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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 | 11.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2500 items) |
Abstract | Dom Flemons is a folk musician from Phoenix, Ariz., and a founding member, with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The Carolina Chocolate Drops recreate and reinterpret the sound of African American string bands from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas in the 1920s and 1930s. They released their first record through Music Maker Relief Foundation in 2006. In 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops album Genuine Negro Jig won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. The collection consists of audio and video recordings, photographs, publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, news articles, a few letters, and other materials, documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Photographs are professional portraits and snapshots of the band and its individual members during photographic shoots and performances. Audio and video recordings are chiefly of live performances. Also included are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts, videotapes, and promotional literature from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005. |
Creator | Flemons, Dom, 1982- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Sara Mannheimer, September 2012
Encoded by: Sara Mannheimer, September 2012
Updated by: Laura Hart, January 2017 and November 2017; Nancy Kaiser, October 2020
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.
Dom Flemons is a folk musician from Phoenix, Ariz., who plays multiple instruments, including 4-string banjo, guitar, jug, and bones. After meeting Rhiannon Giddens and Sule Greg Wilson in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., the three musicians started the band Sankofa Strings, with occasional guest and fellow Black Banjo Gathering participant Justin Robinson. Dom Flemons moved to North Carolina in 2006, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops convened shortly thereafter, consisting of Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson. The Carolina Chocolate Drops released their first record through Music Maker Relief Foundation in 2006.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops recreate and reinterpret the sound of African American string bands from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas in the 1920s and 1930s. The band takes a studious approach to the genre, receiving tutelage from Piedmont Old-time musicians and taking into account the culture and history surrounding the music. The band has toured across the United States and Canada, playing at music festivals, concert halls, and other venues. It also performed in a scene of the 2007 film The Great Debaters. In 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops album Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch Records) won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.
Back to TopThe collection consists of audio and video recordings, photographs, publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, news articles, a few letters, and other materials, documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Photographs are professional portraits and snapshots of the band and its individual members during photographic shoots and performances. Audio and video recordings are chiefly of live performances. Also included are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts, videotapes, and promotional literature from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005.
Back to TopArrangement: Alphabetical.
Publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, letters, news articles, and other materials documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. There are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts and flyers from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005, where the Carolina Chocolate Drops met.
Folder 1 |
Album sales materials, April-August 2007 and undated |
Folder 2 |
Artwork depicting the Carolina Chocolate Drops, undatedReproductions of a painted portrait by Sandy Martin and line drawings on napkins by an unknown artist. |
Folder 3 |
Black Banjo Gathering transcripts, Boone, N.C., 7-10 April 2005, 2009Panel discussions and interviews. There is also a note from John Whitehead, dated 18 July 2009. |
Folder 4-12
Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12 |
Concert and festival materials, 2004-2009Programs, brochures, schedules, and publicity materials, including a program from the Black Banjo: Then and Now Gathering, 7-10 April 2005, where the Carolina Chocolate Drops met. |
Box 5 |
Concert and festival materials: Badges, 2004-2009 |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/1 |
Concert and festival materials: Festival guides, 2007-2008From the Ozark Folk Festival, Eureka Springs, Ark., October 2007, and the Spoleto Festival, Charleston, S.C., May-June 2008. |
Folder 13 |
Day planners, 2006-2007 |
Folder 14 |
Interview with Dom Flemons, interviewer unknown, 21 February, year unknownTyped transcript of an interview relating to Dom Flemons's interest in the banjo, bluegrass, and African American string music. The interview appears to have been conducted by an organizer of the Black Banjo: Then and Now Gathering in Boone, N.C. |
