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Sound / Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #006 & 007]

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Title
Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #006 & 007]
Creator
McGhee, Brownie
Wright, Leslie Ann
Date Created and/or Issued
1994-05-08
Contributing Institution
Oakland Public Library, African American Museum and Library at Oakland
Collection
California Revealed from African American Museum and Library at Oakland
Rights Information
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Copyright Holder. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Description
TAPE 1: Side A description: Silence [00:00]; First records, Recording with Sonny Terry for Alan Lomax at the Library of Congress [00:05];Paul Robeson asks him to perform at concert [02:22]; Paul Robeson introduces him on stage at Riverside Theater [04:24]; Millard Lampell invites him to come to New York City [08:59]; First recordings in North Carolina and Chicago, death of Blind Boy Fuller [10:14]; Receives Blind Boy Fuller's guitar, J.B. Long treated him differently because of his diploma, encourages him to form duet with Sonny Terry [12:32]; J.B. Long encourages him to go with Sonny Terry to record at the Library of Congress [19:04]; Meeting with Alan Lomax [20:07]; First meeting with Lead Belly [24:05]; Encouraged to move to New York City, telegram from J.B. Long [25:25]; Takes bus from Kingsport, Tennessee to New York City, arrival in New York City [30:50] Side B description: Silence [00:00]; Taxi cheats him after his arrival in New York City [00:04]; Becomes member of the Almanac Singers [00:41]; Lead Belly invites him to live with him [02:16]; His desire to attend religious schools, college [03:37]; Gambling and bootlegging, Brownie's alley [06:29]; Run-ins with law enforcement [10:14]; Leaves town, hitchhikes to North Carolina [12:35]; Runs with group of thieves in Mt Ely [14:18]; Paid for performing, Blind Boy Fuller [14:50]; Performing at 11th St. Bottom in Winston-Salem, North Carolina [18:02]; Performing with harmonica player Jordan Webb [19:14]; J.B. Long asks him to meet him at his store [22:46]; Music he listened to as a child [27:04]; Buys a jukebox, problems finding electricity to run it [29:29] TAPE 2: Side A description: Silence [00:00]; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof production [00:06]; Marilyn Monroe on set during production [02:50]; Barbara Bel Geddes and Burl Ives [04:32]; Performing after shows, John Steinbeck [06:00]; Tennessee Williams' mother [06:33]; Marilyn Monroe [07:20]; Opening of play in Philadelphia [08:00]; Parties during production, Burl Ives, Huntington Hartford [09:47]; Marilyn Monroe on a pedestal [15:02]; Siblings born in house that straddles county line [17:35]; Born in Old Arc Church in Knoxville, Tennessee [19:30]; Father's travels to find road construction work [20:10]; Sisters born in Loudon and Monroe counties [21:05]; Brother born in Kingsport, Tennessee [22:10]; Father worked in dye plant during World War I [23:05]; Father's work in brickyard [25:11]; Rev. and Mrs. Whitely [?][26:45]; Stricken with polio, move to Walnut Alley [27:40]; Mother and father separate, father goes to prison [29:08] Side B description: Silence [00:00], Father gets out of prison, works in Kingsport, TN [00:11], Buying well water [00:51], Rats in the streets, open sewers [02:07], Father's work on construction projects [02:45], Oklahoma Grove [03:15], Schooling in Oklahoma Grove [04:00], Killing rats [06:43], Gym theater, first music contest [08:45], Father returns after prison, murder in house [10:40], Father moves, death of grandmother [12:40], Mother's family [14:15], Father leaves Kingsport, TN, Aunt Frankie's funeral [21:50], Moves in with his Aunt Maddie [24:43], Douglas High School [30:05]
Type
sound
Format
Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
2 Tapes of 2
Identifier
caolaam_000055_t01; caolaam_000055_t02
Provenance
African American Museum and Library at Oakland
California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

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