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Listen Now | Title | File Number | Subjects | Recording Date | Alt Title | Genres | Instruments | Cities | Counties | State | Setting | Editor Note | Technical Note | Online Resources | genre_hfilter | instrument_hfilter | city_hfilter | county_hfilter | state_hfilter | setting_hfilter |
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Interview about childrens' games | 6610A1 | Alan Lomax, David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | interview | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Coahoma County Agricultural High School | Interview with Edwards about ring games he played as a child. | Marred by noise in the right channel at 2:17. | interview | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | aggie | |||
Spread My Raincoat Down | 6610A2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Edwards tells Lomax this is the first song he learned. | blues | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Interview about Spread My Raincoat Down and the meaning and origins of the blues | 6610B1 | Alan Lomax, David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | interview | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Discussion of the preceding “plantation song,” which Edwards learned as a boy in Shaw, Miss.; what the blues “are all about”; and the first time he had the blues. | interview | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
You Got To Roll (I) | 6610B2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, holler | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Identified by Lomax as a “chain gang song.” | blues holler | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
You Got To Roll (II) | 6610B3 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, holler | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Followed by discussion of song’s origins and some of the lyrics, including Lomax asking Edwards why he changed the lyrics for the recording from “white folks” to “baby.” Also about his musician father and his repertoire. | blues holler | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Stagolee | 6610B4 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, dance tune, reel | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | A song (and in a style) learned from his father. | blues dance-tune reel | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Stagolee | 6610B4 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, dance tune, reel | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | A song (and in a style) learned from his father. | blues dance-tune reel | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Just A Spoonful | 6610B5 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, dance tune, reel | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | A song (and in a style) learned from his father. | blues dance-tune reel | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
I Love My Jelly Roll | 6611A1 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | lyric song | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | A song learned from a Ringling Bros. show: “a shine thing, a negro thing.” | lyric-song | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Interview about Edwards' interest in music, his music-making father, and sinful music | 6611A2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | interview | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Discusses his father joining the church and quitting music; a chord demonstration; and the blues as the Devil’s music. | interview | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Hellatakin' Blues | 6611A3 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | Hesitation Blues | lyric song | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Edwards sings this as “Hellatakin’,” and it’s cataloged as such on AFS card. | lyric-song | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | |||||
Interview about church-going, learning to play, and playing for dances | 6611A4 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | interview | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | interview | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | |||||||
Interview about traveling, playing dances, | 6611B | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | interview | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Talk on his travels as an itinerant musician, the dances he played, the musicians he played with (particularly in Memphis), various intoxicants, writing and recording blues. Discusses Bluebird Records and its talent scouts specifically, songwriting and songwriting/sales royalties vs. flat fees. Conversation continues about his preference for the North, and for integration. “Where you can be treated like a man,” Lomax said. More on country dances, dances, how much whiskey he’s drunk. | interview | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Worried Life Blues | 6612A1 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Followed by discussion of composing vs. improvising verses. | blues | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Water Coast Blues | 6612A2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Preceded by several false starts and much blank disc. | blues | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
The Army Blues | 6612B1 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | blues, topical song | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Followed by discussion of the song, which he had written “about three weeks ago,” and the war. | blues topical-song | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | ||||||
Tear It Down | 6612B2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-20-1942 | Tear It Down (Bed Slats and All) | lyric song | guitar, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | The item identified as “Ragtime Selection” in the AFS catalog (6612B3) is presumably this one. | lyric-song | guitar vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | |||||
Toasts, folk tale, and interview (part 1) | 6614A | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | spoken | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Delta Tourist Camp | Title given is that on AFS card. Lomax and Edwards trade toasts from 10:30. Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts • 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale) | Disc skips heavily for first six minutes. | spoken | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | tourist | |||
toasts, folk tale, and interview (part 2) | 6614B | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | spoken | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Delta Tourist Camp | Title given is that on AFS card. Largely an interview about catching trains, hobo musicians, and itinerancy. Lomax and Edwards discuss blues lyrics about rambling, being lonesome, and the “crossroads.” Ends with a Titanic toast. Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts • 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale) | spoken | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | tourist | ||||
Stories of a conjure man and blue-gummed people / Toast | 6615A1 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | spoken | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts, 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale)., Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp | Discussion of a conjuror (“conjur man”) named Uncle Tom; recitation of a dirty toast learned from a man from St. Louis; and talk on blue-gummed people. | spoken | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | suggested-by-chris-smith-to-be-the-delta-tourist-courts 1600-n-state-st-in-clarksdale identified-by-lomax-as-the-delta-tourist-camp | ||||
Do You Want A Little Bit of This? | 6615A2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | bawdy song, game song | vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Delta Tourist Camp | Followed by discussion of the song and adolescent sexuality. Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts • 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale) | bawdy-song game-song | vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | tourist | ||||
Test (Unidentified blues) | 6615B1 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | blues | guitar, harmonica, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts, 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale)., Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp | Identified as “test” on AFS card. Aural evidence suggests this could be Edwards’ performance that appears in Lomax’s Clarksdale film footage. | Marred by intense speed fluctuations. | blues | guitar harmonica vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | suggested-by-chris-smith-to-be-the-delta-tourist-courts 1600-n-state-st-in-clarksdale identified-by-lomax-as-the-delta-tourist-camp | |||
Wind Howlin' Blues | 6615B2 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | blues | guitar, harmonica, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | Delta Tourist Camp | Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts • 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale) | blues | guitar harmonica vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | tourist | ||||
Roamin' and Ramblin Blues | 6615B3 | David (Honeyboy) Edwards | 7-22-1942 | blues | guitar, harmonica, vocal | Clarksdale | Coahoma | Mississippi | (suggested by Chris Smith to be the Delta Tourist Courts, 1600 N. State St. in Clarksdale)., Identified by Lomax as the Delta Tourist Camp | Preceded by Lomax announcement of “a man who’s been all over the country, he’s a very experienced musician, same age as I am — 27 years old….” | blues | guitar harmonica vocal | clarksdale | coahoma | mississippi | suggested-by-chris-smith-to-be-the-delta-tourist-courts 1600-n-state-st-in-clarksdale identified-by-lomax-as-the-delta-tourist-camp |