Introduction
If ever a man was destined and dedicated to work in musicology, it was Lomax. Lomax was born in the family of John Avery Lomax, who initially worked as a banker. His father was a well-known archivist under the cowboy songs and Southwestern American folklore, who was born on January 31, 1915, in Austin, Texas (Cohen, 2010). As a young lad, Lomax listened to his discoveries while still growing up in Texas until he eventually came to support America’s music fully. Young Alan frequently served as an assistant, and on numerous expeditions with his father and his siblings John, Jr., Bess, and Elizabeth, he also gained first-hand knowledge of his trade (Szwed, 2012). During this period, Lomax signified himself as a person of interest in the documentation of music and culture. During the HiFi/Stereo article Review that occurred in the1960 and was later reprinted in Rounder’s 1997 edition of The Alan Lomax Sampler Collection, Lomax explained his preceding significant Library of Congress recording project (Cohen, 2010). Therefore, it is crucial to analyze Lomax’s Legacy and contribution to music and other works as explained by different authors.
Legacy
Lomax’s career officially began in 1933, when John A. Lomax was appointed to the Library’s Music Division as a special consultant in the Archive of American Folk Song. It was in 1937 when Alan had a job appraisal in Library as an assistant-in-charge, where remained ever since taking over the majority of the day-to-day management of the facility. Alan Lomax, as a Folklorist, is appreciated for his contribution to the preservation of the country’s cultural heritage and customs more than a century after his birth (Szwed, 2012). Compared to other pioneering folklorists, scholars, and documentarians who have their works preserved in the Library of Congress, Alan Lomax is most appreciated and highly classed (Cohen, 2010). This appreciation and respect arise from the breadth and caliber of his collections and the impact of his discovery on American culture.
Alan’s achievements arose due to his constant traveling, either by himself or with his father, while toting a portable disk recorder and, frequently, a camera. His earliest recordings of traditional music can be traced back to Louisiana, with Cajun music being one of the first (Szwed, 2012). Despite such, Alan also recorded ballads and fiddle tunes from the Appalachian Mountains. In Mississippi Delta, he recorded the first sample of blues music. Furthermore, during his famous field trips, Alan made numerous records of European ethnic communities, American south culture, and music.
Through a collaboration with his father, Alan is also famous for records such as Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter and McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield. Most of his musical recording was done when he was in the Library of Congress (Cohen, 2010). Such included the landmark series of 193, which comprised the recordings of Jelly Roll Morton. Even during the war, he was actively documenting music and culture. For instance, in World War II, Lomax visited the Library of Congress several times, gathering and researching folk culture. Many of the songs he recorded there became enduring symbols of American culture. His recordings include “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” “Rodeo,” and “House of the Rising Sun.”
Despite numerous contributions, Alan Lomax did numerous projects that are still remembered today. One of the most ambitious and contentious projects in music and science that Alan Lomax ever made was the Cantometrics Project. Lomax’s “cantometric” has a classification of 1,800 songs (Alan, 1971). Furthermore, it involved 148 populations with 36 features within its elements that have since sparked a heated debate (Alan, 1971). Even with significant success and contribution, Lomax has faced huge critics; however, while he responded to some criticisms, he never thoroughly explained his conclusions or gave evidence that backed his developments in music documentation, which has released huge concern about his reputation in music. As Patrick and Cohen (2018, 2004) explain, what is appreciated is that his Cantometrics, as well as Lomax’s related projects in dance, music, pedagogy, and activism, have gained attention even after he died in 2002.
Even after his death, Alan Lomax’s impact is felt. For instance, through its significant influence, the Alan Lomax Collection could not go unnoticed, leading to its purchase by the American Folklife Center (AFC) in 2004 from the Library of Congress. This collection is documented to be an exceptional ethnographic record that the renowned folklorist gathered over a period. The collection is highlighted to have works of more than 60 years, which consist of 5,000 hours of sound recordings, and 400,000 feet of motion picture film (Cohen, 2004). In addition, this pile also includes 2,450 videotapes and a collection of 2,000 academic books and journals (Szwed, 2010). Apart from these records, this documentation is also highlighted to have hundreds of photographic documentation, databases, and more than 120 manuscript materials (Cohen, 2004). The transfer of this documentation was made possible through AFC and the Association for Cultural Equity (ACE) agreeing to propose the move of the records from Hunters college. However, the main stakeholders for this successful acquisition were members of the Madison Council (i.e., Lillian and Jon Lovelace).
Due to a lack of funding, Lomax left the Library of Congress in 1943. After enlisting, he went to the Army till World War II ended. Despite so, he continued with his expedition work by interviewing Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Bill Broonzey to learn about the blues’ genesis. Furthermore, he also hosted the folk music program in 1948 (On Top of Old Smokey for the Mutual Network). He later joined Decca Records, attaining a senior position as folk music director, stoking the flames of the burgeoning folk music revival. In the Columbia Records World Library of Folk and Primitive Music (1951 to 1957), Lomax worked as the editor (Szwed, 2012). Even with such massive success in music, Lomax spent most of the 1950s in Britain, learning and documenting discoveries on British Isles folk music. He eventually released his findings through a ten-disc collection titled “Folksongs of Great Britain” (1961).
During his documentation of African-American culture in the Deep South, Lomax discovered the Mississippi bluesman, Fred McDowell. This was a big success as it later turned out that Fred McDowell shot to the top of the list of burgeoning rockers worldwide. Lomax had many similarities to his father, one being a very sought-after lecturer and having a strong interest in visiting scholars (Szwed, 2012). However, of all these hobbies, Lomax occasionally received offers to record as a solo artist. Still, all the albums he made for Tradition (1958) and Kapp Records (1963) with his voice and guitar received unfavorable reviews.
