Unrestricted research use on site. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.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.
Collection Citation:
Hazen Collection of Band Photographs and Ephemera, ca. 1818-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Tape recordings containing oral history and radio show recordings of country and western music, collected and produced by Dorothy Horstman.,Recordings include such musicians as Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Hank Snow, and Roy Acuff.
Scope and Contents note:
The Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show recording consist of 351 cassette audio tapes and 164 reel-to-reel audio tapes documenting her field research and radio shows dedicated to the creative process associated with the composers of Country and Western songs. Also included in her collection are 82 reel-to-reel audio tapes complied by Mrs. Horstman and her colleague Mr. Frank Mare. Mr. Mare is a microbiologist from New Jersey, currently residing in Covington, GA. In his free time he is an avid collector of Country and Western recording of the 1920s and 1930s, a music critic, a writer of liner notes, and an information guide to the Country and Western music genre.
The collection is organized into three series. Series 1 comprises the 351 cassette audio tape recordings of the oral history interviews that Mrs. Horstman conducted in the field. They contain the social history of the music, the creative process behind song writing for each artist or theme, and often include biographies and backgrounds of the individuals she interviewed. Series 2 contains 164 reel-to-reel audio tapes of Mrs. Horstman's WNYC radio shows. They trace the history and influence of the music, often using primary material from her interviews that no longer exist in other forms. The shows are devoted to individual artist, composers, or themes, and often include her own commentary and insight. Shows 113-127 are based on the chapters of Mrs. Horstman's book, Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy. Shows in this series without a playlist could not be listened to because of preservation reasons and therefore are unavailable for use. Series 3 comprises the 82 reel-to-reel audio tapes compiled by Frank Mare and Mrs. Horstman. They consist of tape recordings of songs that are in Mr. Mare's personal collection. They were made at the request of Mrs. Horstman as part of her research of the music and her personal
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 3 series.
Series 1: Oral history and field recordings, 1961-1999
Series 2: Radio show recordings, 1972-1977
Series 3: Frank Mare and miscellaneous recordings, 1959-1976
Biographical/Historical note:
Songwriter and Journalist Dorothy Horstman (1930-1999), began her love affair with Country and Western music early in life. She was born in Georgia, adopted and raised in Louisiana. She attended the University of Texas at Austin in the 1950s and became a registered nurse. In 1959 she married James Horstman and would later make her home in New York City, taking her love for Country and Western music with her. It is here that her interest in the creative process of song writing moved from a personal interest to one that would include a more public persona. Although never academically trained, Mrs. Horstman spent four decades between 1954-1999, conducting countless interviews with some of the most important artist and performers in Country and Western music. Following the example of Sigmund Spaeth, Dorothy left no door closed in her search for the facts and origin to a particular song. In the mid-1970s, she put her research to work in her own weekly WYNC radio show. Many will remember her signature opening of "Hello Country Fans. . ."
In 1975 Mrs. Horstman published her first book titled, Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy, in it she continued to work with the concept she originated known as song annotation or the process of learning the origin and inspiration of a song and its connection to the people.
Prior to her death in September 1999, Dorothy had just completed work on her second book titled, America's Best Loved Country Songs. It is being posthumously published.
Dorothy Horstman once wrote that "Country music is as American as mom's apple pie. . . (covering such values as) God, country, home, mother, good and evil, right and wrong." Spanning four decades the Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show recording collection portrays the astonishing range of this genre. Contained within it are such country legends as Jimmie Rodgers who, is not only known as the "Father of Country Music," but who also helped move country music from its hillbilly roots of instrumentals to its modern day vocal sound and style. Ernest Tubb, who throughout his fifty year career in the business helped some of country music's greats, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Pasty Cline, Charlie Walker, and Hank Snow get their start. Roy Acuff once named the "King of Country Music" by baseball great Dizzy Dean, who along with Fred Rose formed Acuff-Rose Publications, Nashville's first country music publishing company. And the Carter Family, also known as the "first family of country music," who blended tradition songs and lyrics with their own musical and vocal techniques to help put country music on the map during the 1930s.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Madi and Fritz Horstman, 2000.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and access to user copies of tapes, on site by appointment.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Fritzi and Madi Horstman retain all rights to these recordings. Contact the Archives Center for more information.
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, October 10, 1980.
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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Lily Mae Ledford--Ain't gonna work tomorrow--How many biscuits can you eat--Little birdie--East Virginia blues; Ear Scruggs Revue--instr.--T for Texas--Billy in the lowground--Country comfort--Foggy Mountain breakdown
Track Information:
101 Old Time Banjo / Lily May Ledford. Banjo.
102 Country Musicians / Earl Scruggs. Banjo.
103 Country Musicians / John Hartford. Banjo.
General note:
DPA number 71.101.2
Local Numbers:
FP-1971-10RR-0002
General:
Lily Mae Ledford was a member of the legendary Coon Creek Girls.- CDR copy
71.101.02
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, July 2, 1971.
