George Vinton Graham performing Anglo-American songs,
1938-1939
Sound recordings: In English.
Manuscripts: In English.
Comprises a group of field materials documenting George Vinton
Graham performing Anglo-American songs and accompanying himself on
the guitar on October 12, 1938, December 3 and 7, 1938, July 9,
1939, and August 16, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in
San Jose, California. Recordings include old-time dance tunes, old
English ballads (among them, child ballads), and American folk and popular songs.
Recordings:
Photographs:
Textual and melodic transcriptions:
General notes:
"Mr. Graham's guitar is strung with 4
double metal strings (8 in all) and similarly it is tuned
(theoretically!) like a violin--his own idea, because he once played
the violin and knew the fingering. Normally he strums across it
with a large bone pick
; this drowned out his voice so I asked him to
use his fingers instead."
Biographical and historical notes:
George Vinton Graham's family, on his father's side, came from Ohio.
List of performers | California Folk Music
am Jun-27-97