Audio file

Date recorded: October 6, 1961
Contributor(s): Performer: Jones, Bessie; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: dance song, game song
Culture: African American, Southern U.S.
Setting: Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T984
Track Number: 1
Archive ID: T984R01
Note: John. A and Alan Lomax recorded a version of Possum-La for the Library of Congress in 1937, sung by an African American girl from Alabama, conjecturing that the phrase may have come from the French 'pas-ma-la', a dance pass. Nevertheless, Jones' version is about a possum in a tree eating persimmons and dropping the seeds on the ground.
Transcript:
Belongs to: New York City 10/61
About the session: The tenth of 21 recording sessions with Bessie Jones.
Rights: The rights to the audio, photographic, and video materials contained within the Lomax Digital Archive are administered by various publishers, record labels, collectors, estates, and other rights holders. Any uses, commercial or not, must be cleared by the specific rights holders. For questions regarding the use of any material on the LDA, please contact Permissions.
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