Podcasts

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. Musical traditions of all kinds are passed down through generations in families. Whether it’s a repertoire of songs or a knack for a particular instrument, the family environment fosters unique interpretations and expressions of folk music. Fiddler Julian “Goose” Culbreath and the Cortez Grand Old Opry exemplify the type of rapport achieved when playing with kin.

Cortez is a small commercial fishing village in Manatee County, Florida. It was there that Goose and two of his brothers learned how to play the fiddle from their father, James, a prize-winning contest fiddler. The family gathered each week for a Sunday morning jam session, and the household became known as the Cortez Grand Old Opry among the villagers. Outside of the Culbreath household, they also performed at square dances, and even had their own radio program in 1949.

In addition to traditional southern fiddle tunes such as the “Orange Blossom Special” or “Arkansas Traveler,” Goose was well known for his trick fiddling techniques. These included bowing the fiddle with no hair, or wrapping the bow hair around the fiddle, as illustrated on “Back Up and Push.” The Culbreaths were also known for “beating the straws,” or “fiddlesticks,” where a family member tapped rhythm on the fiddle with sticks while Goose played “Granny Will Your Dog Bite” or “Old Joe Clark.”

Goose Culbreath received the Florida Folk Heritage Award in 1992 in recognition of his unique contributions to fiddling and his willingness to teach other aspiring musicians in his community. Goose was not only a talented musician but a full-time commercial fisherman, too.

The following are recordings of Goose Culbreath performing at the 1987 Florida Folk Festival accompanied by his son Lloyd and nephew Richard. This was the year they made their debut in White Springs, and they continued performing at the festival almost annually until Goose’s death in 2003. These recordings bring some of the Culbreaths’ fine playing, once heard only by neighbors and friends lucky enough to attend the Cortez Grand Old Opry, to new, appreciative audiences for years to come.

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. In addition to documenting Florida’s native arts, crafts and trades, the Florida Folklife Program promotes traditions from around the world that have been incorporated into communities throughout the state. This podcast features traditional Indian music from Jaya Radhakrishnan of Dade City.

Indian folk and classical music comes in many forms. Some songs may tell epic tales; while others may express poetry about love, religion, or nature with corresponding dances; additional forms may feature lengthy instrumental improvisations. The songs Jaya Radhakrishnan performs are primarily in the Carnatic style and span many centuries. Accompanied by the drone of her harmonium and percussion from her son, Jaya Radhakrishnan shared a rich repertoire of Indian folk songs with audiences at the Florida Folk Festival.

In addition to her talents as a musician, Mrs. Radhakrishnan taught students East Indian dance, as well as the decorative art of rangoli,through the Florida Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. One of her first students was also her daughter, Nila, who, in addition to making numerous appearances at the Folk Festival, also taught others the intricacies of Indian dance through the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program in 1991.

The following recordings were taken from performances at the Florida Folk Festival between 1982 and 1985. We begin with Mrs. Radhakrishnan and her husband explaining the role of the harmonium as accompaniment, and the scale, or sargam, from which her melodies are based. Then, sit back and enjoy six selections from Mrs. Radhakrishnan’s repertoire of Indian folk songs. Thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. From 1976-1977, the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, through a grant from the Florida Bicentennial Commission, hosted a Series of American Folk Music. In addition to performances by Pete Seeger, Doc and Merle Watson, Jean Ritchie, and the Kingston Trio, the series also included a day with the traveling Portable Folk Festival.

The Portable Folk Festival was sponsored by the National Folk Festival Association and hosted by folklorists Guy Carawan and Cece Conway. The Festival brought a diverse group of musicians from their respective homes to audiences around the Southeast. The t our featured bluesman Johnny Shines from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, coal miner and balladeer Nimrod Workman, Bessie and Vanessa Jones of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, and the North Carolina-based Red Clay Ramblers string band.

This podcast features highlights from their performances recorded April 16, 1977, at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center. We’ll hand the mic over to Cousin Thelma, Guy and Cece, and let the musicians share their traditions at the Portable Folk Festival.

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection Podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. In 2012, the Florida Folklife Program, State Archives of Florida and Dust-to-Digital, an award-winning record label, collaborated to release Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977 – 1980. This is an expanded book and two-CD reissue of a double LP the Folklife Program released in 1981. The original audio recordings and many of the photographs from fieldwork conducted for Drop on Down in Florida are now part of the Florida Folklife Collection housed at the State Library and Archives of Florida. This month we will listen to some of the original field recordings, and State Folklorist Blaine Waide will discuss the reissue project as well as the fieldwork conducted by the Florida Folklife Program that resulted in Drop on Down in Florida.

