Alan Lomax Essay
John Lomax and Alan Lomax collected, published and disseminated folk music and blues during the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. Discuss the importance of this work to modern popular music.
Alan Lomax was known to be a legendary collector of folk music. A highly educated musicologist, he can truly be seen as a sort of pioneer in the recording and discovering of music. Put under the early apprenticeship of John Lomax, his father, he began a career travelling the southern states. Although they were both at great risks from white supremacists due to the attittude towards African-Americans at that time, they persevered to record every blues great they could find. It was through them that many great artists, such as Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Muddy …show more content…
Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Son House and many others, were discovered. By the time Alan Lomax died he personally had 5000 hours of recordings as well as the ones already in the Library of Congress. Their combined contribution to the Blues archive will never be overestimated as if they had not done their travels, most of these blues artists would never have been found. These two men are also known to have discovered many types of blues such as, Chicago blues, Country blues, Gospel blues, Delta blues, Memphis blues and many others. All of these types were extensively documented and recorded by John and Alan Lomax.
Alan Lomax believed that all music needed to be recorded and photographed so that it could be preserved and studied. As well as that, he also produced recordings, concerts and radio shows in the US and England, which both played an incredibly important role in the revival of both brattish and american folk music in the 1950’s. In one of his books, ‘The Land Where the Blues Began’, he gives an extremely vivid explanation of the working slave music. “The style of these solo, unaccompanied, idiosyncratic, melancholic holler runs directly counter to the mainstream of black song in the South and generally round the Caribbean, where song is for the most part on-beat, wrist, merry, sensuous, integrated, choralizing and accompanied, if not by drums or some other instrument, at least by hand clapping and/or foot stomping.” In this we can see that he truly does believe that it needs to be documented down to every last detail.
One influential artists founded by Lomax was Lead Belly. In 1930, whilst in prison on murder charges, he was discovered by Alan Lomax and his father. After that, due to his perceived talent, they proceeded to record him using professional equipment to be documented for the archives of the Library of Congress. This opened the floodgates, as they recorded hundreds of songs with Lead Belly, which eventually, some say, helped lead to his early release from prison after a petition sent with a recording of his most famous song’ Goodbye Irene’. Although he did not sell many of his records he still gained widespread coverage from white audiences throughout the states. As well as that, large amounts of his songs have been covered by hundreds of modern rock bands. Many modern bands owe their sound to Lead Belly, and most rock bands have covered their songs and owe their influences to him. some of these bands include greats such as Frank Sinatra, Led Zeppelin, Ry Cooder, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Many bands such as these attribute their playing and singing styles to blues influences, especially the british blues explosion of the 1960’s initiated by the great Muddy Waters. Blues was essentially the birth of Rock and Roll, and without the Lomax’s, there would be significantly less of it.
Muddy Waters is by far one of the most well known names throughout blues and music history.
Also considered the ‘father of modern Chicago blues’, he inspired the outbreak of the British blues in the 1960’s. He started off in a humble town in Mississippi, working on a farm. By 17 years old he was playing at parties, imitating blues greats Robert Johnson and Son House. He was discovered by Alan Lomax in 1941 when he was sent to Mississippi in order to record country blues musicians of the archives. Him and his wife stumbled across Muddy Waters and set up their equipment in order to record him. This lead to him moving to Chicago in order to expand his music career. After being given an electric guitar by his uncle he began to play widely around the city. Although he was immersed in Delta blues as he grew up, hits like “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” helped him become an iconic Chicago blues artist. He created his own sound, which could be considered Mississippi blues with an edge of chicago blues to it. He then began making recordings with companies such as Colombia Records and Aristocrat Records, and landed a deal with Aristocrat. Although, much like Lead Belly, his records did not receive much attention despite the widespread white audiences. After launching with Chess records, by the 1950’s Muddy Waters had risen to full fame. His bands recordings had become increasingly popular throughout the states, and throughout the northern states, and soon after that, when he brought …show more content…
his sound to England, that his fame truly exploded. He had caught the attention of the rock community by storm and become an international prodigy. He then went on to play with numerous rock and roll stars throughout the 60’s and 70’s such as Eric Clapton. Throughout his years he ended up having four of his songs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and he also reviewed 5 grammy awards. It is safe to say that without Alan Lomax, the world would be lacking one of the greatest musicians of all time. During an interview with Clapton recently, when he was looking back to his blues origins, he lists Muddy Waters’ playing as acting as his milestone. “Muddy was there at a time when, really, the music was getting to me. I was really trying to grasp it and make something out of it.”
