John Lomax and Uncle Rich Brown

John A. Lomax was head of the Archive of American Folk-Song (1932 – 42) but spent most of his time away from Washington, often in the field. Sumter County, Alabama, which lies along the southwest border of the state, proved to be one of Lomax's most fertile collecting locations. During his trip there, October – November 1940, accompanied by his wife, Ruby Terrill Lomax and Mrs. Ruby Pickens Tartt of the Alabama Federal Writer's Project, Lomax recorded Rich Brown singing eleven songs, many of them spirituals. Photo in A National Project with Many Workers.

Rocky My Soul." RealPlayer MP3 (1:38)

Sung by Uncle Rich Brown. Recorded by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in Sumterville, Alabama, October, 1940. John and Ruby Lomax 1940 Southern States Recording Trip Collection, AFC 1940/003: AFS 4027 B1. [This collection is available online as the American Memory presentation Southern Mosaic:The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip.]

Source: Library of Congress; American Folklife Center