Commentary by Vera Hall on her family. Session I
Other Form of Name
Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002; Hall, Vera, 1902-1964
Identifier
T811R07; FRID (Lomax Number) 12933
Creation Date
5-1-1948
City
New York (N.Y.)
Disclaimer
Some of the images and language that appear in the digital collections depict prejudices that are not condoned by the University of Mississippi. This content is being presented as historical documentation to aid in the understanding of both American history and the history of the University of Mississippi. The University Creed speaks to our current deeply held values, and the availability of this content should not be taken as an endorsement of previous attitudes or behavior.
Description
These recordings of oral history, play songs, blues, spirituals, and stories were made in 1948 when Alan Lomax invited Vera Hall to come from her home in Livingston, Alabama, to New York City for a concert. Vera Hall's mother had been a slave, and Vera's date of birth was not recorded. Her artistry and repertoire were brought to John A. Lomax's attention by Ruby Pickens Tartt, a painter and folklorist from Livingston who introduced Vera and her cousin, Dock Reed, to him in 1937. The elder Lomax recorded her again in 1940, describing her as having 'the loveliest voice I had ever recorded.' Alan Lomax used the oral histories of Vera Hall and Dock Reed as the basis of The Rainbow Sign (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1959), a study of African-American spirituality. After her death in 1964, Alan Lomax said: 'It is from singers like Vera Hall that all of us who love folk music in America have everything to learn. Her performances were all graced with dignity and with love. Her sense of timing and beat were perfection itself. But all this is analysis. The mystery of Vera Hall and her art, while hinted at in the recordings we will always treasure, lies buried in the state where once the stars fell.' For a summary of Vera Hall's life see Gabriel Greenberg's article, reproduced at www.alan-lomax.com. In 2005 Vera Hall was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.
Subject Headings (Library of Congress)
Blues (Music); Blues musicians
Relational Format
audio recording
Extent
15:28
Original Collection
Alan Lomax Recordings
Rights
Media files in this collection are owned by the Association for Cultural Equity and made available solely for personal use. Copy or capture of media files is prohibited. Due to copyright concerns, the recordings in this collection can only be accessed by arrangement with the Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Comments
Vera Hall I 1948. Lomax Classification: spoken; commentary. Lomax Collection Title: Vera Hall 1948. Recording Note: Vera Hall talks about her sister Estelle and her father Ephram Hall [Tape Box]. Vera Hall talks about how her sister Estelle was a better helper to her mother than she was. Alan asks whether Vera thinks boys and girls love their fathers or mothers better. Vera thinks girls tend to love their fathers more. Vera looks exactly like her mother. Vera learned most of her songs from her mother. Her father didn't sing too much. He whistled songs when he worked. He looked mad all the time. He didn't talk much and people were a little scared of him. He was a kind man though. He had a hard time as a boy. He was a mischevious boy. He would fight alot. When he was 18 or 19 he played a long day of baseball and came home to eat his dinner. He ate so many dumplings that he layed on the bed and had a vision of three heads coming through the cracks in the roof of the house. Then he felt something heavy land on his chest and he was screaming and struggling, then he grabbed the door and bit at one of the creatures in his room and spit out a piece of it on the floor. He thinks they were some kind of aliens. Vera Hall's grandfather was a slave and was sold into the county where he lived and worked. Her father was brought up working on the land where they lived. At Christmas time the white landowner would give them 5 dollars to buy clothes and shoes for the children. When her father was grown, he left, got married to Vera's mother and rented land from another plantation. Then he was working for himself and that is where Vera grew up. Her father was a very hard worker. He harvested and plowed all spring and summer and cut wood and sold it in the winter time. He had his own wagon and mules. Session Note: In these interviews and songs, recorded by Alan Lomax at his home in New York City, Vera Hall talks about her life and sings samples of songs. Lomax is joined by his wife Elizabeth, their daughter, and an unidentified couple, who can be heard throughout the session (editor's note). Location: Greenwich Village, Alan Lomax's Apartment (3rd. Street, New York, N.Y.)