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- Collection: Oral Histories
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The Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir
In 1959, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir was formed to provide the music that would fuel the mass meetings and marches of Birmingham's Civil Rights Movement. The Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir -- named in honor of that…
Dorothy "Dot" Henderson and the Silver Voices
Interview with Dorothy "Dot" Henderson and the members of her group, Dot and the Silver Voices.Recorded for the Alabama Folklife Association by Burgin Mathews, January 17, 2016, at Henderson's home in Woodlawn, Alabama. Other members of the group are…
Eloise Gaffney & Louisa Bevelle
Interview with Eloise Gaffney & Louisa Bevelle, Civil Rights Movement foot-soldiers and members of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir / Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir. Recorded by Burgin Mathews, August 7, 2013, in…
Georgia Warren
In this interview excerpt, Georgia Warren of Bluff City, Tennessee, recalls her experience as a participant in the historic 1927 Bristol Sessions.The Bristol Sessions have often been called “The Big Bang of Country Music”; Johnny Cash called the…
Kasper "Stranger" Malone
Born in McCracken County, Kentucky, Kasper “Stranger” Malone (1909 – 2005) set out on his own at the age of fifteen and soon landed in Rome, Georgia, where he connected with some of the pioneers of old-time country string-band music. In 1926,…
Lum York
Interview with Lum York. Recorded by Burgin Mathews, July 14, 2003 at the home of Lum and Nita York in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Born in Elmore, Alabama, just north of Montgomery, William Herbert “Lum” York (1918-2004) worked off and on, from 1944 to…
Mamie Brown Mason
Interview with Mamie Brown Mason, Civil Rights Movement foot-soldier and co-founder of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir / Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir. Recorded by Burgin Mathews, August 2, 2013, at Mason's home in…
Robert Stripling
Oldest son of celebrated Alabama fiddler Charlie Stripling, Robert Stripling began playing publicly with his father at the age of 10. In these interview excerpts, Stripling remembers his fiddler father; his own early musical experiences; making music…
Slim Byrant
Interview with Slim Bryant, recorded by Darwin Lee Hill, May 24, 1996. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1908, songwriter, singer, and guitarist Thomas Hoyt “Slim” Bryant made his first recordings in 1928 as a member of the Harmony Boys string band. He…
Vernon Oxford
Interview with Vernon Oxford (1941-2023), recorded by Darwin Lee Hill, July 12, 2002.Born in Arkansas and raised primarily in Wichita, Kansas, Vernon Oxford was the youngest of seven children born to a musical family. In 1964, he moved to Nashville,…
Victoria Hallman
At the age of four, Birmingham, Alabama’s Victoria Hallman began making regular appearances on a local TV talent show; in 1961, at five, she recorded her first single—a Christmas tune, backed by a tear-jerking recitation—for a local label. She would…
Wanda Lohman
Wanda Lohman (“Miss Wanda”) was the longtime waitress at Tootsie’s Orchard Lounge, the iconic Nashville honkytonk. This interview was conducted as part of the project “Talking Country: Oral Histories in Classic Country Music,” created by Burgin…
Oral Histories
The Southern Music Research Center's Oral Histories collection includes audio interviews reflecting a range of music traditions. When possible, print transcripts are included; audio recordings appear just beneath the transcript. Additional…