Collections : [Archives of African American Music and Culture]

This collection documents the activities of Dr. Winona Fletcher as Producing Director of the Indiana University Afro-American Arts Institute's 1986 revival of the Federal Theatre Project's 1939 production Prelude to Swing, entitled Prelude to Swing +50.

This collection consists of manuscript scores of Banfield's music, promotional and ephemeral material relating to Banfield, and recordings and transcripts of interviews that Banfield conducted with a variety of African-American composers as well as recordings of Banfield's radio show, Landscapes in Color.

These materials comprise a thirteen-part radio series of public service broadcasts produced by Sam Chase for WLIB radio in New York in cooperation with Newsweek Magazine.

The collection consists primarily of audiocassette copies of the 26-part radio series Wade in the Water, produced by NPR in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, and concieved and hosted by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon.

The collection consists primarily of materials related to the gospel musicals Mama, I Want to Sing; Mama, I Want to Sing II; and Born to Sing! Mama 3. It includes scripts, programs, promotional materials, posters, photographs, videos, and sound recordings. Records of the Mama Foundation include programs, press clippings, publicity, and posters.

Manuscript and printed scores, photographs, biographical material, and recordings by Black composers active from 1950 to present.

This collection consists of published and manuscript scores of Moore's music, as well as photographs of Moore and videos containing performances and interviews.

Black radio photograph collection documenting events and personnel, including photos with rhythm and blues musicians, at Houston station KCOH in the 1960s and 1970s. Photographs were copied from the personal collection of Gardner. Accompanied by a transcription of an interview with Gardner which includes descriptions of each photograph.

A small collection of photographs from the 1950s-1960s. The bulk of the photographs feature Jackie Wilson. Also included is early Motown recording artist Gino Parks.

Draper's collection documents the career of an African American music executive and covers his tenures at RCA Records and Warner Bros. Records.

This collection includes interviews and research materails used for the production of the book The Black Composer Speaks (1978), a project initiated by the Afro-American Arts Institute at Indiana University, and co-edited by Lida M. Belt, David N. Baker and Herman C. Hudson. The majority of the interviews were conducted by Lida Belt (Baker).

Audio recordings of taped radio show episodes, primarily from the series The Afro-American in Indiana, but also including the additional programs Reflections in Black and Black Heritage, as well as a radio special and recordings from a NAACP convention. The radio shows, hosted by Fr. Boniface Hardin, featured multiple high-profile guests. The episode topics includes sports, music, education, historiography, slavery, the American Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, the Indiana Constitution, the United States Constitution, church, religion, the NAACP, WWI, WWII, medicine, black businesses, the Institute of Afro American Studies, prison, labor history, and more.

This collection documents Dr. Teresa Hairston's work in the gospel music industry from the late 1980s into the early twenty-first century and consists of materials related to the publication of her gospel music magazines Score, Gospel Today, and Gospel Industry Today as well as events and television programs produced by Dr. Hairston. Included are publicity materials, photographs, press kits, magazines, correspondence, business records, and time-based media in both published and unpublished audio and video formats.

Selection of 45rpm singles issued in the 1960s-1980s on record labels owned by Stan Lewis in Shreveport, Louisiana. Includes rhythm and blues, blues, and gospel music on Jewel Records and Stan's Record Division subsidiary labels Ronn Records, Paula Records, Susie Q Records, and Head.

This collection consists primarily of interviews conducted by AAAMC assistant director Stephanie Shonekan and director Portia K. Maultsby for the exhibit, Something in the Water : The Sweet Flavor of Dayton Funk, hosted by the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. The exhibit was organized by NAAMCC curator Michael Sampson and Portia K. Maultsby with consultation by Ricky Vincent and was on display from October 3, 1998 through February through February 1999.

Photographs documenting the career of Houston deejay Skipper Lee Frazier, copied from his personal collection. Additional photo descriptions with biographical information transcribed from an interview with Frazier are available in accession folder. The collection consists of 12 b&w photographs with negatives primarily documenting Skipper Lee Frazier's activities in connection with KCOH in Houston during the 1970s and '80s.

Interviews with key figures in southern hip hop music and related secondary source materials including articles, press clippings, press releases and photographs.

