Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris

 

2019 Grammy award winner: Best Historical Album and Best Liner Notes! This watershed release represents the life's work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with an unwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South. William Ferris was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1942. Growing up on a working farm, Ferris began at a young age documenting the artwork, music, and lives of the people on the farm and in his local community. The archive of recordings that he created and the documentary films that he had a hand in producing have served as powerful tools in institutions of higher learning for decades. Dust-to-Digital present these films and recordings. The label's hope is that the enjoyment and educational value that has been received by Ferris's students over the years will be transmitted to listeners around the world and further the understanding of Southern culture. Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris includes: a 120-page hardcover book in full color edited by William Ferris Writings by Scott Barretta, David Evans, and Tom Rankin; three CDs -- two of the CDs feature blues and gospel recordings (1966-1978), and the final CD features interviews and storytelling (1968-1994); and one DVD featuring documentary films (1972-1980). Transcriptions and annotations are provided for each track. Comes in a cigar box.

In addition to being a groundbreaking documentarian of the American South, William Ferris is Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History and senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ferris co-edited the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989) and is the author of multiple books. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named him among the top ten professors in the United States.

The recordings feature James "Son Ford" Thomas, Lovey Williams, Wallace "Pine-Top" Johnson, Maudie Shirley, and Jasper Love, Scott Dunbar, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Louis Dotson, Sonny Boy Watson, Sam Myers, Tom Dumas, Unidentified Musician with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Walter Lee Hood, Wash Heron and "Big" Jack Johnson, James Hughes, Leland Musician, Inmates at Parchman Farm, George Lee "Sun Bud" Spears, James "Son Ford" Thomas with Sonny Boy Watson, Mary and Amanda Gordon, The Southland Hummingbirds, Lovey Williams, Reverend Smith and Family, Liddle Hines, Providence Missionary Baptist Church, Church of God in Christ, Fannie Bell Chapman, Mary Alice and Alan Mcgowan, Reverend Ott and Family, Rose Hill Church, Lovey Williams and Family, Fannie Bell Chapman and Family, Reverend Isaac Thomas and Rose Hill Church, Barry Hannah, Alice Walker, Alex Haley, Ray Lum, Bobby Rush, Joe "Skeet" Skillet, Joe Cooper, Shelby "Poppa Jazz" Brown, B.B. King, Allen Ginsberg, James "Son Ford" Thomas, and Bill Ferris, Robert Penn Warren, Pecolia Warner, Victor Bobb, and Pete Seeger.

 

Track Listing:

