]
]
This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 28.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 17,000 items) |
| Abstract | The Bill C. Malone Collection documents the culture, history, and performers of country music, folk, bluegrass, gospel, and other related music genres and topics. Materials include audio and video recordings compiled by Bill C. Malone, a white historian of country music; newspaper clippings, articles from scholarly, trade, and popular publications, Malone's notes, and photographs. Audio recordings consists of interviews with Bill C. Malone, public and class lectures given by Malone, research materials compiled by Malone, and episodes of Malone's weekly radio program, Back to the Country. |
| Creator | Malone, Bill C. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Expand/collapse
Biographical Information
Bill C. Malone received his Ph.D. in 1965 at the University of Texas. Malone is known for his cultural and historical studies of country music. He has hosted a weekly radio show, Back to the Country, on WORT-FM (89.9) in Madison, Wisc. His books include Country Music, U.S.A.; Stars of Country Music (co-edited with Judith McCulloh); Southern Music/American Music; Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers: Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music ; Music from the True Vine; Blue Sky Boys: The Sunny Side of Life; and Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World. During the spring semester of 2000, he served as the first Lehman Brady Chair Professor, an endowed position shared between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Malone is professor emeritus of history at Tulane University.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The Bill C. Malone Collection documents the culture, history, and performers of country music, folk, bluegrass, gospel, and other related music genres and topics.
Series 1. Audio and video recordings compiled by historian of country music, Bill C. Malone. Recordings consists of interviews with Bill C. Malone conducted by David Whisnant, Henry Armijo, and Wells Tower in 2000; audio and video recordings of public lectures given by Bill C. Malone, including a video recording and accompanying text of "Take This Job and Shove It: Country Music and Work," a singing lecture given by Bill C. Malone at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 29 March 2000; audio recordings of class lectures on popular music given by Malone, including Malone's course on "Women and the Making of Southern Folk and Country Music" (syllabus included), which he taught at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University in spring 2000; and miscellaneous audio and video research materials compiled by Bill C. Malone, including interviews, field recordings, compilations and mix tapes, commercial releases, radio broadcasts, and unidentified recordings from various sources. The series also includes related paper materials, including transcripts, syllabi, tape logs, memos, and ephemera found with the audiovisual recordings.
Series 2. Performers consists of biographical newspaper clippings; articles from scholarly, trade, and popular publications; and notes on performers. More biographical materials related to individual performers can also be found in Series 5. Subject Files, often in the "Loose papers."
Series 3. Subject files consists of newspaper clippings; articles from scholarly, trade, and popular publications; bibliographies; and Bill Malone's notes on secondary sources, performers, genres.
Series 4. Book Projects is divided into four subseries and includes materials related to Malone's dissertation, A History of Commercial Country Music in the United States, 1920-1964, which he later published as Country Music U.S.A.; Music from the True Vine: Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World; and Blue Sky Boys: The Sunny Side of Life.
Series 5. Back to the Country consists of program logs and audio recordings of Bill C. Malone's weekly radio program, Back to the Country, on WORT–FM community radio in Madison, Wis..
Series 6. Photographs consists of publicity portraits and snapshots of country, bluegrass, and performers and music festivals, including Kerrville in 1977 and a fiddlers' convention. Many performers are identified, including Bill Monroe, Bob Wills and the Light Crust Doughboys, the Carter family, Hank Williams, and many others. Also of note are snapshots of Johnny Rodriguez as a small child.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Audiovisual Materials, 1922-2004.
Series 1. Audiovisual Materials is divided into five subseries: 1.1 Interviews with Bill C. Malone; 1.2. Public Lectures; 1.3. Class Lectures; 1.4. Radio Broadcasts; 1.5 Research Materials. The recordings were compiled by Bill C. Malone and consist primarily of audio recordings on audiocassette and 1/4" open reel audio. The series also includes related paper materials (folders 1-4), including transcripts, syllabi, tape logs, memos, and ephemera found with the audiovisual recordings.
Please note that additional audio recordings are found in Series 4 and 5, including recordings affiliated with Malone's book projects and episodes of Bill C. Malone's weekly radio program Back to the Country.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.1 Interviews with Bill C. Malone, 2000.
Arrangement: chronological.
Processing information: Titles compiled from SFC database.
While serving as the Lehman Brady Chair Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Duke University during the spring semester of 2000, Bill C. Malone was interviewed on the topic of country music by Wells Tower for the Center for Documentary Studies' debut issue of Document; by Henry Armijo on the radio station WXYC; and by David Whisnant, Professor of English (now Emeritus) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Recordings are on audiocassette.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.2 Public Lectures, 1975-2004.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by format.
Processing information: Titles compiled from SFC database.
Acquisitions information: FS-20315/15165-15167 and FT-20315/16557-16560 received as Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648).
Public lectures given by Bill C. Malone, including a video recording and accompanying text of "Take This Job and Shove It: Country Music and Work," a singing lecture given by Bill C. Malone at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 29 March 2000. Recordings are on Hi-8, audiocassette, and 1/4" open reel audio.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.3 Class Lectures, 1998-2000.
Processing information: Titles compiled from SFC database.
Acquisitions information: FS-20315/15152-15164 received as Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648).
Class lectures on popular music given by Bill Malone. Recordings are on audiocassette.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.3.1 Women and the Making of Southern Folk and Country Music, 2000.
Arrangement: chronological.
Acquisitions information: FS-20315/15157-15159 received as Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648).
