Alabama Folklife Association

Alabama Folklife Association
	Artist: Title: Publisher: Format: Price:	Rich Amerson Selected Songs and Stories Alabama Folklife Association CD $10
"When life is big, music is big." - Richard Amerson Many monikers suit Richard Amerson - singer, inventor, storyteller, lay preacher, drifter, jester. Tales of Amerson's artistry and creativity are legion and to this day one can still find people in and around Livingston, Alabama, who vividly recall him. No wonder, since he was relatively nomadic, slept on the ground or in a dugout if he felt like it, let his hair grow long, preached the gospel, invented unusual transportation vehicles, blew the harmonica, and sang beautifully. Born in 1893 near Sumterville, Alabama, Amerson spun improvised tales in both song and speech. Amerson's singing style was a significant influence on Vera Hall, and folklorist John Lomax considered him to be his greatest discovery. Indeed, Amerson's recordings reveal him to be exceptionally talented and charismatic. Though he turns up on several compilations of Lomax-recorded material, most of his discography is out-of-print and very deserving of the deluxe reissue treatment, particularly his recordings for Harold Courlander. (See also Courlander's The Big Old World of Richard Creeks, which presents a fictionalized account of some aspects of Amerson's life.) What we have here is an informal recording session featuring just what the CD title promises. Amerson sings mostly spirituals here, usually accompanied by his wife Little Bit, who really cuts loose with singing so passionate that at times she makes Rich sounds a bit reserved in comparison. Amerson also delivers some tall tales in a rapid-fire fashion, with plot twists and puns flying by, in a deep southern accent that could also function as a test of your listening comprehension before your next trip to the backroads. It is also a treat to hear his "Black Woman," which is considered by many to be among the greatest blues love songs. Track listing: I Hear a Train a-Comin' Black Woman I Feel the Love of Jesus Didn't You Hear My Lord Call? Waitin' on de Salvation of de Lord Brother Terrapin Bullfrog and Fox Rich's Hollow Tooth Jesus Goin' Make up My Dyin' Bed Wake Up Jonah I'm So Glad I been Born Again Dog Caught a Hog The Draft Board
	Editor: Title: Publisher: Format: Price:	Henry Willett In the Spirit: Alabama's Sacred Music Tradition Alabama Folklife Association book, 128 pages plus CD $15
A very nicely done collection edited by Henry Willett, featuring essays on shape-note singing, Dr. Watts hymns, Psalm singing, bluegrass gospel, a cappella gospel quartets, moaning, and more. Comes with a CD of related music. Articles include: "The African-American Covenanters of Selma, Alabama" by Henry Willett "The Moan-and-Prayer Event in African-American Worship" by Willie Collins "Singing 'Dr. Watts': A Venerable Hymn Tradition Among African Americans in Alabama" by Joyce Cauthen "Sand Mountain's Wooten Family: Sacred Harp Singers" by Buell Cobb "Judge Jackson and the Colored Sacred Harp" by Henry Willett "The Deasons: A Christian Harmony Family" by Anne H. F. Kimzey "Seven-shape-note Gospel Music in Northern Alabama: The Case of the Athens Music Company" by Charles Wolfe "Shape-Note Gospel singing on Sand Mountain" by Joyce Cauthen "Of Related Interest--Convention Gospel Singing in Alabama" by Fred C. Fussell "Community and the Jefferson County, Alabama, Gospel Quartet Tradition" by Doug Seroff "Cry Holy Unto the Lord: Tradition and Diversity in Bluegrass Gospel Music" by Jack Bernhardt "Of Related Interest--Margie Sullivan: Mother of Bluegrass Gospel" by Erin Kellen.
	Editor: Title: Publisher: Format: Price:	Joey Brackner Tributaries - issue no. 3 Alabama Folklife Association book, 96 pages $8
An interesting issue of the Alabama Folklife Association's "Tributaries" journal, with articles on the region's traditional graveshelters, geophagy (aka dirt eating) among African-American farmers in Montgomery County, folklore of the Piney Woods region, and more. Contents: "Southern Graveshelters and English Lych-Gates" by Gregory Jeane "The Skylines Farms Band Plays for President and Mrs. Roosevelt" by David Campbell "The Piney Woods Regional Folklife Project" by Carolyn Ware "'That Dirt Was Good': Geophagy in Alabama's Black Belt" by Patrick McIntyre book and record reviews.
	Editor: Title: Publisher: Format: Price:	Joey Brackner Tributaries - issue no. 5 Alabama Folklife Association book, 142 pages $10
A high quality collection of articles focusing on Alabama's contributions to the blues, including: "The Life and Death of Pioneer Bluesman Butler 'String Beans' May" by Doug Seroff and Lynn Abbott "Butler County Blues," (the first of a two-part article [pt. 2 is still "in the works"] on the legendary Ed Bell) by Kevin Nutt "Tracking Down a Legend: The 'Jaybird' Coleman Story" by James Patrick Cather "A Life of the Blues" by Willie King, with photo essay by Axel Kustner "Livingston, Alabama, Blues: The significance of Vera Ward Hall" by Jerrilyn McGregory "A Vera Hall Discography" by Steve Grauberger and Kevin Nutt "Chasing John Henry in Alabama and Mississippi" by John Garst