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  1. Film and Video
  2. Ballads, Blues and Bluegrass
  3. Roscoe Holcomb: On Top of Old Smoky (1961)

Date recorded: 1961
Contributor(s): Recordist: Wood, Anna Lomax; Recordist: Ritchie, Jean; Recordist: Pickow, George; Recordist: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Cohen, John; Performer: Holcomb, Roscoe
Description: Roscoe Holcomb sings "On Top of Old Smoky," joined by John Cohen on guitar, at Alan Lomax's West Third Street apartment in New York City. From the film "Ballads, Blues, and Bluegrass," directed by Lomax (who's holding the mic), shot by George Pickow, with sound by Jean Ritchie (who's seen at the beginning with Ramblin' Jack Elliott), and edited by Anna Lomax Wood.
Subject(s):
Setting: Alan Lomax's apartment
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Archive ID: PoJkndLVcqM
Transcript:
Belongs to: Ballads, Blues and Bluegrass
About the session: In the early 1960s, when Greenwich Village was bursting with a folk-music revival, an organization called the Friends of Old Time Music (founded by Ralph Rinzler, Izzy Young, and John Cohen) made it their mission to introduce New York City audiences to some of the era's best folk, blues, and bluegrass performers. After the first two F.O.T.M. concerts in early 1961 (featuring Roscoe Holcomb, Clarence Ashley, and Doc Watson), Alan Lomax invited the artists and a who's who of the folk revival back to his West Third Street apartment for an impromptu song-swap.
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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More from the session

Clarence Ashley with Doc Watson: The Banks of the Ohio (1961)

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