As the Lehman Brady Chair Professor during the spring 2000 semester, Bill C. Malone taught "Women and the Making of Southern Folk and Country Music" at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. The majority of his class lectures were recorded. Guest performers/lecturers Betty Smith, Hazel Dickens, Murphy Henry, Tish Hinojosa, and Carol Elizabeth Jones were also recorded. Topics include Hillbilly Women and Blues Women: 1920-1933; The Women of Protest: Aunt Molly Jackson and her Sisters; Women in Country Music: 1933-1945; Women and the Folk Revival; Women in Country Music: 1945-1963; Rockabilly Women and Janis Joplin; Bluegrass Women; Gospel and Blues Women; The Women of Top 40 Country Music; and Tejano Women. The syllabus for the class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lists the required readings, assignments, and complete schedule of lecture topics and guests. Also included is a class syllabus for the "Women and the Making of Southern Folk and Country Music" (folder 3). Recordings are on audiocassette.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.3.2 Miscellaneous Class Lectures, 1998-1999 (Addition of September 2016).
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Acquisitions information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Miscellaneous class lectures on popular music given by Bill Malone. Recordings are on audiocassette.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.4 Research Materials, 1922-2000 (Addition of September 2016).
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Processing information: Titles compiled from SFC database. Commercial recordings include record label name if known.
Acquisitions information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Audio research materials and miscellaneous recordings compiled by Bill C. Malone. Recordings include interviews, field recordings, compilations and mix tapes, commercial releases, radio broadcasts, and unidentified recordings from various sources. Recordings are on audiocassette and 1/4" open reel audio. Also included is a dubbed VHS video recording of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs from 1961 (VT-20315/2) and related paper materials (folder 4) found with the audiovisual materials in the series. Related paper materials include tape logs, memos, and ephemera.
Please note that addditional audio research materials reside in Series 4.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Performers, 1950s-2010s (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Processing Note: The processing archivist has arranged all performer files into one series to facilitate browsing of related material.
Chiefly biographical newspaper clippings; articles from scholarly, trade, and popular publications; and notes on performers. More biographical materials related to individual performers can also be found in Series 4. Subject Files, often in the "Loose papers."
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Subject files, 1950s-2010s (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Processing Note: The processing archivist has arranged many of the subject files into intellectual groupings to facilitate browsing of related material. The intellectual groupings are arranged further into alphabetical order.
Clippings, articles from scholarly, trade, and popular publications, bibliography, Bill Malone's notes on secondary sources, performers, genres.
Expand/collapse
Series 4. Book Projects, 1965-2016 (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Series 4. Projects is divided into three subseries: 4.1 Country Music U.S.A.; 4.2 Mike Seeger; 4.3 Bill Clifton; and 4.4 Blue Sky Boys.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.1 A History of Commercial Country Music in the United States, 1920-1964, 1965 (Addition
of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Includes a bound copy of Bill C. Malone's dissertation, his handwritten notecards for the book he published from his dissertation, Country Music U.S.A., and a critique by Archie Green of Malone's book manuscript.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.2 Music from the True Vine, circa 2011 (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Materials related to Malone's biography of Mike Seeger, Music from the True Vine, including audio and transcriptions of interviews of Mike Seeger and others, scholarly and web articles, photocopied images, and Malone's handwritten notes.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.3 Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World, circa 2016 (Addition
of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Materials related to Malone's biography of Bill Clifton, Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World, including correspondence with Bill Clifton, scholarly and web articles, Malone's handwritten notes, and an audiocassette featuring a roundtable discussion at the 2002 Carter Family Conference.
|
Box
39
Folder 931-936 Folder 931Folder 932Folder 933Folder 934Folder 935Folder 936 |
Bill Clifton #20315, Subseries: "4.3 Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World, circa 2016 (Addition of September 2016)." Box 39, Folder 931-936 |
|
Box
40
Folder 937-941 Folder 937Folder 938Folder 939Folder 940Folder 941 |
Bill Clifton #20315, Subseries: "4.3 Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World, circa 2016 (Addition of September 2016)." Box 40, Folder 937-941 |
| SFC Audio Cassette FS-20315/16570 |
Carter Family roundtable discussion at the Carter Family Conference, 10 November 2002 #20315, Subseries: "4.3 Bill Clifton: America's Bluegrass Ambassador to the World, circa 2016 (Addition of September 2016)." FS-20315/16570Audiocassette |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.4 Blue Sky Boys: The Sunny Side of Life, circa 2004 (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Materials related to Malone's biography of the Blue Sky Boys, which was included with the box set, Blue Sky Boys: The Sunny Side of Life, a reissue of earlier recordings. Materials include audio and transcriptions of interviews of Bill Bolick, scholarly and web articles, and Malone's handwritten notes.
Expand/collapse
Series 5. Back to the Country, 1997-2016 (Addition of September 2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Program logs and audio recordings of Bill C. Malone's weekly radio program, Back to the Country, on WORT-FM community radio in Madison, Wis.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 5.1 Back to the Country: Radio Program Logs, 1997-1999, 2008-2016 (Addition of September
2016).
Acquisitions Information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648)
Program logs for Back to the Country.
|
Box
41
Folder 944 |
Radio program logs, 1997-1999 #20315, Subseries: "5.1 Back to the Country: Radio Program Logs, 1997-1999, 2008-2016 (Addition of September 2016)." Box 41, Folder 944 |
|
Box
41
Folder 945-950 Folder 945Folder 946Folder 947Folder 948Folder 949Folder 950 |
Radio program logs, 2008-2016 #20315, Subseries: "5.1 Back to the Country: Radio Program Logs, 1997-1999, 2008-2016 (Addition of September 2016)." Box 41, Folder 945-950 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 5.2 Back to the Country: Audio Recordings, 1997-2011 (Addition of September 2016).
Arrangement: chronological.
Acquisitions information: Addition of September 2016 (Acc. 102648).
Episodes of Back to the Country. Recordings are on audiocassette.