Exploring American Folk Music

Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States

Kip Lornell

Narrated by Michael Rene Zuzel

Available from Audible

Book published by University Press of Mississippi

Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States reflects the fascinating diversity of regional and grassroots music. The book covers the diverse strains of American folk music—Latin, Native American, African, French-Canadian, British, and Cajun—and offers a chronology of the development of folk music in the United States.

The book is divided into twelve chapters covering topics as seemingly disparate as sacred harp singing, conjunto music, the folk revival, blues, and ballad singing. It is among the few textbooks in American music that recognizes the importance and contributions of Native Americans as well as those who live, sing, and perform music along our borderlands, from the French-speaking citizens in northern Vermont to the extensive Hispanic population living north of the Rio Grande River.

This edition features a new chapter on urban folk music, exploring traditions in our cities, with a case study focusing on Washington, D.C. Exploring American Folk Music introduces the reader to important figures in American music such as Bob Wills, Lydia Mendoza, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters, who helped shape what America sounds like in the twenty-first century.

Kip Lornell teaches in the music department at The George Washington University. His research in American vernacular music has resulted in the publication of over one hundred articles and record notes, record projects, and several documentary films.

REVIEWS:

“In this expanded and updated new edition Kip Lornell leads the reader on a delightful and authoritative journey through some of the diverse local musical traditions of American music and directs them to many wonderful audiovisual resources newly available on the Internet.”

—Anthony Seeger, Director Emeritus of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

“An authoritative and appealing introduction to the variety, evolution and staying power of vernacular music traditions in the United States.”

—Jeff Todd Titon, author of Early Downhome Blues, Powerhouse for God, and Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes