A major figure in American blues and folk music, Big Bill Broonzy (1903–1958) left his Arkansas Delta home after World War I, headed north, and became the leading Chicago bluesman of the 1930s. His success came as he fused traditional rural blues with the electrified sound that was beginning to emerge in Chicago. This, however, was just one step in his remarkable journey: Big Bill was constantly reinventing himself, both in reality and in his retellings of it. Bob Riesman's groundbreaking biography tells the compelling life story of a lost figure from the annals of music history.

staff members were stranded in New Orleans last night when the planes carrying them home from the American Folklore Society meetings there were canceled. Looking back at our last few days in New Orleans, and ahead to the mighty storm that has already started pounding us, let's look at an innovative project in which folklorists, supported by the AFC, have helped survivors of Katrina and Rita to document their own stories. You can watch a webcast featuring folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper at the link.

spent 16 years researching some of AFC's most popular recordings. Years ago, Wade and AFC research librarian Gerald Parsons selected materials for the CD A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings. Wade's new book takes an in-depth look at some of the most important of those recordings. See the link for a brief article on the book!

eserved spot in the Billboard Top 10 for 2011. Echoing some of the earliest voices in American music, Frederiksen and his colleagues weave a beautiful tapestry tracing the nation’s history and heritage in ballads, folksongs, Shaker hymns and spirituals, music from revival meetings and battlefields – and the new products of America’s first composers, Francis Hopkinson and William Billings. Joel Frederiksen is a former American Folklife Center intern who has been strongly influenced by folk music. Ticket info at the link (scroll down!), or call the Library's music division during business hours at (202) 707-8432 and ask them to hold tickets for you. Once again, it's free!

a short dramatic film, it has few of the characteristics of music videos, which would become popular only a few years later. See the film at the link!

Paul Brady's recording of this song was destined to become a classic of the Irish folk revival. Few people know that his version came from American oral tradition; he learned it from a transcription of the singing of Carrie Grover of Gorham, Maine. As far as we know, there is only one place researchers can hear a field recording of Mrs. Grover singing the song: The American Folklife Center. We can't place it online at the moment, but you can see the catalog card at the link above.

the Library's Music Division will join forces to celebrate the
legacy of Woody Guthrie. The event begins at 1:00 in the Whittall Pavilion of the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building, where AFC curator Todd Harvey will present highlights of AFC's Woody Guthrie Collections. This will be followed at 2:00 by a performance and conversation next door in the Coolidge Auditorium, featuring three prominent musicians who carry on Guthrie's legacy: Noel Stookey ("Paul" of the popular folk group Peter, Paul and Mary), Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Jimmy LaFave. The conversation will be moderated by Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the Grammy Museum and author of "This Land Is Your Land: Woody Guthrie and the Journey of an American Folk Song."

The curator talk is free and open to the public with no tickets required. The concert is presented free of charge to the public but requires tickets for admission. Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (202) 397-7328.

The Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building is located at 10 First Street, SE, Washington, DC 20540.

David Hall and Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith. The panel is part of The Lincoln Legacy Project, a multi-year effort by Ford’s Theatre to create dialogue in our nation’s capital around the issues of tolerance, equality and acceptance.