Commentary by W. D. Stewart (Bama) on getting into the penitentiary, work song leaders, and the best prison singers

Audio file
Date recorded: November 1, 1947 to December 31, 1947
Contributor(s): Performer: Taylor, Jim (Dobie Red); Performer: Stewart, W.D. (Bama); Performer: Richardson, Benny Will (22); Performer: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Dew, Hollie (Bull); Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: interview/commentary
Culture: African American, Southern U.S.
Instruments: voice
Setting: Lambert Camp, Parchman Farm (Mississippi State Penitentiary)
Location: Parchman, Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T804
Track Number: 2
Archive ID: T804R02
Belongs to: Parchman 12/47
About the session: These recordings were made in late 1947 at the Lambert Camp at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, better known as Parchman Farm. Some were originally issued by Tradition on a 1958 LP entitled "Negro Prison Songs," and were were later (1997) issued on CD in two volumes - "Prison Songs" - as part of the Alan Lomax Collection on Rounder Records, and in a two-CD set on Dust-to-Digital called "Parchman Farm: Photographs and Field Recordings, 1947–1959."
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