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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.
Size | 5.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items) |
Abstract | The Tommy Thompson Collection includes materials primarily relating to Thompson's musical and theatrical activities, 1970s-1990s. Tommy Thompson (1937-2003), a white co-founder of both the Hollow Rock String Band and the Red Clay Ramblers, was also a playwright, composer, and actor. Included are rough drafts, final scripts, scores, publicity, photographs, correspondence, and other materials related to dramatic works that Thompson authored or co-authored, scored, or performed in. |
Creator | Thompson, Tommy, 1937-2003 |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Burgin Mathews, December 2003
Encoded by: Burgin Mathews, December 2003; and Emily Jack, February 2006
Updated for Digitization by: Amanda Loeb, August 2012; Anne Wells, October 2018: Patrick Cullom, December 2019; Nancy Kaiser, February 2021
Since 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collection were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.
Back to TopThe 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.
Tommy Thompson (1937-2003) was a founding member of both the Hollow Rock String Band and the Red Clay Ramblers, as well as a playwright, composer, and actor. In the mid-1960s, Thompson was a regular attendee at the Friday picking sessions at the Hollow Rock Grocery in the Hollow Rock Community outside of Durham, N.C. As these gatherings outgrew the grocery store, the weekly sessions moved to the home of Tommy and his wife Bobbie, and quickly became the social hub of Chapel Hill and Durham's string-band revivalist scene. The short-lived but widely celebrated Hollow Rock String Band developed out of this musical community and featured Tommy Thompson on banjo, Bobbie Thompson on guitar, Bertram Levy on mandolin, and Alan Jabbour on fiddle. The group recorded its only album in 1968.
Thompson formed his second band, the Red Clay Ramblers, in 1972 as a trio with Jim Watson and Bill Hicks; Mike Craver joined the group in 1973 and Jack Herrick joined in 1975. Subsequent incarnations of the band also included Bland Simpson, Clay Buckner, and Chris Frank. Thompson performed with the group for the last time in 1994.
Throughout the 1980s Thompson scripted, scored, and performed in--often in collaboration with other members of the Ramblers--a number of stage plays, including his own one-man-show, The Last Song of John Proffitt, a play exploring the historical figures Dan Emmett and the Snowden family, the development of the banjo, blackface minstrelsey, and the 19th-century interactions of black and white musical traditions.
Thompson died on 24 January 2003, after a long struggle with an Alzheimer's-like illness.
Back to TopThe collection includes materials primarily relating to musician and writer Tommy Thompson's music and theater activities, 1970s-1990s. Included are rough drafts, final scripts, scores, publicity, correspondence, and other materials related to dramatic works that Thompson authored or co-authored (some with Jack Herrick), scored, or performed in, including: The Last Song of John Proffitt: Life on the Mississippi, a musical based on the memoir by Mark Twain; Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind; Earrings; The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas; Fool Moon; and Savages. The Last Song of John Proffitt, a one-man show exploring historical figures Dan Emmett and the Snowden family, an African American family from Ohio, which touches on the development of the banjo, blackface minstrelsy, and the interactions of black and white musical traditions, is extensively documented with scripts for a radio production of the play, schoolchildren's responses to the play, research materials, and other items. Items related to the musical Savages include an audio cassette of song samples from the show. Other writings include drafts of short stories and of a children's book on which Thompson collaborated with illustrator Joan Kaghan, an unfinished dramatization of North Carolina string band leader Charlie Poole's life, and Thompson's notebooks. Also included are Thompson's song collection of both original compositions and material from other sources; materials related to the Red Clay Ramblers, consisting of publicity, documentation of the Ramblers' trip to Africa, Bland Simpson materials, and photographs; business materials, consisting of insurance correspondence, a 1991 ledger detailing personal expenses and income, and an address list of theaters; and personal materials. Personal materials include correspondence; photographs; Thompson's collections of antique ledgers, dramatic works of others, and research materials; silent film footage of one of Thompson's Friday night jam sessions; and other items.
Back to TopArrangement: Materials are arranged by play. Items related to Thompson's one-man show, The Last Song of John Proffitt, appear first, because of the prominent place of that play in Thompson's work and the large volume of related materials in the collection. Other plays follow in chronological order, according to the date of the earliest script or production date available for each play. Note that the arrangement is intended only as a loose chronology, since many of the plays may have been revived in subsequent productions. Photographs from The Last Song of John Proffitt; Life on the Mississippi; The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas; and Fool Moon are collected together at the end of this series.
