Those numbers associated with ballads and ballad collectors

The Twa Corbies by Arthur Rackham



Most ballad geeks know what those names and numbers in parenthesis beside a ballad title means, but to those who are just discovering ballads, they can be a little confusing.  The name is the last name of the person who collected that version of the ballad and either wrote down the lyrics and music or recorded the ballad on wax cylinders or audio/video tape.  The number refers to what number the ballad is in the person's collection.  It's a little bit like a card catalogue.  For example, in my previous blog the title read "'The Little Sparrow' (Sharp 118)."  That means that the ballad "Little Sparrow" was number 118 in Cecil Sharp's ballad collection.

Most folks never really thought about collecting and preserving ballads until the 19th century.  However, in England in the late 18th century and in America in the 19th century there was a massive shift from rural life to urban life that was brought about by the Industrial Revolution.  Since music is an integral part of culture, any time the culture changes, the music changes as well.  Often times the old songs that dealt with a previous way of life are slowly forgotten as new songs written about the current way of life fill up one's brain.

Francis Child is viewed by many people as the grandfather of ballad collecting in the English singing world.  While he based his collection methods on those before him in other countries, he was really the first one to take the time to do an in depth study of English ballads.  His collection is know as Child Ballads (only a few have anything to do with children!).  Before him, the poet Robert Burns collected some ballads and old songs, but he couldn't help but tweak the lyrics, so many of "his" songs were not written down the way they were sung to him.

Hot Springs, NC

After Child, the next name that you see in those parenthesis a lot is Cecil Sharp.  Cecil Sharp was one of the first collectors to actually record the ballads so people could hear it.  At the time of collecting, many of the people whom he collected from were only vaguely aware of phonographs due to their isolation in the Appalachians. 

John Jacob Niles started collecting Appalachian ballads shortly after Sharp, and unlike the previous three collectors mentioned, he was an American collecting his own country's ballads. He also sang and recorded the ballads that he collected, in addition to his own original songs. Niles did some of his collecting with photographer Doris Ullman, who collected vanishing images of rural life while Niles collected vanishing songs. I first discovered Niles while viewing an exhibit of Ullman's photographs at the State Museum in Columbia, SC. 


Niles carrying Ullman over a creek, by Ullman

The next names that you may come across in relation to ballads are John and Alan Lomax.  This father/son duo traveled all over the South recording not only ballads, but other folk and work songs and hymns.  The Lomax recording collection is one of the largest collections of recorded traditional American music out there. 

I like how Alan Lomax captured the older lady silently singing along, like so many of us find ourselves doing when some body's singing a song that we know and love.

Jean Ritchie is another prominent name that will you will come across in relation to ballads.  Her family has a long tradition of integrating music into daily life.  Not only was her family recorded by Alan Lomax, but some members of her family were also photographed by Doris Ullman.



Aunt Cord Ritchie



Aunt Cord Ritchie and family



   

Jean not only records and performs ballads from her childhood and songs of her own creation, but she also has gone on collecting missions in Ireland and the British Isles to trace the roots of her family's repetoir to their ancestorial roots.

Doc Watson is another name that you will hear a great deal in connection with ballads and other old time music, as well as blues.  His family also musically minded, with deep roots in the North Carolina mountains.







So where does that leave us for today?  If you haven't noticed, the collectors written about here are either dead or aging.  Well, there are many many folks out there still collecting and recording.  There are a number of amateur collectors like me, plus professional ones like Laura Boosinger.   Just keep your ears open and take notes!