arellano, Luis Roman.
103 Conjunto Music / Flores, Amadeo y su Conjunto. Accordion,Bajo sexto.
Local Numbers:
FP-1998-CT-0226-7
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 2, 1998.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
