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Houston Folklore and Music Society records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 668
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Content Description

These records contain news clippings, fliers, and newsletters, "The Houston Folklore Bulletin" and "The Cotton Patch Rag."

Dates

  • Majority of material found within 1967 - 2016
  • 1951 - 2016

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from this material must be obtained from the Houston Folklore and Music Society.

Biographical / Historical

Started in June 1951 by John Avery Lomax, Jr., Ed Badeaux, Howie Porper, Chester Bower, and Harold Belikoff, the Houston Folklore Society held their early meetings at the Jewish Community Center, the Downtown YMCA, and Hermann Park Pavilion. These meetings consisted of song swaps, folk dancing, and folk song concerts in conjunction with the Jewish Community Center. Early on, they also sponsored concerts by Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, and Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.

In April 1988, the society changed its name to the Houston Folklore and Folk Music Society. The group began using a shortened version of that name, the Houston Folklore and Music Society on a consistent basis in 1990, though the shortened name had been officially incorporated by July 1988.

By June 1966, the society began publishing a newsletter that contained event information and articles about folk music. By 1968, the newsletter changed its name from the "Houston Folklore Bulletin" to the "Cotton Patch Rag."

Over the years, the society also began formalizing their events. During the 1980s, they held monthly pickin' parties, which still continue. In 1980, they started hosting concerts, which turned into Second Saturday Concerts at the West University Community Center. These have continued to this day with a variety of national and regional folk musicians performing. Moreover, they hold meetings on the first Monday of the month at the Jewish Community Center, where the group handles business matters and runs a song circle.

For more information about the society, please visit their website: houstonfolkmusic.org.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Overview

These records mainly consist of news clippings and newsletters of the Houston Folklore and Music Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Paul Cooper on behalf of the Houston Folklore and Music Society board in October 2016.

Accruals

Additional materails are expected for this collection.
Title
Guide to the Houston Folklore and Music Society records, 1951-2016
Status
Completed
Author
Norie Guthrie
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA