Joe Specht collection
Content Description
This collection mainly contains audio-related to Houston musicians, primarily in Blues and Folk. In addition, it contains materials related to the careers of Steven Fromholz and Kinky Friedman, which are currently unprocessed.
Dates
- Creation: 1959 - 2025
Conditions Governing Access
This material is open for research.
Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish from the Joe Specht collection must be obtained by the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials. In addition to any restrictions placed by donors, certain kinds of archival materials are restricted for the life of the creator plus 50 years. These materials include, but are not limited to, student grades, transcripts, and any job applications or recommendations.
Biographical / Historical
Joe Specht spent his career as a librarian, first at North Texas State University, then Texas Tech University, and was the director of the McMurray University Library from 1975-2007. at He was inducted into the University of North Texas Information School Hall of Fame in 2013.
Beyond librarianship, Joe Specht is a music historian, having edited and/or written the following books: (Editor) The Roots of Texas Music, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2003 and The Women There Don't Treat You Mean: Abilene in Song, State House Press (Abilene, TX), 2006. He also is widely published in the field.
He has been an avid record collector and owned approximately 20,000 LPs and 45s at the peak of his collecting. These were amassed over decades of dedicated outings and casual stops into record shops, beginning in the late 60s and early 70s. In 2024, he began to downsize his collection, and donated a chunk to Rice University’s Woodson Research Center.
Extent
25 Linear Feet (20 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection mainly contains audio-related to Houston musicians, primarily in Blues and Folk. In addition, it contains materials related to the careers of Steven Fromholz and Kinky Friedman, which are currently unprocessed.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Joe Specht over the time period of 2024-2025.
- Title
- Guide to the Joe Specht collection, 1959-2025
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Hazel Landers, Amelia Davis, and Norie Guthrie
- Date
- 2025-2026
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586
woodson@rice.edu