Florida Memory: Blaine, tell us a little bit about the Florida Folklife Program at the time Drop on Down in Florida was originally conceived.

Blaine Waide: The Florida Folklife Program was established in the mid-1970s, at a time when public folklife programs began to proliferate across the country. The staff retraced the groundbreaking fieldwork conducted in the 1930s by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration in Florida. This project involved identifying and recording folk artists maintaining African-American sacred and secular music traditions in the same communities documented approximately 50 years earlier.

FM: What prompted a reissue of the material after it had been unavailable for more than 20 years? 

BW: An expanded reissue of Drop on Down in Florida was produced for several reasons. The original album was only available on LP, and had limited impact as an educational tool. Because these were some of the first field recordings of traditional African-American music in Florida since the WPA era, it has become clear that the album has significant value to both scholars and collectors of such recordings alike. Presenting them in a digital format on a label with Dust-to-Digital’s reputation would make the music available to a larger audience. 

FM: How was material selected for the reissue?

BW: The 1981 LP only scratched the surface of the rich material from the field recordings. Dwight DeVane, one of the folklorists involved with the original project, reviewed the recordings alongside Lance Ledbetter at Dust-to-Digital and myself. New selections were made based on research value and artistic excellence.

FM: For this podcast, we have a sampling of both sacred and secular selections.  Some of these have not been included on the reissue.  We’ll start with Emmett Murray’s “Mobile Blues,” which Drop on Down in Florida derived its title from.

[T83-62 Emmett Murray - “Mobile Blues”]
[T83-69 Robert Dennis - “Sweet Black Angel”]
[T78-328 Richard Williams - “Old Forty”]

BW: We just heard “Sweet Black Angel” from Robert Dennis followed by “Old Forty” performed by his cousin, Richard Williams.  Williams and Dennis exemplify music traditions performed in family gatherings. We’ll hear some sacred music performed by the Williams family later in the podcast.

Moses Williams, of no relation to the aforementioned Williams family, played the blues on a one-string instrument comprised of a broom wire nailed to a door and stretched over a bottle or can at each end.  Originally from Itta Bena, Mississippi, Williams had a hardscrabble but eventful life as an itinerant performer and migrant worker. He worked in the citrus groves of Waverly, Florida at the time of these recordings.  Up next, we’ll hear three selections from Moses Williams: “Catfish Blues,” “Big Road Blues” and “Baby Please Don’t Go.”  

[T78-320 Moses Williams - “Catfish Blues”]
[T77-300 Moses Williams - “Big Road Blues”]
[T78-320 Moses Williams - “Baby Please Don’t Go”]

FM: In addition to secular music traditions, the fieldwork conducted for Drop on Down in Florida documented diverse sacred music performed in Florida’s African-American communities.  These recordings include church services, family sings, individual performances, and shape-note singing conventions. 

BW: First we’ll hear “So Many Falling By the Wayside” from Johnny Brown, a blind street musician and slide guitarist.  We’ll also hear two selections from the Williams family, further illustrating the family performance setting.

[C77-7 Johnny Brown - “So Many Falling By the Wayside”]
[T83-67 Williams Family - “I Will Rise to Tell You What the Lord Done for Me/I Will Fly Away”]

BW: African-American shape-note singing was fieldworker Doris Dyen’s area of expertise, and the fieldwork conducted for Drop on Down in Florida documented the importance of this  tradition in the Southeastern United States.  Included are examples of both four-shape and seven-shape note singing styles recorded at annual sings in the Panhandle and south Georgia.

[T80-91 Southeast Alabama and Florida Union Sacred Harp Singing Convention - “Cuba”]
[T83-87 Pleasant Grove Mid-Union Seven Shape Note Singing Convention - “Inside the Pearly Gates”]

FM: We conclude with a congregation recorded at the Miccosukee Church of God of Prophecy in Leon County. We hope you’ve enjoyed this podcast, and you can learn more in Dust-to-Digital’s book and two-CD set Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977-1980.  Thanks for listening.

[T81-24 Miccosukee Church of God of Prophecy – “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand”]

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is September 15 through October 15, this month’s podcast spotlights two talented Venezuelan harp players: José Palmi and Jesús Rodríguez. Both musicians immigrated to Florida and have enriched American culture by sharing their unique traditions through performances and apprenticeships.