Drafts and scripts of plays authored or co-authored by Tommy Thompson; publicity and playbills; relevant correspondence; an audio cassette of song samples from the musical comedy Savages; related research materials, including writings on Dan Emmett and "Dixie" (for The Last Song of John Proffitt) and on Mark Twain (for Life on the Mississippi); photographs; and other items.
Materials related to Thompson's one-man show, The Last Song of John Proffitt, a play exploring the historical figures Dan Emmett and the Snowden family, the development of the banjo, blackface minstrelsey, and the 19th-century interactions of black and white musical traditions. Included are drafts of the script with Thompson's notes and revisions; scripts for a radio version of the play; playbills from various productions of the show; notebooks and notecards from the early stages of the play's development; press clippings; a tech schedule and prop list; correspondence; images from the play; and research materials. Also included are written responses to the play by classes of schoolchildren who attended the show. The series also includes audiovisual materials, including a video recording of a live performance and an audio recording on Digital Audio Tape (DAT).
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Materials related to Life on the Missisippi, a musical based on Mark Twain's memoir by that name, written by Bland Simpson and Tommy Thompson, 1981. Includes a full script, an additional drafted scene, a rough draft of the musical score, press, correspondence, and research materials related to Mark Twain and Life on the Mississippi.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Folder 20 |
Script. |
Folder 21 |
Draft of scene. |
Folder 22 |
"Score (Rough)". |
Folder 23 |
Press. |
Folder 24 |
Correspondence. |
Folder 25 |
Research materials: Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi. |
Materials related to A Lie of the Mind. Written by Sam Shepard and featuring music written and performed by the Red Clay Ramblers, the play debuted off-Broadway in 1985. Includes drafts of Thompson's memoir, "Working for Sam"; playbills; press for the play and for the original soundtrack by the Ramblers; and additional press related to Sam Shepard. Miscellaneous folder includes a contact sheet for the production and notes from well-wishers regarding the performance.
Folder 26 |
"Working for Sam" memoir. |
Folder 27 |
Playbills. |
Folder 28 |
Press. |
Folder 29 |
Press for soundtrack. |
Folder 30 |
Articles about Sam Shepard. |
Folder 31 |
Miscellaneous. |
Includes script, revised 1987, for Earrings, a musical based on Lee Smith's novel Oral History, adapted for stage by Don H. Baker, with music by Tommy Thompson and Jack Herrick.
Folder 32 |
Script, revised 1987. |
Materials related to The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, "A Cowboy Musical Inspired by 'Wild Bill' Shakespeare," conceived and adapted by John L. Haber, music and lyrics by Jack Herrick, Tommy Thompson, Bland Simpson, Jim Wann, and John Foley. Includes two versions of the script, press, and miscellaneous items. Miscellaneous items include ticket stubs, a program for the 1989 production, and a formal invitation to the Cincinnati production.
Folder 33 |
Script, 1989 |
Folder 34 |
Script, Cincinnati version, 1990. |
Folder 35 |
Press. |
Folder 36 |
Miscellaneous. |
Materials related to Fool Moon, a comedy featuring music by the Red Clay Ramblers. Includes press materials.
Folder 37 |
Press. |
Materials related to Savages, a musical comedy by John Justice, music by Tommy Thompson. Includes script, a revision of the first act, related correspondence, and a cassette of song samples from the show.
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20359/6948 |
Savages Song SamplerAudiocassette Formerly listed as Folder 41 |
Folder 38 |
Script. |
Folder 39 |
First Act revision. |
Folder 40 |
Correspondence. |
Promotional photographs for The Last Song of John Proffitt, Life on the Mississippi, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, and a snapshot from the set of Fool Moon.
Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collection were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.
Folder 42 |
Folder number not used |
Image Folder PF-20359/1 |
Photographs of Dramatic WorksSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4520 to P-4523 |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Drafts and images for "Caterpillar, Wiggle Worm," an unpublished children's book by Tommy Thompson and illustrator Joan Kaghan; notes on North Carolina stringband leader Charlie Poole for an unfinished dramatization of Poole's life; drafts of short story titled "Jacksonville Beach"; and Thompson's notebooks. Notebooks include song lyrics and song lists, journal entries, notes, drafts, drawings, contact information, and other writings. Several notebooks include material related to the John Proffitt and Charlie Poole dramatizations, as well as references to the Red Clay Ramblers.
Text, drawings, storyboards and notes for a children's book by Tommy Thompson and illustrator Joan Kaghan.
Folder 43 |
Drafts and storyboards, including texts and illustrations. |
Folder 44 |
Color illustration by Joan Kaghan. |
Drafts of a story titled "Jacksonville Beach," and writings on Charlie Poole.