Other influential artists that were recorded by Alan Lomax include Son House, Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie.
Son House, known for his slide guitar playing and his Mississippi Delta blues style of singing, he was asked to record for the Library of Congress by Alan Lomax in 1941. This was during the Great Depression, so record sales were not doing well and he remained famous locally. Due to the recordings made for the Library of Congress, he was rediscovered in 1964 and enjoyed the remainder of his music career playing to largely white audiences and folk festivals. Woody Guthrie, on the other hand, arrived in New York without any experience, and was embraced by the folk music community. He made his first recordings with Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress, as well as his first album, Dust Bowl Ballads. This was the beginning of his music career, and due to the fact that there is now a Woody Guthrie Folk Festival held annually, it is safe to say that he was a large influence on folk music and without the help of Alan Lomax, would have struggled to launch his music
career.
One of the main reasons the work of John and Alan Lomax was so important was that without it, so many of these blues artist would never have been recorded, and therefore their inlufence would never have been passed down which would in itself have erased the creation of many of the worlds most influential rock bands, and the famous magazine name, ‘Rolling Stone’ would never have existed. On the other hand, it could be said that would Alan Lomax and his father did were just a waste of resources and money. This can be seen when the Library of Congress cut their funding at one point. John Lomax can even be said to have just been a failed banker. However I do believe that without their recordings of the thousands of Blues men in the southern states during that time, none of them had any chance of being discovered otherwise, and without that many of todays musical influences would be gone.
Bibliography:
http://www.biography.com/people/muddy-waters-9525002#chicago-and-mainstream-success
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muddy_Waters
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alan-john-a-lomax-mn0000995546/biography
The Land Where Blues Began - Alan Lomax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lomax#Assistant_in_Charge_and_Commercial_Records_and_Radio_Broadcasts
http://www.thebluestrail.com/artists/mus_jal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie
Alan Lomax was known to be a legendary collector of folk music. A highly educated musicologist, he can truly be seen as a sort of pioneer in the recording and discovering of music. Put under the early apprenticeship of John Lomax, his father, he began a career travelling the southern states. Although they were both at great risks from white supremacists due to the attittude towards African-Americans at that time, they persevered to record every blues great they could find. It was through them that many great artists, such as Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Muddy …show more content…
Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Son House and many others, were discovered. By the time Alan Lomax died he personally had 5000 hours of recordings as well as the ones already in the Library of Congress. Their combined contribution to the Blues archive will never be overestimated as if they had not done their travels, most of these blues artists would never have been found. These two men are also known to have discovered many types of blues such as, Chicago blues, Country blues, Gospel blues, Delta blues, Memphis blues and many others. All of these types were extensively documented and recorded by John and Alan Lomax.
Alan Lomax believed that all music needed to be recorded and photographed so that it could be preserved and studied. As well as that, he also produced recordings, concerts and radio shows in the US and England, which both played an incredibly important role in the revival of both brattish and american folk music in the 1950’s. In one of his books, ‘The Land Where the Blues Began’, he gives an extremely vivid explanation of the working slave music. “The style of these solo, unaccompanied, idiosyncratic, melancholic holler runs directly counter to the mainstream of black song in the South and generally round the Caribbean, where song is for the most part on-beat, wrist, merry, sensuous, integrated, choralizing and accompanied, if not by drums or some other instrument, at least by hand clapping and/or foot stomping.” In this we can see that he truly does believe that it needs to be documented down to every last detail.