The Ronald Lewis collection contains press releases, article clippings, concert flyers, posters, advertisements, sound recordings and video documenting Lewis' career as a musician, record label owner, and producer in Louisville, KY.

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

Collection consists primarily of materials related to Roberts's work at KYOK-AM in the 1960s and '70s including images of KYOK sponsored events such as the "We Love You" concert and associated publicity materials, a beauty pageant, radio contests, and on-site broadcasts throughout Houston. Also included are photographs of KYOK radio personalities and staff as well as candid and publicity photographs of visiting R&B artists.

Research on the Black gospel quartet tradition including recorded interviews, transcripts, programs, sheet music, hymnals, subject files, sound recordings and videos.

A collection of Prince commemorative publications assembled by the AAAMC following the artist's death on April 21, 2016.

Series G, "Music Industry Interviews," consists of transcripts and audiocassettes of interviews primarily conducted by Portia K. Maultsby between 1981-1986 as part of her research on the Black music industry. The remainder of the series in this collection are still in the process of being accessioned and are unavailable for general research and public use.

The Phyl Garland Collection consists primarily of personal papers, including original typescripts for Garland's columns in Ebony and Stereo Review, and related research and photographs. Also included are 41 original audiocassette recordings of interviews conducted by Garland (except as noted) primarily with various African American musicians, artists, and filmmakers. Topics include African American composers and musicians as well as various genres of music including, but not limited to, jazz, R&B, soul, rock, classical, and blues. Record company publicity materials include publicity photos and press releases for over 900 artists.

A collection of 100 publicity photographs of Black artists featured in PBS television programs from approximately 1972-1989.

This collection includes press clippings, publicity materials, photographs, programs, CDs, and audio and video documenting Patrice Rushen's lectures and performance at Indiana University in April 1997.

The collection consists primarily of materials collected during research for Nelson George's book Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound (St. Martin's Press, 1985). This includes interviews (audiocassettes and transcripts), photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, photocopies of legal documents, manuscripts, and correspondence.

Magazines and articles collected by Murray Forman during research for his book, The 'Hood Comes First: Race, Space, and Place in Rap and Hip-Hop (Wesleyan University, 2002).

This collection consists of books, papers, sheet music, posters, photographs, CDs, and DVDRs documenting the artistic life of Mike Johnson, "Country Music's No. 1 Black Yodeler."

Papers, photographs, music manuscripts of original jazz and classical compositions, sound recordings and videos documenting the career of jazz pianist Mickey Tucker.

Programs, press releases, audio recordings, and manuscript charts for jazz compositions composed by Hamilton College music professor Michael "Doc" Woods.

The Michael Nixon collection is comprised of papers relating to his entertainment company, various collected magazines with subjects pertaining to hip hop, RnB, and black culture. The collection also has photographs depicting his life and career as a management executive.

The Michael McAlpin Collection consists primarily of print materials used in the production of the PBS television documentary Record Row: the Cradle of Rhythm and Blues. Included are production materials and interview transcripts created during Dr. Portia Maultsby's collaboration on the project as AAAMC director as well as VHS tapes of the rough cut, final broadcast version, and local coverage of the documentary.

Collection includes audiocassette recordings of interviews about Ray Charles for Lydon's book Ray Charles : Man and Music (2004), a radio series about Ray Charles based on Lydon's book, complete or partial transcripts for many of the interviews organized loosely into book chapters, interviews with and about other African American musicians, class lectures given by Lydon at Indiana University and related publicity materials, and original music performed by Lydon.

A collection of 26 photos copied from the personal collection of Michael Graham for use by Portia K. Maultsby and the Smithsonian Institution for the 1986 symposium and accompanying booklet and exhibition, Rhythm and Blues, 1945-1955.

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.

The collection consists primarily of programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, awards, correspondence, memorabilia, posters, clothing, audio recordings and video related to Marietta Simpson's career.

The collection spans the years 1955-2020; The earliest materials are LPs released between 1955 and 1974, while the papers are dated from 2012. Materials consist primarily of records, radio interviews, and magazines discussing the Pastor Maceo L. Woods, as well the Charles Harrison Mason Historical Society.