Folder 45 |
"Jacksonville Beach" drafts. |
Folder 46 |
Writings on Charlie Poole. |
Notebooks include song lyrics and song lists, journal entries, notes, drafts, drawings, contact information, and other writings. Several notebooks include material related to the John Proffitt and Charlie Poole dramatizations, as well as references to the Red Clay Ramblers.
Folder 47-58
Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58 |
Notebooks. |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Song texts and musical scores collected by Tommy Thompson, including some original material. Thompson grouped many of these songs together in folders or envelopes that he labeled according to loose categories: "Good Songs Not On CD," "Good Old Pop Songs," "Musical Oddiments," etc. Original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained. Because Thompson's arrangement generally does not separate his own material from songs from other sources and because the authorship of some of this material is difficult to determine, original and non-original materials are interfiled in many of the folders.
Folder 59 |
A Banjo Song sheet music. |
Folder 60 |
Bluegrass and old-time standards. |
Folder 61 |
Classical Banjo by Al Jeffery. |
Folder 62 |
French Connection: Fiddle Tunes for Banjo. |
Folder 63 |
Good Songs Not On CD. |
Folder 64 |
Great Old Pop Songs. |
Folder 65 |
Miscellaneous. |
Folder 66 |
Miscellaneous Songs and Music. |
Folder 67 |
Musical Oddiments. |
Folder 68 |
Song about nature's ultimate victory: The Piney Woods. |
Folder 69 |
Song lists. |
Folder 70 |
Tablature. |
Folder 71 |
Tommy Thompson songs. |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Materials related to the Red Clay Ramblers include press clippings, items related to the Ramblers' trip to Africa, press materials for Rambler Bland Simpson, and photographs.
Documents the Red Clay Ramblers' trip to Africa, 1981. Additional correspondence from this trip can be found in subseries 6.1., Folder 83.
Folder 72 |
"Africa Notes," memoir of trip. |
Folder 73 |
Rambler instructions, itineraries. |
Folder 74 |
Tourist information. |
Arrangement: original order has been maintained.
Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collection were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.
Folder 75-76
Folder 75Folder 76 |
Folder numbers not used |
Image Folder PF-20359/2 |
Red Clay RamblersSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4727 to P-4775 Color and black-and-white images of Red Clay Rambler performances, including outdoor performances, and a photograph from the Official Irish Fest, Milwaukee, Wisc. Also included are promotional photographs and photo-shoot images. |
Image Folder PF-20359/3 |
Contact SheetsSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4776 to P-4782 Contact sheets for Red Clay Ramblers performances and photo-shoots. |
Press materials related to Bland Simpson, member of the Red Clay Ramblers. Includes reviews of Simpson's country music novel Heart of Country.
Folder 78 |
Bland Simpson. |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Correspondence with an insurance company regarding missing and damaged property, including two missing or stolen banjos; a ledger, 1991, documenting financial expenses and income related to The Last Song of John Proffitt, Life on the Mississippi, the Red Clay Ramblers, and other activities; and a contact list of "Nationwide theaters and addresses."
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Folder 79 |
Insurance correspondence. |
Folder 80 |
Ledger, 1991. |
Folder 81 |
Ledger, theater expenses. |
Folder 82 |
Nationwide theaters and addresses. |
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.
Personal correspondence; photographs, consisting of family snapshots, photographs of Tommy Thompson, and miscellaneous musical photographs, including banjo-related images and images of Hank Williams, Joe and Odell Thompson, and others; Thompson's collections of antique ledgers, dramatic works, and research materials; silent film footage of one of Thompson's weekend jam sessions; and other items.
Correspondence from Thompson's trip to Africa, 1981 (see also subseries 4.1.), including letters to Thompson from Susan Leete and a letter from Thompson's daughter Jesse; correspondence with Colleen Tuell, Sarah Falls, and Betty Vornbrock, including a brochure for Serenitiva, Vornbrock's line of custom-made instrument case covers; Thompson's postcard collection; and miscellaneous items. The postcard collection includes postcards received or collected by Thompson, both with and without messages. Of particular note are postcards featuring Sandy Bradley and the Small Wonder String Band and Sara and Maybelle Carter. Miscellaneous items include a 1990 letter from the Raleigh News and Observer informing Thompson of his selection as "Tar Heel of the Week," and a 1994 letter from Eli (last name not provided), which deals in part with Thompson's struggle with Alzheimer's.
