The Story Of American Folk Music 1

[@fraserbruce7916]

I have just published a book called ‘Tales of the Early Scottish Folk Club Scene’ (2022) and I have highlighted the importance to Scottish Folk Song of John Lomax, Charles Seeger, Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Alan Lomax. However, I go even further back to the 18th Century with the migration of the Ulster Scots leaving Northern Ireland to settle in the Appalachians, and other regions of America. They took with them many wonderful songs, but they were fairly serious and never accompanied by any instruments. These Ulster Scots were Presbyterians and only allowed Black people to attend church services if they stayed in their isolation. The Ulster Scots had never heard such harmony singing before and this crept in to their singing of old traditional Scots and Irish songs. The Black singers also accompanied themselves, mainly on banjo. There were Scots fiddlers but the banjo and, later, the guitar were new to them. Over the years the various folk styles developed around America. There were of course collectors who gathered the songs but John Lomax released his book in the early part of the 20th Century. What was happening in America had a huge influence on British Folk Song, especially when Alan Lomax arrived in England and met up with Ewan MacColl. MacColl opened the first folk club ever in 1953 in London. Alan Lomax came to Scotland in 1951 and met up with Hamish Henderson to record the songs of the North East of Scotland, and songs of the travelling folks (Gypsies). This started an interest in Traditional songs but this was followed by a small group of intellectuals. Folk Clubs were a new experience and the young folk loved them. But, folk song in Scotland only really took of in Scotland in the late 1950s when Lonnie Donegan started the Skiffle craze. Many of his songs were written by Lee Hays, Leadbelly and, of course, Woody Guthrie. The majority of folk songs being sung in the U.K. were coming from America. The Brits were even singing in American accents. My book explains much more. 354 pages of information gathered from people ‘who were there’ in the 1950s. www.fraserbruce.co.uk

[@bossfan49]

Since biopics are all the rage lately, I'll mention there were biopics made about both Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. The Leadbelly one is called "Leadbelly" (clever enough) and stars Roger E. Mosley ("T.C." from Magnum PI). The other is called "Bound For Glory" and stars David Carradine as Woody Guthrie. They were both made in '76 and although they're not great and much is fictionalized...they'll kill an afternoon.

[@isaacsunderland5403]

Woody Guthrie is the man! He reminds me so much of my Grandfather that lived on a small KS farm through the Great Depression. It's amazing how one musician can speak for an entire generation of men who worked for they everything.

[@lindabroussard7305]

Quel récit intéressant... bien entendu: l'évolution de la culture américaine est toujours intéressant. Merci pour partager cet histoire.

[@Brockspapa]

This is an interesting article in more ways than one. I love original American folk. Some of the best writing to ever occur in my opinion. Thanks for sharing friend.

[@logofthelex2668]

We've come a long way. Thank God for that!

[@TexRenner]

"It took me a while to learn to like music with the bark still on it." Tom Paxton I love that!

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

"... but he pulled through and made history," over an image of John Lomax. John Lomax was an important collector of folk music. But this reminds me some of those movies where a white hero shows up and motivates the kids at the inner-city school: they keep making those movies because white people keep going to them. Thomas Talley was black, three years younger than Lomax, and collected black folk songs in the 1880s that he published. Phil Jones was black and was singing the 12-bar "Got No More Home Than A Dog" "blues" as of about 1895, according to recollections of a black chronicler of various old black folk music, W.C. Handy. We understand how old the black folk songs "Funky Butt" and "The Bully" were and where they came from in part because of the interest of the researchers Zora Neale Hurston and James Weldon Johnson, who were black. We know that the concept of "blues" music existed as of 1910 because of a black-run newspaper. We know that "Stack-A-Lee" was being played in 1897 because of a different black-run newspaper. We know that "Frankie And Albert" was being sung in 1899 and by whom because of a black policeman who was interested in music and remembered, Lieut. Ira Cooper. The Georgia Folk Festival was black-run, and artists who were recorded there include Sidney Stripling, who was older than Leadbelly and played the African instrument the banjo because he was older than Leadbelly. John Work III of Tennessee was black and recorded historically important black folk musicians such as Frank Patterson. If Leadbelly had never recorded gasp we would have had to know "Green Corn" from Roy Brown (who was older than Leadbelly), "See See Rider" from Ma Rainey (who was older than Leadbelly), "John Hardy" from Bascom Lunsford (who was older than Leadbelly), etc., etc. Anyway, when John Lomax was in a position to hand over a federal-government-funded position researching folk songs over to someone else, he handed it over to a peer, Thomas Talley. No, I'm just kidding, he handed it to a son in his 20s, Alan.

