John Burrus started singing when he was twenty-three years old. He was a rodeo cowboy, who, while the other cowboys went into town, stayed back at camp to practice his guitar. He learned a few basic chords, G, D, C and A, and then tried singing... more

The spirituals and poems of Osceola Mays are remarkable indeed. In them, the past is recounted with a reverent intensity that expresses the deeply felt emotions of three generations of black Texans... more

Along the coast of West Africa and throughout the Senegambia region of the savannah grasslands, are modern griots – traditional songsters who accompany themselves on plucked lutes. Each of the ethnic groups they represent has... more

Historically Spain has shown a close relation between the art music and the music of Spanish folklore. The pieces by Luys Narvdez, vihuelist - a predecessor to the guitar - and composer, display this combination of folklore and high art. Canción del emperador/Song of the Emperor was dedicated to king... more

In the rural East Texas towns of Longview, Tyler, Raywood, Liberty, and Sulphur Springs, the harmonica has been played by African Americans in church and at house parties for more than a century. John T. Samples, Sr., Virginia Peoples, Robert Berry, Jack Wilson and Cleveland Walters, Jr., exemplify the roots of this tradition... more