Jerry Garcia Discusses Folkways Records in His 1989 Interview for "Radio Smithsonian"

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Jerry Garcia Discusses Folkways Records in His 1989 Interview for "Radio Smithsonian"

Description

Remembering Jerry Garcia on the 29th anniversary of his passing. In his 1989 interview for “Radio Smithsonian,” Jerry talks about his first recollections of hearing music, what drew him to folk songs, and how he learned to play clawhammer banjo by listening to Clarence Ashley’s recordings on Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. He also highlights the important role that Folkways played in his musical education and career: “I guess the best thing—one of the neat things about Folkways also is that there was always a great rap that went along with the record. So you got this pamphlet. Sometimes they were really thick, that gave you a detailed exposition of where the music comes from and what it was like, what the people like and what their lives are like and stuff like that. And that’s part of what made the experience of getting a Folkways record sort of enriching.” This newly rediscovered interview recording between Jerry and Smithsonian staff is the centerpiece of an online exhibition, “Institutionally Dead,” curated by the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives’ Audiovisual Media Preservation Initiative (AVMPI) in collaboration with collections managers across the Institution to surface and celebrate Grateful Dead-related images, objects, recordings, and ephemera. Click the link here to read more and listen to the full interview with Jerry: https://avpreservation.si.edu/institutionally-dead — Image credits: [1] Jerry Garcia, Courtesy of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. [2] Side A of the cassette tape, housed in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. [3] Cover art for “Mountain Music Bluegrass Style,” 1959. [4] “Mountain Music Bluegrass Style” liner notes. Senior folklife specialist Nick Spitzer and senior ethnomusicologist Tom Vennum, from Smithsonian’s Office of Folklife Programs (now known as the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage), conducted the interview in the basement of the National Museum of American History during the Dead’s tour stop in Washington, D.C. Audio digitized by AVMPI Task Force member and CFCH Media Archivist Dave Walker and courtesy of the Rinzler Archives. #jerrygarcia #gratefuldead #smithsonian

Video Duration

48 sec

YouTube Keywords

music folk "Woody Guthrie" "Pete Seeger" Smithsonian Folkways old-time non-profit

Data Source

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel

smithsonianfolkways

Uploaded

2024-08-10T01:02:36.000Z

Creator

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Type

Interviews

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smithsonianfolkways

YouTube Category

Music

Topic

Cultural property

Record ID

yt_solE9eOAZ4M

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