Restrictions to Access

RESTRICTED: Sullivan family interviews (FS-1738-1748) restricted until 27 March 2005. Access permitted by permission of the donor.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

• Bernhardt, Jack.
• Bluegrass music.
• Brady, Rafe.
• Carpenter, Mary-Chapin.
• Clark, Guy.
• Conway, Cecelia.
• Country music.
• Crowell, Rodney.
• Diller, Dwight.
• East, Ernest.
• Galax (Va.)--Songs and music.
• Gerrard, Alice, 1934-
• Gospel music.
• Grisman, David.
• Hicks, Bill.
• Jabbour, Alan.
• Jarrell, Tommy.
• Johnson, Joe, Uncle.
• Jones, George, 1931-
• Judd, Wynnona, 1964-
• Kristofferson, Kris.
• Mattea, Kathy.
• Milnes, Gerry.
• Moffatt, Hugh.
• Monroe, Bill, 1911-
• Mount Airy (N.C.)--Songs and music.
• North Carolina--Songs and music.
• Old-time music.
• Olney, David.
• Radio broadcasters--North Carolina.
• Radio stations--North Carolina.
• Redbone, Leon.
• Reed, Henry.
• Stewart, Marty.
• Sullivan family.
• Sullivan, Jerry, vocalist.
• Sullivan, Tammy.
• Thompson, Joe, 1918-
• Travis, Randy.
• Van Zandt, Townes.
• Virginia--Songs and music.
• WPAQ (Radio station : Mount Airy, N.C.)
• West Virginia--Songs and music.

Jack Bernhardt was born in Canton, Ohio, on 23 July 1944. As an anthropology student, he received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Kent State University. In the mid-1970s, he studied at Columbia University where he received his M.Phil. in anthropology. In January 1980, Bernhardt moved to Chapel Hill, N.C. He had developed a strong interest in country music and playing guitar. He began making trips to Galax, Va., and Mount Airy, N.C., interviewing musicians and recording musical performances. In 1987, he was hired by the Raleigh News and Observer as their correspondent covering country and traditional music. In the early 1990s, Bernhardt began coursework in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Curriculum in Folklore, where he studied southern religious traditions. In 1993, he joined bluegrass gospel musicians Jerry and Tammy Sullivan on their tour of small churches in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Jack Bernhardt's collection includes materials on contemporary country artists; the Jerry and Tammy Sullivan Bluegrass Gospel Project; old-time music and musicians; and Uncle Joe Johnson, radio personality at WPAQ in Mount Airy, N.C.

The contemporary country artists materials are interviews conducted by Bernhardt with many of America's leading country music stars, including Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, David Grisman, George Jones, Wynnona Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Kathy Mattea, Hugh Moffatt, Bill Monroe, David Olney, Leon Redbone, Marty Stewart, Joe Thompson, Randy Travis, and Townes Van Zandt.

The Jerry and Tammy Sullivan Bluegrass Gospel Project materials include interviews with Jerry Sullivan, Tammy Sullivan, and other members of the Sullivan family and field recordings of performances by the group in small churches in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Background information on the Sullivan family, photographs of performances, and concert posters are also included.

Old-time music and musicians materials consist of interviews with and performances by many notable old-time musicians and scholars, some from the Galax, Va., and Mount Airy, N.C., areas. They include Rafe Brady, Cecelia Conway, Dwight Diller, Ernest East, Alice Gerard, Bill Hicks, Alan Jabbour, Tommy Jarrell, Gerry Milnes, and Henry Reed. Musical performances were recorded in both informal home settings and at workshops, fiddling conventions, and competitions.

Uncle Joe Johnson materials include a magazine article written by Bernhardt for Bluegrass Unlimited about Mount Airy, N.C., radio station WPAQ and a number of photographs of WPAQ radio personality Uncle Joe Johnson and others.

Items separated include an artist file (NF-3815), audio cassettes (FS-1688-1750, FS-4685-4742), a magazine article (WPAQ Radio File), photographs (P-3987-3994), and posters (OP-20061/1-2 and XOP-20061/1).