The harp was introduced to Latin America by Spanish missionaries primarily during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was adopted into the indigenous music of the continent as both a solo instrument and accompaniment for vocalists and instrumental ensembles. Many varieties of harp thrive throughout Venezuela, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.

In Venezuela, the celebratory joropo, with its regional variations, is perhaps the most prominent type of traditional music from los llanos, or the plains. Its rhythm is in triple meter like a waltz, but driven by syncopation and a fast-paced tempo—well suited for quick-footed couple dancing. The type of harp corresponding to this region is known as arpa llanera, on which we’ll hear Palmi and Rodríguez play many examples of Venezuela’s música llanera, or music of the plains.

The performances featured in this podcast were recorded on two separate occasions. José Palmi, who we’ll hear from first, was recorded to digital audio tape at his home in Miami on June 27, 1993. Jesús Rodríguez, accompanied by his seven-year-old son Henry on maracas, was recorded to open reel tape at the 1986 Florida Folk Festival.

Bibliography

Colman, Alfredo. Liner notes to Maiteí América: Harps of Paraguay. Various Artists. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40548. CD. 2009.

Sheehy, Daniel and Carlos Rojas Hernández. Liner notes to Joropo Music from the Plains of Colombia. ¡Cimarrón!. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40557. CD. 2011.

Sheehy, Daniel and Benito Irady. Liner notes to ¡Y Que Viva Venezuela! Maestros del Joropo Oriental. Various Artists. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40551. CD. 2009.

Alligators, snakes, rare birds and Native exoticism are all pinnacles of Florida’s tourism industry. Wakulla Springs State Park offers visitors the chance to experience all of these things and more under the guidance of clever and knowledgeable guides. Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection Podcast Series from the Florida Department of State’s State Library and Archives of Florida. In this month’s podcast we’ll examine the oral traditions of the Wakulla Springs boat drivers.

Glass-bottom boat tours are certainly not exclusive to Wakulla Springs. They have been a long-standing attraction in Silver Springs, Homosassa Springs and Rainbow Springs, among others. Boat tours in Wakulla Springs date back to the late 1800s. Right up through recent history, descendants of the first boatmen of the Springs have followed in the footsteps of their forefathers, and their chants, jokes and stories have been passed down through the generations.

The first portion of this podcast features a jungle boat tour by Wilbert Gavin. Gavin masterfully calls out the surrounding plants and wildlife he sees during the three-mile loop down the river, pointing out the rare limpkin and finding some snakes for the ladies.

Next, we hear a retired Luke Smith recite his glass-bottom boat chant at the Florida Folk Festival. The way he sings about the underwater fauna and summons the fish to the boat is reminiscent of African-American spirituals and field hollers. Following his boat tour demonstration, Smith discusses his history at the Springs in an interview, recalling the days of giving tours in row boats.

Now keep your hands and arms inside the boat, and enjoy the mysterious waters of Wakulla Springs!

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection Podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s State Library and Archives of Florida. Many of the recordings found in the collection are the result of fieldwork conducted by folklorists. As part of their research, the Florida Folklife Program selects and surveys a particular region or tradition. Their findings are extensively documented through field notes, sound recordings, photographs and video. This podcast contains a sampling of recordings from the Miami-Dade region as found in the Dade Folk Arts Survey.

The Dade Folk Arts Survey was conducted from 1985-1986 by folklorists Tina Bucuvalas, Nancy Nusz and Laurie Sommers with the goal of finding folk artists to bring to the 34th annual Florida Folk Festival.  While Latin American, Haitian and Jewish cultures were most prominently represented, the survey also covered a wide range of traditions, including shoe rag popping, Middle Eastern music, Jamaican stories and dance, and Irish fiddling.

Let’s start with some of the Haitian artists recorded during the survey.  We’ll hear from a Nyabinghi drumming group, Rasta Samba Gynin, and songwriter Kiki Wainwright.
[T86-56, T86-57, T86-66, T86-67]

Next, we’ll examine just a few of the diverse Latin American music traditions found in Miami. Manolo Franco, Hilda Gonzalez and Nelson Zuleto demonstrate how Salsa music can be performed on the harp with their original composition, “El Harpa in Juanchito.” Mariachi Jalisco, representing the Mexican Mariachi tradition, offers a version of “Caminos de Michoacan.”   Cuban charanga group Illusion 60 livens things up with a merengue, and we round things out with another excellent harp player, Jesus Rodriguez, performing “El Carnaval.”
[T86-76, T86-78, T86-72, T86-77]