Folder 83 |
Africa, 1981. |
Folder 84 |
Colleen Tuell. |
Folder 85 |
Sarah Falls. |
Folder 86 |
Miscellaneous. |
Folder 87 |
Postcard collection. |
Folder 88 |
Betty Vornbrock/Serenitiva. |
Scripts for plays not written or scored by Tommy Thompson and miscellaneous playbills. (See Series 1 for dramatic works with larger creative contributions by Thompson.) Thompson played the role of Harold Fuller in Changing Names and likely acted in some of the other plays as well. Playbills include programs for Kudzu: The Southern Musical, by Jack Herrick, Doug Marlette, and Bland Simpson, based on the comic strip by Doug Marlette, and Oil City Symphony, co-authored by and featuring Mike Craver.
Folder 89 |
Changing Names, by Clyde Edgerton. |
Folder 90 |
Fables in Slang: A Ragtime Revue, by Gene Jones. |
Folder 91 |
Male Order Annie, by Jean Sidden. |
Folder 92 |
Slavery and Civil War musical. |
Folder 93 |
Playbills. |
Includes antique ledgers collected by Tommy Thompson.
Folder 94-96
Folder 94Folder 95Folder 96 |
Antique ledgers. |
Miscellaneous materials include Tommy Thompson's baby scrapbook; soundless filmed footage of one of Thompson's Friday night jam sessions; and a joke diploma from the Gabby Hayes Institute for study in "Gabby English and Western Mime," 1989.
Film F-20359/1 |
"Friday Night at Tommy Thompson's"Super 8mm motion image film Formerly listed as Folder 99 |
Folder 97 |
Address book. |
Folder 98 |
Baby scrapbook. |
Folder 100 |
Gabby Hayes Institute joke diploma, 1989. |
Family snapshots, photographs of Tommy Thompson, and miscellaneous musical photographs, including images of Hank Williams, Joe and Odell Thompson, and others.
Until 2019, some of photographic materials in this collection were originally part of the "SFC General Photograph Collection." Materials in the SFC General Photographic Collection were individually numbered in a sequential manner that spanned collections. Materials that have a number with a "P-" indicate inclusion in this collection. These numbers have been retained so that previous uses of the images and additional description remain connected to the materials.
Folder 101-107
Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105Folder 106Folder 107 |
Folder numbers not used |
Image Folder PF-20359/4 |
Family snapshots.Southern Folklife Collection Images P-4693 to P-4700, P-4783 to P-4794 |
Image Folder PF-20359/5 |
Miscellaneous musical photographs.Southern Folklife Collection Images P-4701 to P-4706 Music-related photographs collected by Tommy Thompson, including images of Joe and Odell Thompson; a painting of Hank Williams; a publicity still from the motion picture The Rough, Tough West, featuring Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, and Pee Wee King; a photograph of Debby McLatche; a photograph of a Joel Sweeny historic marker; and other subjects. |
Image Folder PF-20359/6 |
"Goose Acres Banjo" PhotographsSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4707 to P-4714 Photographs of Tommy Thompson holding two banjos. |
Image Folder PF-20359/7 |
Tommy Thompson Head Shot and NegativeSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4715 to P-4716 |
Image Folder PF-20359/8 |
Tommy Thompson PhotographsSouthern Folklife Collection Images P-4717 to P-4726 Color and black-and-white photographs and photographic negatives of Tommy Thompson on concert stage. Included are photographs of Thompson playing guitar "Aboard the Carolinian," inaugural run from Raleigh to Charlotte, October 1985; Thompson on the set of "Silent Tongue," Roswell, N.M.; and with unidentified people. |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Collected poetry includes photocopies of hand-written poetry by Henry Taylor, an associate of Thompson's, and poetry by C. D. (Carolyn) Wright, with whom Thompson performed at the Duke University Hospital in 1994. The C. D. Wright folder also contains correspondence related to that performance.
Folder 108 |
Henry Taylor. |
Folder 109 |
C. D. Wright. |
Materials include articles on a 1912 courtroom massacre by a band of Blue Ridge Mountain outlaws; "General Banjo Info"; instrument catalogues, including facsimiles of vintage catalogues; and miscellaneous articles, including work on carnival pitchmen, shape-note tunebooks, string-band music, and Shakespeare's The Tempest, as well as related correspondence.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Folder 110 |
Bluefield, W.V.: "Entire Court is Wiped Out by an Outlaw Band," 1912. |
Folder 111 |
General banjo information. |
Folder 112 |
Instrument catalogues. |
Folder 113 |
Miscellaneous articles. |