Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, sometime between 1939 and 1950.

Alan Lomax (January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an important American folklorist and musicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, the West Indies, Italy, and Spain. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 471 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1456 × 1853 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 471 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1456 × 1853 pixel, file size: 1. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Musicology (Greek: μουσικη = music and λογος = word or reason) is the scholarly study of music. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

Biography

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 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. John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 - January 26, 1948) was a pioneering musicologist and folklorist. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (commonly referred to as Choate) is a New England preparatory school for students (who call themselves Choaties) in grades 9-12, known as the third through sixth forms at the school. ... Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. ... University of Texas redirects here. ... The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. ... Cantometrics is the analysis of traditional or folk songs. ...

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. The American Folklife Center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, which was founded at the U.S.s Library of Congress in 1928 as a repository for American folk music. ... The American Folklife Center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, which was founded at the U.S.s Library of Congress in 1928 (originally as the Archive of American Folk Song) as a repository for American folk music. ... The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. ... The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

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. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912–October 3, 1967) was a prolific American songwriter and folk musician. ... For the film, see Leadbelly (film). ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ... Morton in the 1920s Ferdinand Jelly Roll Morton September 20, 1890 - July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. ... Jeannie Robertson (1908 - 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer. ... The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States in the 1950s to mid-1960s. ... A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. ...

He recorded Irish traditional musicians including some of the songs in English and Irish of Elizabeth Cronin in 1951. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

His survey of Italian folk music with Diego Carpitella, conducted in 1953 and 1954, helped capture a snapshot of a multitude of important traditional folk styles shortly before they disappeared. The pair amassed one of the most representative folk song collections of any culture. From Lomax's Spanish and Italian recordings emerged one of the first theories explaining the types of folk singing that emerge in particular areas, a theory that incorporates work style, the environment, and the degrees of social and sexual freedom. Italian folk music has a deep and complex history. ... Diego Capetalia was an Italian who was famous for his folk music. ...

In 1944 Alan Lomax took part in a Ballad opera called "The Martins and the Coys". It was recorded by the BBC and CBS and features contributions by Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. It was released on Rounder Records in 2000. Ballad opera is a genre of 18th century English stage entertainment. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ... Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995), an Academy Award winner, was an acclaimed American folk music singer, author, and actor. ... Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912–October 3, 1967) was a prolific American songwriter and folk musician. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ...

Achievements

Lomax won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award in 1993 for his book The Land Where the Blues Began, the story of the origins of Blues music. Lomax also received a posthumous Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 2003. The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American association of approximately seven hundred book reviewers. ... The Grammy Trustees Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording [1]. Through 1983, performers could also receive this award. ...

Trivia

• A character named Alan Lomax was featured in the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
• Lomax's works and collected songs are heavily sampled on Moby's breakthrough album, Play.
• In 2006 the scholar and jazz pianist Ted Gioia uncovered and published extracts from Alan Lomax's FBI files. Lomax was repeatedly investigated by the FBI but never found guilty of anything.[1]
• Alan Lomax was put under surveillance by MI5 as a potential communist, and his BBC TV shows in the early 1950s were monitored by Special Branch^[1].

Ishmael is a novel by Daniel Quinn. ... Daniel Quinn (born 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska) is a United States writer. ... Not to be confused with Mooby. ... Play is a 1999 techno music album by the musician Moby. ... MI5 Logo. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Special Branch is the arm of the British, Irish and many Commonwealth police forces that deals with national security matters. ...

Bibliography

His books include

• Selected Writings 1934-1997 (2003) (This includes a chapter defining all the categories of cantometrics.)
• The Land Where The Blues Began (1993)
• Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" (1973)
• Our Singing Country: Folk Songs and Ballads (edited with John Lomax, re-printed 2000)
• Penguin Book of American Folk Songs (1968)

References

• "Lomax, Alan" obituary in Current Biography, 2002.
• Alan Lomax: Mirades Miradas Glances Photos by Alan Lomax, ed. by Antoni Pizà (Barcelona: Lunwerg / Fundacio Sa Nostra, 2006) ISBN 84-9785-271-0

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6976576.stm, an article about George Orwell's politics that contained the reference about the monitoring of Alan Lomax, posted on the BBC's website 04Sep2007

See also

• John Lomax III

John Lomax III was raised in Texas and is the grandson of pioneering folklorist John Lomax. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Alan Lomax

• Alan Lomax Collection, The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
  • Lomax Collection images, Library of Congress
• Alan Lomax archive
• Alan Lomax complete discography from Music City
• Alan Lomax films for viewing online - Appalachian Journey, Cajun Country, Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old, Jazz Parades: Feet Don't Fail Me Now, The Land Where the Blues Began
• Lomax: the songhunter from P.O.V. August 22, 2006. Discussion guide, streaming radio sampler, discussion board.
• Scene taken from Lomax the songhunter, a musical documentary that travels the world to meet people whom Lomax recorded and portrays his life through interviews with relatives.