Collections : [Archives of African American Music and Culture]

Publicity photographs, including movie and television stills, of African American musicians representing classical, jazz, gospel, soul and rhythm and blues genres.

The collection includes Burnim's dissertation research on African American religious music conducted primarily in Indiana between 1976-1979 with an emphasis on gospel music performance and practice; and post-dissertation research on African and African American religious music conducted between 1980-1996 in the U.S., Cuba, Liberia, and Malawi. Also included is documentation of the 1984 Smithsonian American Folklife Festival and gospel sheet music. The collection was primarily recorded on analog audio formats and includes audiocassettes, open reel tapes, videocassettes, open reel video, slides, sheet music, song texts, and additional documentation.

This collection includes clippings, sheet music, and one photograph related to gospel musician Rosetta Tharpe.

The Deborah Smith Pollard collection includes more than 200 gospel music magazines and other publications from the 1980s to 2000s. The collection also includes Pollard's gospel music television specials, over 50 interviews she conducted with gospel artists and industry figures, airchecks of Pollard's radio program "Strong Inspirations" and radio programs hosted by other announcers.

This collection consists of commercial gospel music videocassettes, commercial audio recordings, paper documents, schedules, promotional materials, photographs, and other ephemeral material related to Debbie May's career as a music producer.

A collection of 13 photos copied from the personal collection of David "Panama" Francis for use by Portia K. Maultsby and the Smithsonian Institution for the 1986 symposium and accompanying booklet and exhibition, Rhythm and Blues, 1945-1955. Francis participated as a panelist. The original photographs may now be in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution.

This collection consists of gospel song books and sheet music, song texts, photographs, and other ephemeral material related to Blondell Hill's participation with choirs in Richmond, Indiana, Petoskey, Michigan, and Harbor Springs, Michigan.