Apart from contributing to the free society, Lomax was also able to continue his travels and record music in numerous prisons in Spain, Africa, France, the Caribbean, etc., due to numerous grants. Despite his success in music documentation and recording Lomax began experimenting with film in 1966 and gathered enough data for several documentaries, including footage for the 1990 PBS series America Patchwork (Szwed, 2012). To make it easier for people to study different musical and dance traditions, Lomax became the pioneer in the development of a Global Jukebox, an online database that connects these traditions from all over the world. Sadly, the Association for Cultural Equity, which pursued this idea, altogether ceased operations.
Despite the numerous honors and awards Lomax garnered throughout his long career; he also had his critics. Among those who have criticized Lomax’s techniques is renowned rock author Dave Marsh. But unlike many of his contemporaries and critiques, thousands of performers he recorded would only have had the opportunity to share their songs and cultures if he had sought them out. Further proof of Alan Lomax’s contribution can be identified through his discussion with Rounder Records and how it affected artists’ lives in an interview from 1991. And his explanation ever since and the playback of this material to the audience influenced a positive change in every one of them.
Different publishers today classify Alan Lomax as the only person who was more conscious of how fragile music and culture were hence being determined to protect what could be lost easily (1915-2002). As the long-standing and exquisite folk musical traditions continued, Lomax understood the risk of losing these ways and was aware that such a course could not last indefinitely. As a result, he spent years traveling nonstop, primarily through the South, while toting every preservation tool imaginable. Lomax did not want to leave any stone unturned. Through his decisions, humanity enjoyed enough collection to create a “global jukebox” that everyone could use as he wanted to record everything.
The ideas and dreams of Lomax have finally come to life with Technology finally catching up to his imagination ten years after his passing. Just as he had imagined, his extensive collection of materials is being digitized and is accessible online. This means that students, scholars, and musicians can access 5,000 hours of sound recordings, 400,000 feet of film, 3,000 videotapes, 5,000 photographs, and piles of manuscripts, which may have been lost and unstudied are now freely accessible to society. Furthermore, it is expected that more than 17,000 music tracks will also be included in this collection, which they will be made available for purchase as CDs or digital downloads.
Although Lomax’s mania, obsession, and relentlessness have long been known, his accomplishments’ true scope and significance have only recently come to light. With Mississippi Fred McDowell being one of his well-known “discoveries,” Lomax is primarily highly characterized and praised by the general public outside the musicological community for his outstanding “finds” and musical discoveries. His patriotic nature and lack of discrimination are other legacy he appreciates. Alan Lomax is denoted to conducted fieldwork with black colleagues throughout his career, something no other folklorist of the 20th century did (Szwed, 2010). Lomax collaborated with Zora Neale Hurston and Worth Long on significant collecting initiatives in the American South.
Moreover, Alan Lomax was the only folklorist to honor black artists’ musical legacy and lives through books, movies, and recordings (Szwed, 2010). Jelly Roll Morton, Leadbelly, and Muddy Waters are a few of these musicians. Alan Lomax’s passion for Technology allowed him to record songs and adapt to new developments. At first he and his father initially made recordings on aluminum discs using a portable recording device that weighed 500 pounds (Szwed, 2012). Later, he engraved acetate discs with a lighter machine. However, his ability to adapt allowed him to pick a new generation of lighter and better-quality recorders. Lomax was able to air people’s voices to the larger society, specifically the oppressed minority. Therefore, he managed to eliminate the dominant and persistent cultures of neglect and forced silencing of people due to discrimination and status.
Not only was Lomax passionate about the blues worlds described in Land Where the Blues Began, but it is essential to remember that his Mississippi recordings served as the creative cornerstone that pillared a career that lasted more than 60 years. Apart from his previous recordings, Lomax is classified to make a recording in Texas and the British Isles. Furthermore, Lomax collaborated with Charles and Ruth Crawford Seeger, Archibald MacLeish, Carl Sandberg, Eleanor, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Additionally, he influenced the musical careers of up-and-coming folk singers like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. As the nation’s archivist of American folk music, Alan Lomax is becoming more widely known. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Today classrooms, libraries, museums, and television and film productions use Lomax’s books, field recordings, and films. His music has influenced every aspect of our culture, and this legacy will only increase over time. Alan Lomax celebrated the lives of ordinary people by reaching out to them. Although Alan Lomax made huge impacts as a writer, radio presenter, and producer, the Mississippi field recordings will be his most lasting accomplishment.
References
Cohen, R. (2004). Alan Lomax: Selected Writings, 1934-1997. Routledge.
Cohen, R. D. (Ed.). (2010). Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge: The Library of Congress Letters, 1935-1945. Univ. Press of Mississippi.
Lomax, Alan (1971)’Song Structure and Social Structure in Readings in Ethnomusicology. Ed.D.McAllester. New York: Johnston Reprints, pp. 227-251
Lomax, Alan. Folk Song, Style, and Culture: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/97802033791844/folk-song- style-culture-alan-Lomax
Savage Patrick (2018) Review of Lomax’s Cantrometrics
Szwed, J. (2010). Alan Lomax: The Man who recorded the world. Penguin.
Szwed, J. (2012). The Man who recorded the World: A Biography of Alan Lomax. Random House.
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