[@brucewalks]

Joseph Scott i agree with you. it is also a fact that a.p. carter mostly paid for the gas, and his black associate collected and arranged the music later labeled 'carter family music'. so they tell me, anyway. is this 'roy brown' that you mention the r and b bandleader? it is hard to conceive of anybody older than leadbelly. thanks for posting.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

David Weinstock No, the black singer/guitarist Roy Brown who recorded old folk music he remembered was a different guy from the hitmaker singer/songwriter Roy Brown who helped invent rock and roll.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

+David Weinstock Leadbelly was pretty old, but blues guitarists who were older than Leadbelly and recorded include e.g. Daddy Stovepipe and Jimmie Strothers.

[@rickywagner6990]

Brazilian Atlantis the first folk tune is called “turkey in the straw” back when whites did mintsrels. America’s media just wants to give back to the black race bc they feel like we took from them when in fave there own race sold their own kind to us in the Atlantic slave trade.

[@hectorgreengo9385]

Brazilian Atlantis respect for noticing the bullshit. But lets just say youtube should have a friggin word limit. If ya catch my drift.

[@2000joec]

I just checked out your channel. you have a great channel. thanks so much for all the uploads.

[@thinmizzy365]

Leadbelly is King.

[@startervisions]

Yup

[@vadimkosyak]

great channel, thank you a lot

[@larrytindol550]

This would make a great movie idea for the Cohen brothers. A much needed re- telling to Americans & exposing its racial divisions

[@heavytube61]

Ahhhhhh Yes put me back in isolation so I can revert back to the music I grew up with, what kind of crap is that

[@poondaddy9992]

White peepole crap that's what!!!

[@hunteryoungblood649]

@@rickywagner6990 nah, thats white and black music. I dont know why blacks act like they made rap, they should appreciate the good music they made like blues

[@stacyblue1980]

@@poondaddy9992 Naw, man. Some of us grew up with this music. Genuine, honest American music. No "color". Just true music. l played guitar and harmonica and I played and sang old blues, old folk , bluegrass, old Irish tunes, etc. I adored jazz and I still do. Jazz was my first love. So it was not about being white or black. It was about having very little but having so much when you can sit and get lost in that music. I thank God I had very little because that lead to me sitting in a room alone playing for hours on end. I am alive and breathing today and I truly believe it is because I was a music fanatic. Jazz and Blues especially. Many of us never gave race any thought. It was our world. It was beautiful. man.

[@stacyblue1980]

@@hunteryoungblood649 Yes. Thank you. Bless you dear. Yes!

[@kelseyhannusch3229]

Yeah, I was thinking "oppress a group of people, wrongfully imprison them, take away what little rights they had, and if they make music it's because it's literally all they have left," might be more accurate...

[@Absolix05]

Leadbelly will always be an American legend.

[@reggieburkes4471]

I truly didn't know American folk and country music was black music.

[@thinkthankindonesia3137]

They are not Black Music....American Folk and Country/Bluegrass has traditional roots on English/Irish Folk music...but African Amercan influenced those music later after the slave trade especially country...the American Folk on this video are Blues, Jazz, N Roll, RnB and Soul..its different era..u should understand that the definition of American Folk music is vast...and clearly this video not talking about the very first American Folk music before the slave trade..

