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Collection Number: 20439

Collection Title: Josh Dunson Collection, 1963-2005

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.


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Size 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 400 items)
Abstract The collection of white author, editor, musical artist representative, and social justice activist, Josh Dunson, contains papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials related to folk music and protest songs of the civil rights movement. Papers consist of music industry publications, printed items, writings, and correspondence, most of which relate to Dunson's role as a musical artist representative. The collection also contains photographs depicting folk musicians, as well as audio and video recordings compiled by Dunson. Audio recordings consist of audio interviews conducted with folk musicians, folklorists, and social justice activists, including interviews conducted for Dunson's 1965 book Freedom In The Air: Song Movements Of The Sixties, while video recordings consist of live performances, lectures, and documentaries. Notable subjects featured on the audio and video recordings include Guy Carawan, Sis Cunningham, Si Kahn, Peggy Seeger, and Rosalie Sorrels.
Creator Dunson, Josh, 1941-
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Use of audio or moving image materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Josh Dunson Collection #20439, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Josh Dunson in July 2009 (Acc. 101154); October 2009 (Acc. 101188); July 2013 (Acc. 101834); June 2014 (Acc. 102044); December 2021 (Acc. 20211207.2);April 2022 (Acc. 20220404.1); and (Acc.103595).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Amy Morgan, June 2019

Encoded by: Laura Hart, June 2019

Updated by: Anne Wells, August 2019; Laura Smith, June 2022

Since August 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 the 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.

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expand/collapse 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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Josh Dunson (1941-) of Dallas, Tex., is a white author, editor, musical artist representative, and social justice activist. He is the retired president of Real People's Music representatives for presenters of multicultural and family programming, author of Freedom In The Air: Song Movements Of The Sixties (1965), and co-editor of Anthology of American Folk Music (1973).

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection of white author, editor, musical artist representative, and social justice activist, Josh Dunson, contains papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials related to folk music and protest songs of the civil rights movement. Papers consist of music industry publications, printed items, writings, and correspondence, most of which relate to Dunson's role as a musical artist representative. The collection also contains photographs depicting folk musicians, as well as audio and video recordings compiled by Dunson. Audio recordings on audiocassette and 1/4" open reel audio consist of audio interviews conducted with folk musicians, folklorists, and social justice activists, including interviews conducted for Dunson's 1965 book Freedom In The Air: Song Movements Of The Sixties, while video recordings on VHS and U-Matic consist of live performances, lectures, and documentaries. Notable subjects featured on the audio and video recordings include Guy Carawan, Sis Cunningham, Si Kahn, Peggy Seeger, and Rosalie Sorrels.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Josh Dunson Collection, circa 1960s-2005

Box 1

Papers

Includes correspondence, printed items, and writings. Materials relate chiefly to folk musicians and music tours.

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20439/1

"Chansons Folklore International III, Pfingsten 1966"

Image Folder PF-20439/1

Photographs

Chiefly images of folk musicians.

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/1

Freedom in the Air interview: Guy Carawan, 11 December 1964

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/2

The Chicago Klezmer Orchestra, 1989

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/3

Chicago Victory Gospelaires

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/4

A Clare Session with Willy Clancy and Friends

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/5

Freedom in the Air interview: Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen, 20 August 1964

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/6

Full Circle: Tradition with a Twist, 1992

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/7

Grey Larsen and Andre Marchand, Bloomington, Ind., 1992

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/8

Freedom in the Air interview: Julius Lester, 4 August 1964

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/9

Lizetta Nikolaou

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/10

Parsley, Sage and Politics, 1985

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/11

Freedom in the Air interview: Bernice Reagon, 2 November 1964

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/12

Rebel Voices; A Piece of the Wall

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/13

Peggy Seeger: Desert Island Discs

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/14

Freedom in the Air interview: Gil Turner, 16 September 1964

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/15

[unidentified Greek tape]

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/16-24

FS-20439/16

FS-20439/17

FS-20439/18

FS-20439/19

FS-20439/20

FS-20439/21

FS-20439/22

FS-20439/23

FS-20439/24

Interview with Ola Belle Reed

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/25-28

FS-20439/25

FS-20439/26

FS-20439/27

FS-20439/28

Terence "Cuz" Teahan

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/29

Terence "Cuz" Teahan on Tom Ryan, 13 May 1988

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/30

Tom Ryan, 15 January 1978

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Cassette FS-20439/31

[unidentified sound recording]

Audiocassette

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/1

Fast Meadow Auerbach, 16 June 1963

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/2

Folkways Anthology Vol IV

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/3

Happy Birthday Jesse Josh, 11 February 1970

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/4

Si Kahn interviewed by Holly Near

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/5

Mysterious Tape, December 1976

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/6

PLLP I, 11 May 1963

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/7

Singing the Fishing

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/8

Nan Dancing I

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/9

Nan Dancing II

1/4" Open Reel Audio

SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20439/10

[unidentified sound recording]

1/4" Open Reel Audio

Videotape VT-20439/1

Tom Dahill: Live at the Dubliner Pub, 27 April 2001

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/2

Irish Folksinger Tom Dahill, 12 October 1994

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/3

Harvesting New Songs, 30 April 1986

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/4

Hill 16

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/5

Grey Larsen and Andrew Marchand, Bloomington, Ind., April 1993

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/6

Grey Larsen and Andrew Marchand Lecture

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/7

Mid America Awards Bo Delaney

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/8

Raices Habaneras

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/9

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, Knoxville, Tenn.,

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/10

Peggy Seeger at University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 October 1999

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/11

Peggy Seeger: A Feminist View of Anglo-American Folk Traditions, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1 October 1999

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/12

Peggy Seeger: A Feminist View of Anglo-American Folk Traditions, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1 October 1999

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/13

Peggy Seeger in Concert, Asheville, N.C., March 1995

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/14

Rosalie Sorrels and Peggy Seeger: Traveling Ladies and Thoughts of Time, Cleveland, Ohio, 12 March 2005

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/15

Sotavento, Philadelphia, Pa., 1988

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/16

Sotavento, 13 February 1988

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/17

St. Paul Irish Dancers, 9 March 2002

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/18

We Shall Overcome

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/19

[unidentified]

VHS

Videotape VT-20439/20

Erwin Helfer's Friends

U-Matic

Videotape VT-20439/21

Union Maids

U-Matic

Videotape VT-20439/22

Some Sweet Day

VHS

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