Folder 15 |
Legal documents, March 2006-March 2007 and undatedChiefly contracts regarding performing and recording. |
Folder 16 |
Letters to Dom Flemons or the Carolina Chocolate DropsChiefly letters and thank-you notes from festival organizers, fans, an elementary school class, music vendors, and others, sent from locations in North Carolina and the southeastern United States, with one letter from Bristol, England. There are a few enclosures, including photographs, publicity materials, articles, and flyers. |
Folder 17 |
Lyrics and set lists, March 2006 and undatedA few have Dom Flemons's handwritten notes. |
Folder 18-24
Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24 |
Magazines, 2007-2008National and regional publications relating to music, especially folk music in North Carolina and the South, many containing articles or blurbs about the Carolina Chocolate Drops. |
Folder 25 |
Music industry materials, 2008 and undatedInstrument catalogs, business cards, and other items. |
Folder 26-27
Folder 26Folder 27 |
Newsletters of folk music organizations, 2005-2008 |
Folder 28-30
Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
Newspaper articles, 2005-2008 and undatedNews articles about the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Dom Flemons, mostly appearing in publications from the southeastern United States. |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/2-3
OPF-20427/2OPF-20427/3 |
Newspaper articles, 2007-2008 |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/4-6
OPF-20427/4OPF-20427/5OPF-20427/6 |
Posters and publicity displays, circa 2005-2008 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-20427/1 |
Poster from the Alaska Folk Festival, 2007 |
Folder 31 |
Publicity materials about the Carolina Chocolate Drops, undated |
Box 5 |
Pins, jug slings, key chain, ticket stubs, and knitted doll, undated |
Folder 32 |
Other papers, 2006 and undatedAn Encounter with Robert Johnson, undated, author unknown; Music Maker Relief Foundation-related comics by Gary Dumm and Harvey Pekar, undated; and a workshop guide for a creative learning retreat held by the Leadership Institute at Winston-Salem State University, 7-9 April 2006. |
Arrangement: This series has not been arranged.
Processing Information: Materials have been placed in folders and boxes for use, but they have not been analyzed, arranged, or fully described.
Box 6 |
Concert and festival materials, 2014-2015Chiefly programs, playbills, guides, and schedules. |
Box 7 |
Concert and festival materials, 2015-2016Chiefly programs, playbills, guides and schedules. |
Box 8 |
Concert and festival materials, 2016 and undatedChiefly programs, playbills, guides, and schedules. Also included are advertisements, tickets, merchandise signs, and set lists. |
Box 9 |
Newspaper clippings, notes, and correspondence, circa 2014-2016 |
Box 10 |
Other papers, circa 2014-2016Includes materials related to the podcasts, American Songster Radio, Flemons made with WUNC North Carolina Public Radio. Other materials include notes, lyrics, sheet music, drafts of an article about Georgia Tom Dorsey, a typescript titled "Black Voices Matter," and a transcript of an interview with Chris Strachwitz. |
Box 11 |
Printed materials, circa 2014-2016Includes materials about the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Music Maker Relief Foundation, museums, and arts organizations. Of note is a sticker with a drawing of Flemons created by well-known illustrator Robert Crumb. |
Box 12 |
Memorabilia and harmonicasIncludes backstage badges, harmonicas, t-shirts, hat, and bandanas. |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/7 |
Posters, 2016 and undatedIncludes posters from the Knoxville Stomp. |
Arrangement: This series has not been arranged.
Processing Information: Materials have been placed in folders and boxes for use, but they have not been analyzed, arranged, or fully described.
Box 13-15
Box 13Box 14Box 15 |
Papers, 2005-2017Materials are chiefly related to performances and recordings by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons Duo, and Flemons. Contains concert and festival programs, playbills, guides, schedules, advertisements, and reviews. Also included are a 2016 appointment book, items related to Folk Alliance International's board of directors, and notepads with handwritten lyrics. |
Box 16 |
Business cardsFlemons organized the majority of his business card collection into the following categories: "Musicians," "Music Services," "DJs," "Music Industry," and "Record Stores." |
Box 17 |
Memorabilia, keepsakes, and harmonicasIncludes pinback buttons, harmonicas, a harmonica holder, t-shirts, hand fans, and wall calendars with "Classic Blues Artwork from the 1920s." |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/8 |
Posters, 2016-2017 and undated
|
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/9 |
Artwork, 2016 and undatedFeaturing images of Dom Flemons. |
Arrangement: Chronological
Professional photographs and snapshots of members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops as a group and individually, including posed portraits and photographs taken during performances.
