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"Fess" Whatley and Black AFM Delegates, 1937
John T. “Fess” Whatley with other Black delegates to the 42nd annual convention of the American Federations of Musicians, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937. Barred from participating in Birmingham’s white musicians’ union, Whatley co-founded Local 733 for…
"They live on in our hearts": Ole Rex's Pickin' Park, Henderson, Alabama
Community member tributes at Ole Rex's Pickin' Park, Henderson, Alabama. Photo by Burgin Mathews, 2022.
"Waiting and Longing" Sheet Music
Sheet music for "Waiting and Longing," as featured by Dunk Rendleman and his Alabamians on Birmingham, Alabama, radio station WBRC. Music and ukulele arrangement by Albert Treadway; lyric by Bill Harwell. Published by Albert Treadway and Bill…
3 Flyers: Subversive Vengeance and Skeletal Death in Madison, 1987
Three flyers for Subversive Vengeance and Skeletal Death in Madison, Alabama, October 16, 1987.
"THRASH 'tiL DEATH!"
"THE AREA'S FIRST AND ONLY DEATH CORE BAND..."
Courtesy David Baird.
"THRASH 'tiL DEATH!"
"THE AREA'S FIRST AND ONLY DEATH CORE BAND..."
Courtesy David Baird.
Ad: Bob's Savoy Cafe, Featuring the Savoy Syncopators, 1946
Newspaper advertisement for Bob's Savoy Cafe (AKA Bob's Savoy, AKA The Little Savoy), "A New Deal In Dining Entertainment," featuring the Savoy Syncopators, Weekly Review, Birmingham, Alabama, March 16, 1946.
Ad: Frank Adams and His Swingsters at the Woodland Club, 1953
Newspaper advertisement for Frank Adams and His Swingsters at the Woodland Club,Birmingham News, November 20, 1963.
Ad: Reco Lynn & Lucky Leon Davis at Club 401, 1961
Newspaper advertisement for Reco Lynn, "Mr. Voice of the South," and "Lucky" Leon Davis, "'The Singing Drummer' And His All-Star Band," Club 401, Powderly, Alabama.Birmingham Mirror, March 4, 1961.
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, First Inductees, 1978
Inaugural inductees to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Birmingham, Alabama, 1978. From left to right: Sammy Lowe (trumpeter, arranger), Erskine Hawkins (trumpeter, bandleader), Frank Adams (reeds, educator), Amos Gordon (reeds, educator), Haywood…
Alton "Snooky" Davenport
Drummer Alton “Snooky” Davenport. Davenport studied music at Tuskegee Institute, performed in Fess Whatley’s Birmingham orchestra, and during the Second World War directed the 334th ASF Band at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served as bandmaster at…
Army Band Postcards (2), Camp McClellan
Army band practice at Camp McClellan, near Anniston, Alabama, in a 1918 postcard. The Southern Music Research Center archive includes two copies of this postcard. One, addressed to Miss Mary Sewell in Jacksonville, Alabama and signed "Your classmate…
Arthur Doyle
Free jazz saxophonist Arthur Doyle, Birmingham, Alabama, 2000.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Arthur Doyle (2)
Free jazz saxophonist Arthur Doyle, Birmingham, Alabama, 2000.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Aunt Bertha Robinson
Aunt Bertha Robinson was born in Jackson County, Alabama, near the community of Lem Rock, in 1904; the family moved to nearby New Market when she was seven or eight years old. She picked up and adapted her distinctive two-finger picking style from a…
Azalea Trail Square Dance Festival, Mobile, Alabama (1966 Program)
Program for the 13th Annual Azalea Trail Square Dance Festival, March 1966, Mobile, Alabama. Program includes photos of local and visiting square dance callers, festival organizers, and multiple Mobile area square dance clubs, along with numerous…
Band director Donald Crawford receives check from A. G. Gaston
Historically, Birmingham schools have played an essential role in developing the city's jazz community; many Birmingham music teachers were also accomplished and highly respected players.
Here, Jackson-Olin High School band director Donald…
Here, Jackson-Olin High School band director Donald…
Benny Smith and his Houserockers, Radio Broadcast, 1960s
In these audio excerpts, Benny Smith and his Houserockers, a rock and roll / blues band, performs live on the Midnight Mover Groover Show, hosted by "Little Walter" (Walter Anglin) on Birmingham radio station WJLD. Other musicians, along with bassist…
Big Jim Folsom "conducts" the Meat Grinders, 1962
Governor “Big Jim” Folsom, accompanied by his wife Jamelle, “conducts” members of the Meat Grinders, his 1962 campaign band. Twice elected to the Alabama governor’s office, Folsom lost the 1962 election to George Wallace, a former protege whose long…
Big Jim Folsom and his Strawberry Pickers, c. 1946
Gubernatorial candidate James E. “Big Jim” Folsom on the campaign trail with his Strawberry Pickers, c. 1946. The larger-than-life, two-time Populist governor made rural string-band music central to his folksy image, barnstorming the state with the…
Big Jim Folsom campaigns in Elba, Alabama, 1966
Big Jim Folsom campaigns in his hometown of Elba, Alabama, for a third term in the Governor's office, April 1966. Two members of his band can be seen behind him. Folsom would lose the election to Lurleen Wallace, whose husband George had defeated…
Big Jim Folsom Square Dances
Photo of Big Jim Folsom at an Asheville, North Carolina, square dance attended by southern governors in 1947.