One influential artists founded by Lomax was Lead Belly. In 1930, whilst in prison on murder charges, he was discovered by Alan Lomax and his father. After that, due to his perceived talent, they proceeded to record him using professional equipment to be documented for the archives of the Library of Congress. This opened the floodgates, as they recorded hundreds of songs with Lead Belly, which eventually, some say, helped lead to his early release from prison after a petition sent with a recording of his most famous song’ Goodbye Irene’. Although he did not sell many of his records he still gained widespread coverage from white audiences throughout the states. As well as that, large amounts of his songs have been covered by hundreds of modern rock bands. Many modern bands owe their sound to Lead Belly, and most rock bands have covered their songs and owe their influences to him. some of these bands include greats such as Frank Sinatra, Led Zeppelin, Ry Cooder, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Many bands such as these attribute their playing and singing styles to blues influences, especially the british blues explosion of the 1960’s initiated by the great Muddy Waters. Blues was essentially the birth of Rock and Roll, and without the Lomax’s, there would be significantly less of it.
Muddy Waters is by far one of the most well known names throughout blues and music history.
Also considered the ‘father of modern Chicago blues’, he inspired the outbreak of the British blues in the 1960’s. He started off in a humble town in Mississippi, working on a farm. By 17 years old he was playing at parties, imitating blues greats Robert Johnson and Son House. He was discovered by Alan Lomax in 1941 when he was sent to Mississippi in order to record country blues musicians of the archives. Him and his wife stumbled across Muddy Waters and set up their equipment in order to record him. This lead to him moving to Chicago in order to expand his music career. After being given an electric guitar by his uncle he began to play widely around the city. Although he was immersed in Delta blues as he grew up, hits like “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” helped him become an iconic Chicago blues artist. He created his own sound, which could be considered Mississippi blues with an edge of chicago blues to it. He then began making recordings with companies such as Colombia Records and Aristocrat Records, and landed a deal with Aristocrat. Although, much like Lead Belly, his records did not receive much attention despite the widespread white audiences. After launching with Chess records, by the 1950’s Muddy Waters had risen to full fame. His bands recordings had become increasingly popular throughout the states, and throughout the northern states, and soon after that, when he brought …show more content…
his sound to England, that his fame truly exploded. He had caught the attention of the rock community by storm and become an international prodigy. He then went on to play with numerous rock and roll stars throughout the 60’s and 70’s such as Eric Clapton. Throughout his years he ended up having four of his songs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and he also reviewed 5 grammy awards. It is safe to say that without Alan Lomax, the world would be lacking one of the greatest musicians of all time. During an interview with Clapton recently, when he was looking back to his blues origins, he lists Muddy Waters’ playing as acting as his milestone. “Muddy was there at a time when, really, the music was getting to me. I was really trying to grasp it and make something out of it.”
Other influential artists that were recorded by Alan Lomax include Son House, Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie.
Son House, known for his slide guitar playing and his Mississippi Delta blues style of singing, he was asked to record for the Library of Congress by Alan Lomax in 1941. This was during the Great Depression, so record sales were not doing well and he remained famous locally. Due to the recordings made for the Library of Congress, he was rediscovered in 1964 and enjoyed the remainder of his music career playing to largely white audiences and folk festivals. Woody Guthrie, on the other hand, arrived in New York without any experience, and was embraced by the folk music community. He made his first recordings with Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress, as well as his first album, Dust Bowl Ballads. This was the beginning of his music career, and due to the fact that there is now a Woody Guthrie Folk Festival held annually, it is safe to say that he was a large influence on folk music and without the help of Alan Lomax, would have struggled to launch his music
career.
One of the main reasons the work of John and Alan Lomax was so important was that without it, so many of these blues artist would never have been recorded, and therefore their inlufence would never have been passed down which would in itself have erased the creation of many of the worlds most influential rock bands, and the famous magazine name, ‘Rolling Stone’ would never have existed. On the other hand, it could be said that would Alan Lomax and his father did were just a waste of resources and money. This can be seen when the Library of Congress cut their funding at one point. John Lomax can even be said to have just been a failed banker. However I do believe that without their recordings of the thousands of Blues men in the southern states during that time, none of them had any chance of being discovered otherwise, and without that many of todays musical influences would be gone.
Bibliography:
http://www.biography.com/people/muddy-waters-9525002#chicago-and-mainstream-success
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muddy_Waters
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alan-john-a-lomax-mn0000995546/biography
The Land Where Blues Began - Alan Lomax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lomax#Assistant_in_Charge_and_Commercial_Records_and_Radio_Broadcasts
http://www.thebluestrail.com/artists/mus_jal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie