Alan Lomax, the South, and the American Folk Music Revival, 1933-1969

The book analyses Alan Lomax's role as a cultural mediator during the time of the American Folk Music Revival. With a politically motivated approach, Lomax decisively shaped the perception and reception of what came to be known as American folk music, from the mid 1930s to the late 1960s.

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) is arguably the most popular and influential American folk song collector of the 20 th century. Pursuing a mission of both preserving and popularizing folk music, Lomax moved between political activism, the scholarly world, and the world of popular culture. Based largely on primary material, the book shows how Lomax's diverse activities made him an authority in the field of folk music and how he used this power to advocate the cultures of perceived marginalized Americans whom he located primarily in the American South. In this approach, however, folk music became an abstract idea onto which notions oscillating between hope and disillusionment, fear and perspective were projected. The author argues that Lomax's role as a cultural mediator, with a politically motivated approach, helped him to decisively shape the perception and reception of what came to be known as American folk music, from the mid 1930s to the late 1960s.

Auteur

Risto Lenz holds a PhD in North American Studies from the University of Cologne. His research interests include popular historical consciousness, the social and cultural history of the United States, the history of knowledge, and the history of music.

Contenu

Introduction Primary Sources Outline State of Research American Folklore: Applied versus Pure Research The Expert From Below Radio and Film Gender, Race and the Folklorist A Mississippi of Song": Lomax and the Construction of Delta Blues Lomax and the 1960s "Folk Boom" Conclusion.