[@jimhodges1875]

The guitar was invented in Spain. Folk is world music.

[@hunteryoungblood649]

Folk and country not so much but the did heavily influence country and bluegrass with the banjo. They also made blues. Poor blacks in early 1900s and slaves in the 1800s sang folk songs while working.

[@b6pablo]

@@jimhodges1875 spain?? Check the paintings from 1350 bc in the egyptian tomb of nebamun.

[@montbrink4700]

@@thinkthankindonesia3137 country music is black music The Staple instrument used in bluegrass and Country Music which is the banjo is an African instrument

[@johnmchugh8049]

I love the trans Atlantic accent on the old footage

[@Jack-uz9li]

anyone know where part 2 is? Or what programme this is from?

[@corporalhenshaw]

Probably pulled by copyright holders. Such a shame, as there is some great footage there.

[@corporalhenshaw]

Try this kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4qvfpuViLiJqbc

[@Jack-uz9li]

@@corporalhenshaw Thanks but looks like it has been taken down. Thanks for the upload btw, really great doc!

[@Jack-uz9li]

more insight than most Ive seen

[@butterflybullet]

Video should be titled “The Story Of Leadbelly”. It’s more of a documentary about him than folk music.

[@corporalhenshaw]

Just the first episode.

[@kingfillins4117]

Folk music stated long before this. It goes back to Celtic music in Europe etc.

[@gavinhudson6389]

This video, while it offers brief commentary on the influence of a wealthy guy on a famous folk musician, can hardly be said to present the story of American folk music if it does not discuss the reasons why folk singers and the people they sing about have been marginalized, oppressed, and locked into the bottom of the rigid caste system they sing about. What the video really tells is the story of a rich representative of the ruling elite who lived very well off of other peoples' money until he lost it all, who then set off to exploit people at a lower rung of the socio-economic caste ladder of America. Quite possibly, he believed his intentions were noble. Oppressors love nothing so much as the belief that it is helping, or even saving, those whom it seeks to colonize. The belief in saving the very people being exploited is written throughout the history of empire. Take the American hegemony, as this is the cultural subject of this video. We could look to the American oil wars with the aim of "liberating Iraq" and protecting the world from "weapons of mass destruction" (that didn't exist, as it turned out), the US struggle to rescue Vietnam, Chile, Cambodia, and Venezuela (to name a very few) from the threat of allowing them to make their own political and land-management choices, the US massacres in the Philippines to protect Philippinos from their own unionized farmers, the farmers throughout Africa who are said to wait on American food aid because the destruction of their traditions has degraded sustainable lifestyles, a situation exacerbated by loans from the World Bank to literally buy into expensive and ill-suited American agricultural practices that have rapidly led to the death of their soils and predictably brought on famine just as they did during the American dust bowl. We could look toward American soils too and the farmers who have been given the chance to chase the American dream in the city when they are forced to sell their lands to banks after years of working two jobs just to be able to afford to keep feeding the nation, or the American miners who have be beaten back to work by the police, hired thugs, and even the military as during the West Virginia coal wars, to the striking workers who lose their jobs and their access to healthcare. We could look to the oppressed classes imprisoned in America and even still forced into unpaid (slave) labour. We could look to the ongoing duplicitous and systematic attempts at genocides of the many First Nations of the lands currently called America. All of these enterprises have been hailed at one time or another as the attempt of the fortunate to do a good turn for the less fortunate: improving humanity, feeding the hungry, saving souls, progressing civilization, liberating lands, and enforcing strict obedience to economic rationalism. As Vine Deloria Jr. wrote, "It has been said of missionaries -that when they arrived they had only the Book and we had the land; now we have the Book and they have the land. ... While the thrust of Christian missions was to save the indi­vidual Indian, its result was to shatter Indian societies and de­stroy the cohesiveness of the Indian communities." That's been more or less the effect across the board. It was true of the attempt to destroy the black community in the aerial bombing and burning of the Cobbs Creek neighborhood in Philadelphia in 1985 by the police, and it is true when we hear talking heads discuss "enforcement of law and order in the inner city" just as much as when we see the abandonment of rural communities as people are forced into crowded cities. It is what happens when people treat other people as capital, and not as people. It is what happens when the land and everything it supports are commoditized units of input into the engine of "unlimited" economic growth. Importantly to this video, that's also the story behind why a lot of folk music is written and sung. So, please, when we tell the story of the music that sings about oppression, let's focus please on the people who are being oppressed, how they are being oppressed, and why they are singing.