Many traditions from Jewish culture, including music, foodways, needlework and storytelling were documented during the survey. For this podcast we selected an excerpt from a performance by Jewish vaudevillians Harry and Lil Kalikow, as well as Klezmer music by clarinetist Jaime Bronsztein, accompanied by pianist Bracha Schlein.
[T86-101, C86-5]

To further showcase Miami’s international diversity, we’ll hear some Saudi Arabian music from the Middle Eastern Ensemble, as heard at the Our Lady of Lebanon Church.
[T86-83]

Last but not least, Dade County is also rich in down-home American roots music, and we conclude the podcast with blues harmonica player Samuel “Birdnest” Young performing the tune that earned him his nickname. We hope you’ ve enjoyed the variety of traditions captured in the Dade Folk Arts Survey, and look forward to sharing more fieldwork from the Florida Folklife Collection in the future. Thanks for listening.
[T86-11]

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s State Library and Archives of Florida. Florida’s close proximity to the Caribbean islands has introduced a variety of rich cultural celebrations to the state. This month we will explore some of the music that grew out of the Bahamian Junkanoo parades as we listen to the Key West Junkanoos.

Employed by the City of Key West, the Junkanoos were led by bassist Bill Butler, pianist Lofton “Coffee” Butler, and featured percussionists Charles Allen, Kenny Rahming, Joe Whyms and Alvin Scott. They appeared often at the Florida Folk Festival from 1977-1991.

The origin of the name Junkanoo is still a matter of debate. Some say it is derived from the name of 18th century African Gold Coast leader John Connu. Others have looked to similar sounding phrases such as the French for “masked people,” gens inconnu. Bahamian Junkanoo parades can be traced back to the 1800s when African slaves would gather, don masks, and celebrate with music and dance on Christmas Day. The parades have evolved to become huge tourist attractions and occur in two stages or rushes: the first on Boxing Day and the second on New Year’s Day. This tradition was carried over in Key West and Miami by Bahamian immigrants of African descent.

The Key West Junkanoos have distilled the sounds of the parade’s marching bands into their own repertoire of original material, as well as classic Calypso tunes such as “The John B. Sails,” “Island in the Sun” and “Yellow Bird.” So take the conch shell from your ear, and turn your attention to the island rhythms of the Junkanoos as heard at the 1983 Florida Folk Festival Main Stage.

Bibliography

DeCosmo, Janet L. “Junkanoo: The African Cultural Connection in Nassau, Bahamas.” Western Journal of Black Studies 27, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 246-257.

Stearns, Marshall W. Liner notes to Junkanoo Band — Key West. Key West Junkanoos. Folkways Records FL 4492. LP. 1964.

Welcome back to the Florida Folklife Collection podcast series from the Florida Department of State’s State Library and Archives of Florida. Although Florida-grown artists and traditions have been the primary focus of this series, we would be remiss in overlooking the reach of Florida folklife outside of our state lines. In 1977, the Florida Folklife Program sponsored a series of free concerts of nationally renowned folk musicians at the Stephen Foster Center in White Springs. Included in the lineup were Jean Ritchie, the New Christy Minstrels, the Kingston Trio, Doc and Merle Watson, and Pete Seeger, who turns 93 this May. To celebrate Pete’s birthday, we’ll revisit his performance recorded 35 years ago.

Born in New York City, Pete Seeger learned the banjo in 1938, and worked with Alan Lomax at the Archive of American Folk Song in the Library of Congress. As a songwriter, his original repertoire included “Turn Turn Turn” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” He also formed two influential groups, the Almanac Singers and the Weavers, who sang labor anthems like “Which Side are You On?” as well as traditional numbers such as “Goodnight, Irene.”

During his extensive career, Seeger inevitably crossed paths with Florida folk artists. In 1956 he recorded for Folkways Records with the Washboard Band, which featured Florida Folk Heritage Award Winner William “Washboard Bill” Cooke. Not surprisingly, he also struck up a friendship with the Father of Florida Folk himself, Will McLean. The two performed together in 1963 at Carnegie Hall, and Will McLean was notably present for Seeger’s 1977 White Springs appearance.

Pete Seeger wrote about Florida in his music as well. “Delbert Tibbs” is an ode to the African-American poet who was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape in 1974 and sat on death row in Raiford State Penitentiary until January of 1977. The song helped procure justice for Tibbs, and in 1982, all charges against him were dismissed.

Today, at the age of 93, Pete Seeger is still performing, recording and promoting social justice. Let’s hand the mic over to our mistress of ceremonies, Thelma Boltin, and sing along as Pete picks the banjo and strums his 12-string guitar.