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THE
CENTER FOR POPULAR MUSIC, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY,
MURFREESBORO, TN
WORK,
JOHN WESLEY III (d. 1967)
88-064
COLLECTION (Copies)
89-096
Creator: Work,
John Wesley III (d. 1967)
Physical description:
1.25 linear feet including
1 digital audio cassette (TCD-0061)
15 10" analog reel to reel tapes (TTA-0060A/H. TTA-0061A/G)
53 black and white photographs
Provenance:
Copies made from instantaneous discs
and photographs from the estate of John Wesley Work III and from field
recordings housed in the Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
RESTRICTIONS:
The collection is open for research
access. Property rights reside with Middle Tennessee State University. Literary
rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs as
stipulated by United States copyright law. For permissions to reproduce or to
publish, please contact the Center for Popular Music.
Biographical sketch:
John Wesley Work III (d. 1967), son
of John Work II, a professor of music at Fisk University and leader of the Fisk
Jubilee Singers, received his musical training at Fisk, Columbia and Yale
universities. From 1935 to 1942 Work, by then a professor of music at Fisk
himself, collected black American secular and sacred folk music in a variety of
styles in Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. In his
collecting work he emphasized performance styles and musicianship.
-- Bruce Nemerov "John Wesley
Work III: Field Recordings of Southern Black Folk Music, 1935-1942" in
Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, LIII:3 (Fall,
1987).
Scope and content:
These copies of audio tapes of black
music and related photographs gathered by Work from 1935 to 1942 were assembled
for use in a Center-produced radio program "Roots of American Popular
Music" which aired over National Public Radio in February 1989. The
collection is organized by source into two series: Work Family Collection and
Library of Congress. A description of each series follows.
Location:
Audio tapes are filed by tape number
in the audio visual archive. Photographs are filed under "Work, John
Wesley III Collection" in the MAN-PR photograph collection.
Related materials:
John Wesley Work IV deposited the
original materials from which the copies in Series I were
made in the Center in August 1993; they are filed as WORK, JOHN WESLEY SOUND
RECORDINGS AND PAPERS. Interviews with Work's fellow collectors and informants
are included in "ROOTS OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC" RECORDS".
Series description:
Series I. Work Family Collection
1 digital audio cassette tape
(TCD-0061) of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a Pulaski (TN?) church service
including sermon, the Golden Gate and Fairfield Four gospel quartets, and
several blues singers. 7 10" analog reel to reel tapes
(TTA-0061A/G) of all of the sound recordings in Professor Work's personal
collection. An explanation of the origins of and relationship between
these sets of tapes, written by audio specialist Bruce Nemerov, and a list of
song titles and performers on each tape follow.
(N.B. John Wesley
Work IV deposited the original discs and audio tapes from which the recordings
in this series were made in the Center in August 1993; they are filed as WORK,
JOHN WESLEY, SOUND RECORDINGS AND PAPERS.)
38 black and white
contact prints and inter-negatives of black sacred harp singing, Ozark,
Alabama, 24-25 September 1938. 10 5x7 black and white prints and 2 8x10 prints of
some of the contact prints. Muddy Waters and
"Son" Sims, Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1943. 2 prints of
Waters/Sims photograph.
Series II. Archive of
Folk Culture, Library of Congress.
8 10" analog reel to reel audio
tape copies (TTA-0060A/H) of material deposited by Work in the Archive of Folk
Culture [Archive of Folk Song], Library of Congress, Washington DC. A list of
the sacred harp, gospel, instrumental and blues music performed on the tapes
follows.