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Mississippi 1933–1940

1933 to 1940
United States
In the first summer they spent making field recordings, John A. Lomax and his son Alan visited the state of John's birth for sessions at the prison farms of Parchman and Oakley. John would return independently to Mississippi several times throughout the 1930s, making his last recording trip to the state in 1940. Although the lion's share of Lomax's recordings would be made in penal settings, he also documented the songs and games of students at the renowned Piney Woods School; a group of Black midwives in Jackson; and plantation residents in the vicinities of Brandon and Rome, as well as sacred songs and blues in the city of Natchez.

Parchman Farm 5/39

Parchman Farm 3/37

Parchman Farm 4/36

Oakley Farm 8/33

Parchman Farm 8/33

Piney Woods 9/37

Rome 10/40

Natchez 10/40

Jackson 3/37

Drew 10/40

Canton 8/33

Brandon 3/37

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