ALAN LOMAX at STOVALL’S PLANTATION
In the summer of 1942, Alan Lomax was travelling through the Mississippi Delta, recording examples of local folk music as part of his job as Assistant Archivist for the Library of Congress. In this work, he was following in the footsteps of his father John A Lomax, and together they contributed a huge catalogue of work to the Archive. Black folk music at that time and place meant country Blues and our knowledge of the local playing and singing styles has been deeply enriched by their work. Alan had passed through the district the previous year, when he had recorded a 28-year-old field hand called McKinley Morganfield, singing and playing guitar. One of these recordings, ‘I Be’s Troubled’, had attracted a lot of attention and Alan was keen to find him again.
The original recording of ‘I Be’s Troubled’ from the Library of Congress
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