Manuscripts: In English.
Comprises a group of field materials documenting John McCready performing unaccompanied Anglo-American songs on July 31, August 2, and August 5, 1939, collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Groveland, Tuolumne County, California. Includes many tunes from the California Gold Rush era.
Recordings:The McCready recordings were made in the Arizona Bar in Groveland, California.
"All the McCready records made on Aug. 5 have a hum due to the fan in the Arizona Bar. The fan brought the temperature down to 90 degrees! at 6 p.m."
John McCready's father came to California in 1856, then returned to Kansas, where his sons John and Pen were born. John and Pen McCready were born about 20 miles from Fort Scott, Kansas. "They are two of three brothers who mined and made music together all their lives. . . They lived also in northeast Arkansas and in Colorado, which they left to come to California to escape the snow! (It is 3'-6' deep in Tuolumne County in the winter.)"
am Jun-27-97