Data Compact Disc DCD-6040 |
WXDU photographs, 4 February 2006 |
Image Folder PF-20427/1 |
National Jug Band Jubilee, 21-22 October 2006Snapshots of Dom Flemons and others. |
Data Compact Disc CD-6081 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops photographs, 4 November 2006 |
Data Compact Disc CD-6088 |
Music Maker photograph session, 17 January 2007 |
Digital Folder DF-20427/1 |
Bill Steeber's photograph shoot with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, 4 February 200733 image files (.jpg) Original format: Data compact disc (DCD-20427/1)Snapshots taken by Pat Casey Daley, depicting photographer Bill Steeber shooting and developing portraits of the Carolina Chocolate Drops using a special format camera and wet plate processing techniques, 4 February 2007. |
Digital Folder DF-20427/2 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops portraits by Bill Steeber, 2007-200829 image files (.jpg) Original format: Data compact disc (DCD-20427/2)Publicity portraits, including wet plate photographs, taken in the woods of North Carolina on 4 February 2007. There are also photographs depicting the Carolina Chocolate Drops's performance and backstage activities at the Grand Ole Opry in June 2008. |
Image Folder PF-20427/2 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops at Floydfest, Floyd, Va., 27-29 July 2007Portraits of the Carolina Chocolate Drops performing with Sule Greg Wilson. |
Data Compact Disc CD-6104 |
Floydfest photographs, Floyd, Va., 27-29 July 2007 |
Digital Folder DF-20427/3 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops portraits by Julie Roberts, 2008134 image files (.jpg); 1 text file (.xml) Original format: Data compact disc (DCD-20427/3) |
Image Folder PF-20427/3 |
Photographs of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, undatedPortraits of the Carolina Chocolate Drops during an unknown performance. |
Data Compact Disc CD-7807 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops images, undated |
Arrangement: This series has not been arranged.
Processing Information: Materials have been placed in folders for use, but they have not been analyzed, arranged, or fully described.
Image Folder PF-20427/4 |
Dom Flemons |
Image Folder PF-20427/5 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops |
Image Folder PF-20427/6 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops |
Image Folder PF-20427/7 |
Dom Flemons |
Image Folder PF-20427/8 |
Dom Flemons and others, undatedIncludes a group picture of the cast of Keep a Song in Your Soul, a production of the Old Town School of Folk Music. |
Image Folder PF-20427/9 |
Dom Flemons and Brian Farrow at School Kids Records in Raleigh, N.C., 2015
|
Access Restriction: Use of audio material may require production of a listening copy.
Chiefly live audio recordings of the Carolina Chocolate Drops at festivals and radio appearances. There are a few commercially produced recordings, including those from recording sessions for the Carolina Chocolate Drops's performance in a scene of the 2007 film The Great Debaters. There are also a few audio recordings of related musical groups, interviews, and events.
Note that original titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Digital Folder DF-20427/4 |
Bleeker Street and Glasgow29 audio files (.aiff) |
Digital Folder DF-20427/5 |
Unidentified audio files27 audio files (.aiff) |
Digital Folder DF-20427/6 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops festival audio and video25 audio files (.aiff); 8 video files (.BUP, .DAT, .IFO, .VOB, and .mp4) Processing information: An access file ("CCD_Festival_Access.mp4") was made from the .VOB files for viewing purposes. |
Digital Folder DF-20427/7 |
Unidentified audio files38 audio files (.aiff) |
Access Restriction: Use of audio material may require production of a listening copy.
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20427/1 |
Gold/Blue Bands Treble Choir junior division, Northern Arizona University Summer Music Camp, 1995Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20427/2 |
B. Kin Band, Shadows of the Gossip, undatedAudiocassette |
Video recordings chiefly of the 2005 Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., including performances, panel discussions, and interviews with participants. There are also video recordings of performances by Dom Flemons, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Sankofa Strings at music festivals, television stations, and other venues, chiefly in the southeastern United States.
Note that original titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Processing information: please note that an additional video is found in DF-20427/6 in series 3A.
Digital Folder DF-20427/8 |
Carolina Chocolate Drops festival video8 video files (.BUP, .DAT, .IFO, .VOB, and .mp4) Processing information: An access file ("CCD_OnCanvas_Access.mp4") was made from the .VOB files for viewing purposes. |