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
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
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