[@brediasantoro8369]

I appreciate the time you took to write this out. I was looking for something like this. Because of how the music industry is now, we often forget that music and art originally came from a place of expression, oppression and protest. Folk. Blues, Country, and Rock (and eventually Jazz) were outlets for marginalized and enslaved people to express themselves. It was not for fame, but for individualism. And in return, they experienced natural raw connection with one another, in the marginalized. This is what the wealthy men, slave owners, and opportunity seekers wanted. Not just their physical labor, but their emotional suffering as well. They wanted to trademark their pain for profit. And it worked. People felt the sorrow in the songs, and related to the words in their own ways. The genres of oppression being enjoyed by the oppressors. And its hard to admire the variations of those genres today without acknowledging where it came from, why people were singing these songs, and how we took advantage of their humanity.

[@RJT80]

This is where even a few hundred miles could play a huge difference. Plains cowboy songs are basic 6-string songs. The lyrics might or might not be added. Often they could be just as influenced by Mexican outlaw or European cowboy ballads. They have more of a history in French-English-Spanish roots. Overlooking the influences of any culture or race is just stupid. Not every bit of North American music came out of African slavery. The majority was a blending of influences. Elvis Presley would end up doing almost a 50/50 split.

[@johnalucard7860]

Grand father I mean.

[@romyosalas3973]

so folk music is black music?

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

romyo salas No, there's white folk music such as "Pretty Polly" and there's black non-folk music such as "Night In Tunisia."

[@romyosalas3973]

so folk music is not black music

[@thinkthankindonesia3137]

They are not Black Music....American Folk and Country/Bluegrass has traditional roots on English/Irish Folk music...but African Amercan influenced those music later after the slave trade...the American Folk on this video are Blues, Jazz, N Roll, RnB and Soul..its different era..u should understand that the definition of American Folk music is vast...and clearly this video not talking about the very first American Folk music before the slave trade..

[@thinkthankindonesia3137]

Early American Folk originated from Colonial Fletch and Revolutionary period originated in England, Scotland and Ireland and were brought over by early settlers. "Barbara Allen" remains a popular traditional ballad originating in England and Scotland, which immigrants introduced to the United States.[3] The murder ballad "Pretty Polly" is an American version of an earlier British song, "The Gosport Tragedy".[4]

[@thinkthankindonesia3137]

Shut Up Bitch!!! Early American Folk are English/Irish traditional music,,stop claiming cultures that not yours! African American also have their own version folk music and its very distinct from Early American Folk..

[@catdaddy3302]

There’s still real folk music in the Ozarks of Arkansas. You can find it in little churches. After church, they’ll go home and pull out a jug. 🙀😹

[@nolongeravailable1840]

Library of Congress didn't supply shiii...they could afford the latest equipment but we're Mia during the depression...I call bull.

[@garyechols9458]

Check out National Jukebox LOC.gov - Library of Congress, latest equipment doesn't play wax recordings.

[@moehammondmedia]

wow. her racist grandfather had a nerve to be offended. go figure.

[@1989TS..]

God. Bbc docs are always so biased.

[@JODYCARROLL]

So sick of Leadbelly.

[@johnalucard7860]

Did she really say negro ???? How old fashioned

[@stephen1137]

American folk music dimishes after 1865. The tawdry and regrettable malformations of music which were developed from then on are not "folk", but more like symptoms of a moral decline.

[@jdavid50]

Black people and Americans are not the same thing.