ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION COLLECTIONS:Audio Interviews
Audio interviews by Chris Strachwitz during his research into the music he was recording for his label Arhoolie Records as well as for his radio programs on KPFA-FM (Berkeley, CA) in the 1960’s through 1980’s, and by Dr. Manuel Peña during his research for his several books on Mexican American music.
Ann Savoy Collection: On The Babineaux Family
I went to Rayne in search of information about the Babineaux family who had a popular stringband there in the 1940’s. Somehow I found a relative of Sidney Babineaux, Wanda Wilson, who had a wonderful box of photos of the Babineaux family that she shared with me for my book.
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Ann Savoy Collection: On Austin Pitre
Though I never personally met Austin I had heard him play at the Evangeline Club in Eunice. Marc and I stopped in one Sunday afternoon and entered a pitch black room, freezing cold due to the air conditioning. The music was rocking and the dance floor was packed.
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Ann Savoy Collection: On Harry Choates
I had to interview several people to get enough info about Harry Choates. There were still plenty of people living who had played with him and watched him develop into the dynamo musician he became.
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Ann Savoy Collection: On Blind Uncle Gaspard
I drove the two hour trip to the Avoyelles region in search of traces of Blind Uncle Gaspard and Delma Lachney. The recordings of Blind Uncle Gaspard had always been my favorite Louisiana recording due to their uniqueness and haunting, strange quality of sound.
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Sacred Steel Archive: Katie Jackson Interview
Powerhouse singer and Baltimore, Maryland resident Katie Jackson is very highly regarded in the House of God, Keith Dominion. Known as “the Mahalia Jackson (no relation) of the House of God,” she enjoys a reputation as a vocalist whose passionate delivery never fails to move a congregation.
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Sacred Steel Archive: Acorne Coffee Interview
Born in 1936, pedal-steel guitarist Acorne Coffee lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania then retired to his wife’s home state of South Carolina, where he lived until his death in 2009. Elder Coffee influenced Chuck Campbell in his early years as a steel guitarist.
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Sacred Steel Archive: Charles Flenory Interview
Detroit House of God, Keith Dominion musician Charles Flenory plays both standard guitar and steel guitar. He was born in 1948 in Cleveland, Ohio where his father served as an elder in the Church of the Living God, Jewell Dominion.
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Ann Savoy Collection: Wilson “Boozoo” Chavis, 1986
Boozoo rose to great popularity in his second musical career in 1984, rocking dancehalls all over the country. He had had a bad experience when he first recorded in 1954 and didn’t record again until thirty years later when he started playing dances again.
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Ann Savoy Collection: Wilfred Latour, 1986
This gentle, quiet man came to visit at Savoy Music Center when he was in Louisiana on a visit from his current home in Los Angeles, where he had moved in 1984. I had thought of him as a zydeco man but his stories of the past were rich, deep descriptions of the legendary creole and zydeco musicians he had learned from in his childhood days in Louisiana.
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Ann Savoy Collection: Walter Mouton, 1985
Walter has been a friend of our family for years. He lead the great Scott Playboys who played a nonstop run at La Poussiere Dancehall for 40 years. He actually started that band when he was a young boy-other young boy members of the band were Johnny Allan and Hubert Maitre!
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