Alan Lomax: Difference between revisions

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Lomax was the son of pioneering musicologist and folklorist [[John Lomax]], with whom he started his career by recording songs sung by prisoners in [[Texas]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Mississippi]]. He attended [[Choate Rosemary Hall|The Choate School]] in [[Wallingford, Connecticut]] and then went on to earn a degree in philosophy from the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. He later worked on the oral history project for the [[Library of Congress]]. To some, he is best known for his theory of [[cantometrics]].

Lomax worked with his father on the [[Archive of Folk Culture]], a collection of more than ten thousand recordings for the [[Archive of American Folk Song]] at the [[Library of Congress]]. He spent his whole life collecting folk music from around the world, particularly from the [[American South]] and assembled a highly regarded treasure trove of American and international culture.

Lomax assembled a highly regarded treasure trove of American and international culture, spending a lifetime collecting folk music from around the world, particularly from the [[American South]]. He recorded substantial interviews with many musicians, including [[Woody Guthrie]], [[Lead Belly]], [[Muddy Waters]], [[Jelly Roll Morton]], and [[Jeannie Robertson]], and he produced [[radio]] shows, had a regular [[television]] series, and played an important role in both the [[American folk music revival]] and British [[folk revival]] of the 1950s.

He recorded Irish traditional musicians including some of the songs in English and Irish of [[Elizabeth Cronin]] in 1951.