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.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
Complementing the 1971 Festival's three thematic programs, a Main Stage featured performances introducing the diversity of American musical traditions and drawing together participants from each of the other programs. Highlights of the Main Stage programming included a Roots of Rock concert exploring the tributaries that shaped contemporary rock music; a New Music in the New World concert tracing the diversity of music for the five-string banjo and diverse ensemble traditions of African, French and Spanish origin; and a Hootenany that included a labor songfest and a blues and soul dance. Throughout the day, similar presentations offered the chance to experience diverse forms of contemporary traditional music and to compare related traditions from two or more of the Festival's programs.
In addition to the participants who performed primarily on the Main Stage and are listed below, others are listed in the specific program with which each was primarily associated. Audio recordings of concerts that took place on the Main Stage are shown below.
Participants:
Ardoin Family, Cajun musicians, Louisiana
Areyto Folklife Company of Puerto Rico -- Areyto Folklife Company of Puerto RicoIrene Jimenez de McLean, artistic directorBlanca Rosa Cordova, dancerEmilio Agait, dancerEster Ayala, dancerTito Ayala, dancerElba Cantellops, dancerPetra Cepeda, dancerRoberto Cepeda, dancerMarcos Garcia, dancerJose S. Hernandez, dancerLuis E. Jimenez, dancerJose Morales, dancerRafael Morales, dancerRosario Pacheco, dancerEdna Pesquera, dancerLeslie Margarita Rivera, dancerEduardo Sloan, dancerRafael Cepeda, singerMarta Cuadrado, singerCarlos Cepeda, musicianJesus Cepeda, musicianJaime Pena, musicianPilar Quiles, musicianJuan Santana, musicianHerminio Serrano, musicianAntonio Frontera, technical directorVance H. McLean, coordinatorDr. Francisco Lopez Cruz, musical director
Randy Scruggs, 1953-, bluegrass musician, Tennessee
Johnny Shines, 1915-1992, blues band, Alabama
Bob Siggins, bluegrass musician, Massachusetts
Houston Stackhouse, 1910-1980, blues, Tennessee
Steel Band, Caribbean musicians, Virgin Islands
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, 1936-2007, Sioux country singer, South Dakota
Bill Williams, 1897-1973, country blues, Kentucky
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. at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
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: 1971 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
During the 1974 Festival, the Regional America program featuring Mississippi took place only during the first week (July 3-7, 1974). A Festival Stage presented Mississippi musicians during that week, alongside performers from other programs. During the two down days (July 8 and 9, 1974) and the Festival's second week, in addition to cross-Festival presentations, the Festival Stage hosted a program devoted to the "Evolution of American Folk Music". That program sought to trace the hidden or lost connection between "down home" music and the professional music that evolved from it. It focused on four traditions of folk music and several styles of more popular music descended from the older forms. Two of the traditions were considered familiar to many people who visit folk festivals - black music and white country music. The two other traditions had not theretofore been presented with the same attention - the music of the French-speaking Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana, and the music of Spanish-speaking Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican Americans from New York and Texas. These presentations featured the music that people make at home for their own enjoyment, and the music that developed as these people and their students began making music outside their homes for the entertainment of the public.
The program was coordinated by Frank Proschan and James Rooney. Substantial financial support came from the Music Performance Trust Funds.
Participants:
Barry Jean Ancelet, 1951-, M.C., Cajun program
Ardoin Family, Cajun musicians
Bata Players, Afro-Cuban drummers
Balfa Brothers, Cajun musicians
Inez Catalan, 1913-1994, Cajun ballad singer
Sam Chatmon, 1899-1983, blues guitarist, Hollandale, Mississippi
Clifton Chenier, 1925-1987, Cajun blues band
Wilma Lee Cooper (1921-2011) and Stony Cooper (1918-1977) & the Clinch Mountain Clan, Grand Ole Opry country musicians
Corozo Group, Puerto Rican popular musicians
Dorina Gonzalez, Mexican-American singer
Josh Graves, 1927-2006, Dobro instrumentalist
El Grupo Afro Folklorico Nuevo Yorquino, Latin folklore group
Esteban Jordan, 1938-, Chicano folklore group
Key West Junknoos, Junknoos band
Manuel Liscano, Mexican-American cantina singer
Tex Logan, 1927-2015, country fiddler
René López, M.C., Cuban/Puerto Rican program
Jimmy C. Newman, Cajun country singer
La Patato, Cuban street musicians
Rev. Leon Pinson, 1919-1998, gospel singer and guitarist, Cleveland, Mississippi
Lonnie Lee Pitchford, 1955-1998, one-string player and guitarist, Lexington, Mississippi
Christine Rainey and the Ensemble Sacred Singers, holiness singers, Jackson, Mississippi
José Reyna, M.C., Mexican-American program
James Talley, 1944-, Southwest country singer
Joe Townsend & Jesse Mays, gospel singer and guitarist, Independence, Mississippi
Lupe Valenti, Mexican-American mariachi singer
Speedy West (1924-2003) Swing Band, western swing band
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: 1974 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.