Disc 1
Blues
01.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	44 Blues	03:45	listen
02.	Lovey Williams	I Feel So Good	02:06	listen
03.	Wallace "Pine-Top" Johnson, Maudie Shirley, and Jasper Love	Stackalee and Billy Lyons	02:45	listen
04.	Scott Dunbar	Lil' Liza Jane	02:59	listen
05.	Mississippi Fred McDowell	Big Fat Mama	02:28	listen
06.	Louis Dotson	Bottle Blowing	00:52	listen
07.	Sonny Boy Watson	Bring Me My Shotgun	03:08	listen
08.	Sam Myers	Eyesight to the Blind	02:25	listen
09.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	Cairo	02:49	listen
10.	Scott Dunbar	Jaybird	08:35	listen
11.	Tom Dumas	Cotton Eyed Joe	02:24	listen
12.	Lovey Williams	Coal Black Mare	02:37	listen
13.	Unidentified Musician with Mississippi Fred McDowell	I Dreamed I Went to the U.N.	02:30	listen
14.	Walter Lee Hood	Darling If You Must Leave	01:06	listen
15.	Mississippi Fred McDowell	I Got a Letter from Hot Springs	03:54	listen
16.	Wallace "Pine-Top" Johnson, Maudie Shirley, and Jasper Love	Baby Loves to Boogie	03:13	listen
17.	Wash Heron and "Big" Jack Johnson	Nothing	01:36	listen
18.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	Dust My Broom	02:31	listen
19.	Scott Dunbar	The Memphis Mail	03:30	listen
20.	Sonny Boy Watson	Have You Seen My Baby	03:48	listen
21.	James Hughes	Instrumental Guitar Piece in A	01:37	listen
22.	Lovey Williams	Train I Ride	01:57	listen
23.	Unidentified Musician with Mississippi Fred McDowell	Little Red Rooster	03:01	listen
24.	Leland Musician	Darlin' Why You Treat Me So?	02:19	listen
25.	Inmates at Parchman Farm	Water Boy Drowned in the Mobile Bay	01:57	listen
26.	George Lee "Sun Bud" Spears	I Ain't Gonna Live It No More	04:10	listen
27.	James "Son Ford" Thomas with Sonny Boy Watson	I Cannot Stay Here Baby	04:03	listen
Disc 2
Gospel
01.	Mary and Amanda Gordon	Lord, I'm in Your Hand	01:36	listen
02.	The Southland Hummingbirds	You Don't Know Like I Know	03:48	listen
03.	Lovey Williams	I'm Standing in the Safety Zone	01:20	listen
04.	Reverend Smith and Family	Children, Go Where I Send Thee	03:27	listen
05.	Liddle Hines	What Could I Do?	03:23	listen
06.	Providence Missionary Baptist Church	So Glad I Got Good Religion	03:21	listen
07.	Church of God in Christ	I Know the Lord Will Make a Way (Yes He Will)	02:08	listen
08.	Walter Lee Hood and Parchman Inmates	Home on High	02:28	listen
09.	Fannie Bell Chapman	We're So Glad To Be Here	03:52	listen
10.	Mary Alice and Alan Mcgowan	My Mother's on that Train	02:59	listen
11.	Reverend Ott and Family	You Don't Knock, You Just Walk On In	02:29	listen
12.	Walter Lee Hood	They Tell Me of an Uncloudy Day	01:33	listen
13.	Rose Hill Church	Thanks for Bill Ferris	00:35	listen
14.	Rose Hill Church	Over Yonder Where the Sun Will Never Shine	02:48	listen
15.	The Southland Hummingbirds	I've Been Born Again	03:18	listen
16.	Lovey Williams and Family	The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow	02:52	listen
17.	Providence Missionary Baptist Church	How Did You Feel When You Come Out of the Wilderness	04:10	listen
18.	Church of God in Christ	I Don't Have to Worry About Where I Spend Eternity	02:56	listen
19.	Fannie Bell Chapman and Family	He's My Rock, My Sword, and Shield	03:58	listen
20.	Walter Lee Hood and Parchman Inmates	Thank You Jesus	02:23	listen
21.	Mary and Amanda Gordon	Cross of Calvary	02:50	listen
22.	Church of God in Christ	My Grave's Gonna Be Decorated on that Day	02:55	listen
23.	The Southland Hummingbirds	There Are Days	02:58	listen
24.	Church of God in Christ	You Can't Hide Sinner	02:43	listen
25.	Reverend Isaac Thomas and Rose Hill Church	Lord, Remember Me	02:51	listen
26.	Church of God in Christ	Glory, Glory (Lay My Burden Down)	08:38	listen
Disc 3
Storytelling
01.	Barry Hannah	On Bill	01:34	listen
02.	Alice Walker	Regions of the Mind and Heart	00:46	listen
03.	Alex Haley	The South	01:45	listen
04.	Ray Lum	A Trader Is	01:17	listen
05.	Bobby Rush	The Blues to Me	01:23	listen
06.	Barry Hannah	On Son Thomas and Tradition	01:48	listen
07.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	I Know It's Wrong to Be Playin' the Blues	02:55	listen
08.	Sonny Boy Watson	Jitterbug Comes to Town	02:06	listen
09.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	You Whistlin'	02:19	listen
10.	Joe "Skeet" Skillet	Mule Toast and Pool Hall Toast	03:02	listen
11.	Joe Cooper	The Preacher	01:27	listen
12.	Wallace "Pine-Top" Johnson, Jasper Love, and Maudie Shirley	Lyin'	01:04	listen
13.	Shelby "Poppa Jazz" Brown	Two Brothers, Heaven and Hell	05:26	listen
14.	Shelby "Poppa Jazz" Brown	Creekman Killed Charlie Kirkland	03:25	listen
15.	B.B. King	Lucille	03:20	listen
16.	Allen Ginsberg, James "Son Ford" Thomas, and Bill Ferris	On Blues Composition	04:40	listen
17.	Robert Penn Warren	The Decline in Human Values	02:45	listen
18.	Pecolia Warner	The Bible Salesman	05:05	listen
19.	Ray Lum	Fast Traders Disguising Mules	02:49	listen
20.	Ray Lum	Horses Too Tall To Drown	01:02	listen
21.	Ray Lum	The Ark and the Cats	01:55	listen
22.	Ray Lum	The Panther	01:33	listen
23.	Victor Bobb	Fixing Charles Lindbergh's Engine	07:42	listen
24.	Barry Hannah	Lying About Being from Mississippi	00:58	listen
25.	Pete Seeger	We Shall Overcome	02:12	listen
26.	James "Son Ford" Thomas	Cemetery Conversations	06:49	listen