Interview with Vera Hall about playing church and singing
Other Form of Name
Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002; Hall, Vera, 1902-1964
Identifier
T820R04; FRID (Lomax Number) 13001
Creation Date
5-23-1948
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)
Singing; Church music; Religion;Blues (Music); Blues musicians;
Relational Format
audio recording
Extent
09:03
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 II 1948. Lomax Classification: interview; spoken. Lomax Collection Title: Vera Hall 1948. Recording Note: As a child Hall and her friends would play at being in church. She explains that it was during this game that she really began singing. Session Note: This session is comprised of tapes recorded at 15 IPS, probably used as working sequences for a possible LP. Alan Lomax used an Echo box to produce the effect heard on Vera Hall's voice. These recordings have been compiled into an individual session because they were not recorded as candid interviews, but as conscious attempts at professional recording for commercial release. T819.07, 08, and 09 are fragments of Henry Wallace campaign songs sung by Woody Guthrie and an unidentified man, with fiddle and guitar (editor's note). Location: Greenwich Village, Alan Lomax's Apartment (3rd. Street, New York, N.Y.)