The collection consists of materials related to Smithsonian Institution programs, including the Duke Ellington Youth Project, in addition to gospel sheet music and related research materials from George's personal collection.

The collection of music industry professional Logan H. Westbrooks contains professional and personal papers, photographs, sound recordings, video recordings, digital files, posters, books, memorabilia, artifacts and other material documenting his life and work from the 1930s through the 2010s. Professional papers pertain to his employment at Capitol Records, Mercury Records, CBS Records, CBS International, Soul Train Records, Source Records, and his management firm Ascent Music Inc. Personal papers pertain to his upbringing in Memphis, TN, the Church of God in Christ, lectures at California State University and Indiana University, philanthropic activities, and civic service. Topics include African American music industry executives; record labels; recording industry in United States, Africa, and Jamaica; African American musicians; black churches; rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, and funk music; radio and African American disc jockeys.

The collection consists primarily of audio tapes of two radio programs produced by Bailey Broadcasting Services: The Hip Hop Countdown & Report (1991-1998) and RadioScope: The Entertainment Magazine of the Air (1990-1996). Press releases for RadioScope broadcasts are also included.

Collection consists of materials related to Lewis's work at the WERD radio station in the 1950s and '60s. Founded by Jesse B. Blayton, Sr. in October 1949 in Atlanta, Georgia, WERD was the first black owned and operated radio station in the United States. The collection materials comprise 7 black and white and 7 color photographs documenting WERD's early history. Content includes the exterior of the WERD studio building, publications related to WERD such as photographs of an issue of The Printed WERD, and a portrait of J.B. Blayton Sr.

Collection consists primarily of interview transcripts, program transcripts, and artist publicity materials used in the production of the Westwood One Radio programs Special Edition, That's Country Music, Rock Chronicles, My Top Ten, and History of Rock 'n Roll. It also contains materials from various specials including programs on Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones.

Clippings, photographs, and audiocassette copies of airchecks compiled as "Sounds of the Fifties & Sixties" - radio programs as broadcast by well known WLAC deejay John R.

Approximately 800 radio aircheck tapes of radio programs of black popular music (live and prerecorded), hosted by Johnny Otis, and featuring live interviews with blues and rhythm & blues artists from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Artists interviewed include Little Esther Phillips, Al Frazier, Mary Wells, Zola Taylor, the Coasters, Horace Silver, the Robins, Etta James, Big Jay McNeely, Bobby Day, Bumps Blackwell, Pee Wee Crayton, Jimmy McCracklin, and Joe Liggins. Also included are photographs, memorabilia, books, and compact discs.

Original video masters for thirteen Johnny Otis Show television programs, taped in a Los Angeles studio by Griffiths circa 1975 and featuring such guest artists as Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, Marie Adams & the Three Tons of Joy, Joe Turner, Shuggie Otis, Pee Wee Crayton, and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Also included are five hours of unedited footage from Johnny Otis's Oldies But Goodies musical revue, a live show in L.A. that featured popular artists of the rock & roll era lip-synching to their hit recordings. Taped by Griffith from 1975-1977, over 100 songs are performed by artists such as Emma James, Richard Berry, the Penguins, the Coasters, Shirley & Lee, Ted Taylor, Bobby Day, and the Medallions.

The collection includes 47 audiocassettes and partial transcripts of interviews conducted by Jackson primarily for his book, A House On Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul, as well as related articles and book drafts.

Thirty-nine photographs depicting rural life in Mississippi circa 1953-1964.

Doug "Jocko" Henderson was a pioneering "rapping" deejay primarily associated with Philadelphia radio station WDAS in the 1970s. Collection primarily documents Henderson's Get Ready company, which published materials to be used in schools to teach American history, spelling, and the dangers of drug abuse using rap lyrics. Also included is material documenting Henderson's bid for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania. Materials include audiocassettes, teaching manuals, correspondence, photographs, business cards, press clippings, flyers, and other memorabilia.

A collection of publicity photos copied from the personal collection of Jock Hickman for use by Portia K. Maultsby and the Smithsonian Institution for the 1986 symposium and accompanying booklet and exhibition, Rhythm and Blues, 1945-1955. For the majority of these images copies exist at both the AAAMC and the Smithsonian Institution.