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Start Over Subjects Folk music -- West Virginia

Kenneth H. Davidson, Collector, West Virginia Folklore, Folk Music, and Blues Tape Recordings, 1963/1965 0.83 Linear Feet 1 ft. 8 in. (1 document case, 5 in.); (1 shallow lid box, 5 in.) 2.59 Gigabytes 35 .wav files

Davidson, Kenneth H.

Tapes recorded and edited by Kenneth H. Davidson in various parts of West Virginia in the years 1963, 1964, and 1965. Includes fiddle tunes and folklore; band instrumentals; poems; mountain banjo styles; hymns; ballads; African-American blues; auto harp; mountain dulcimer tunes; and discussion with "mountain people" regarding drinking, children, civil rights, relations between white settlers and Native Americans, John the Baptist, etc.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Kenneth L. Carvell Folk Music Collection, 1957/1961 2.5 Linear Feet 2 record cartons, 15 in. each 15.3 Gigabytes 52 .wav files

Carvell, Kenneth L.

Collection consists primarily of recordings of gospel music performed by the choirs and congregations of rural churches in Monongalia County, West Virginia, at various musical events held between 1957 and 1961. Most prevalent are recordings of the Monongalia Tri-District Sings, or "Third Sunday Sings" as they were popularly called, which were routinely convened on the third Sunday of each month extending from September to June. The collection also contains revival music, as well as informal music-making in the homes of friends and acquaintances of the collector.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Louis Watson Chappell (1890-1981), Folklorist, Research Papers, Sound Recordings, and Other Material, 1815/1980 29.71 Linear Feet 44 document cases, 5 in. each; 6 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 small collection file folder, 0.25 in.; 7 blue notebooks, 1.5 in. each; 3 ft. 2 in. of acetate discs; 4 pieces of disc recorder equipment, 66.5 in. total; 3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each 36.7 Gigabytes 160 .wav files

Chappell, Louis W. (Louis Watson)
Research papers and sound recordings compiled by Louis Watson Chappell, an English Professor and folklorist at West Virginia University who collected, documented, and preserved West Virginia's folk music and folk traditions. He was born in Belvidere, North Carolina and educated in English Language and Literature at Wake Forest University (B.A.), and the University of Virginia (M.A.). Receiving a faculty appointment at West Virginia University in 1922, Chappell embarked upon a career dedicated to documenting and preserving West Virginia's folk music, which proved to be highly significant.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Marie Boette Folk Music Collection, 1962/1969 0.42 Linear Feet 1 document case, 5 in. 1.11 Gigabytes 9 .wav files

Boette, Marie

Recordings used in preparing Boette's book, Singa Hipsy Doodle: and Other Folk Songs of West Virginia, published by McClain Printing Co. in 1971. Collection includes vocal solos, hammered dulcimer solos, and vocal solos accompanied by dulcimer.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Motion Picture Collection, 1905/1997 105.33 Linear Feet 79 record cartons, 15 or 17 in. each

This collection contains motion pictures related to West Virginia and the greater Appalachian region. Mediums include news footage, documentary films, industrials and West Virginia University footage.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Raymond Epler, Folk Musician, Recordings, 1987 0.13 Linear Feet 1 flat storage box, 1.5 in. 0.32 Gigabytes 1 .wav file

Recordings made at Epler's South Charleston, WV home on 1987 July 11. Most selections feature Epler on solo dulcimer, although several are accompanied with guitar, dulcimer, autoharp, and hammered dulcimer.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Revivalistic Church Music, 1958 0.42 Linear Feet 1 document case, 5 in. 2.78 Gigabytes 10 .wav files

8 reels and 5 cassettes of revivalistic church music recorded live at Tri-County Sings in Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor Counties, West Virginia, in 1958.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Thomas S. Brown Folk Music Collection, 1970/1982 17.0 Linear Feet 13 record cartons, 15 in. each; 1 document case, 5 in.; 1 flat box, 4 in. 59.8 Gigabytes 436 .wav files

Brown, Thomas S.

Attending folk festivals in the early 1970s, when there was a revival of interest in folk culture, Thomas S. Brown became acquainted with "serious students of folk art as well as the folk artists themselves". His interest piqued and, encouraged by the Dean of Libraries at West Virginia University, Brown set out to make field recordings of traditional music in West Virginia to add to the folk music archives of the West Virginia and Regional History Center. In all, the Brown Collection includes more than two hundred reels of audio recordings.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

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