Kevin Delaney Collection, 1970-1994

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Biographical Note

Kevin (Chris) Delaney was born in 1946 in Washington, D.C. He was first exposed to folk music while studying at Duke University, where he earned his B.A. in 1968. Between 1970 and 1974, he traveled across Ireland, Scotland, and the midwestern and southeastern regions of the United States, recording country, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and old-time musicians and performers who might otherwise never have been heard. Delaney earned his Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976 and continued recording musicians and visiting community groups, colleges, and schools to educate people about the rich history and importance of folk music and its traditions in Ireland and the United States, hoping to carry on older traditions of music to a new generation. These efforts culminated in the recording of a commercial album, American Son, in 1982, but he continued recording and teaching well into the 1990s.

Scope and Content

The collection documents the culture and history of Irish music and American music. It consists primarily of field recordings made by Kevin Delaney in various regions of Ireland and the American Southeast, and also contains many dubbed recordings of both Irish and American folk music. The Irish field recordings are primarily individual performances, while the dubbed recordings are groups of musicians playing different instruments, including fiddle, uillean pipes, spoons, flute, and pennywhistle. There are also some examples of Gaelic singing and shape-note singing. Songs include jigs, airs, reels, strathspeys, and others. The American recordings are composed primarily of fiddle and banjo music, along with some spoken word material. Some recordings are of Tommy Jarrell. There is also a practice tape of Delaney on fiddle and guitar. Several commercial audiocassettes are included, as well as dubbed recordings of jazz, blues, and pop music. Also included are Delaney's personal notebooks documenting the musicians he recorded while in the field, along with several posters, fliers, a collection of musicians' autographs, and a photograph.

Arrangement of Collection

Items Separated

Detailed Description of the Collection

Fiddle recordings of local artists from the counties of Clare, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Meath, Sligo, and Tipperary. There is also some Irish material that was recorded in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Jim Mullen, fiddle. Clifden, County Galway, August 1971. John Waters, fiddle. Ardara, County Donegal, August 1971. Jerry Breslin, fiddle. Carrick, County Donegal, August 1971. Tony Smith, fiddle. Dublin, September 1971.

John Doherty, fiddle. Glenties, County Donegal. August 1971. Tom Anderson, fiddle. Edinburgh, Scotland. September 1971. Willie Clancy, tin whistle and uilleann pipes. Malbay, County Clare. September 1971.

T. Standeven, tin whistle and fiddle, Haddonfield, New Jersey. February 1972. John Vesey, Glenolden, Pennsylvania. Jehile Kerchoff, Rush, Pennsylvania.

Side 2.3: "Swallow's Tail Reel," "Traveller's Reel," "Sligo Reel," and "A Martin Wynne Reel" (reels)

John Vesey. Glenolden, Pennsylvania. Spring 1972. Ann Sheehy. Lixnaw, County Kerry. Tom Standeven. Haddonfield, New Jersey. Spring 1972.

John Kelly. Dublin. 31 July 1972. Paddy Glacken. Dublin. 2 August 1972. Tony Smith. 3 August 1972. (#1 of series) [same as FT-272]

John Kelly, fiddle. Dublin. Paddy Glacken, fiddle. Dublin. 2 August 1972. Tony Smith, fiddle. Dublin. 3 August 1972.

Side 2.11: "George White's Favorite" or "The Lass of Carrowcastle" and "The Woman of the House" (reels)

Tommy Peoples, fiddle. Kilfenora, County Clare. 14 August 1972. Michael Russell, tin whistle. Doolin, County Clare. 15 August 1972. Anne Sheehy, tin whistle. Lixnaw, County Kerry. 11 August 1972. Willie Clancy, tin whistle. Miltown Malbay, County Clare. 16 August 1972.

Denis Murphy, fiddle. Gneevguillia, County Kerry. 9 August 1972. Fred Finn, fiddle. Killavil, County Sligo. 21 August 1972.

Peter O'Loughlin, fiddle. Kilmaley, County Clare. 17 August 1972. Junior Crehan, fiddle. Quilty, County Clare. 17 August 1972. Paddy Canny, fiddle. Tulla, County Clare. 15 August 1972. Paddy Fahy, fiddle. Aughrim, County Galway. 21 August 1972.

Joe Ryan, fiddle. Cooper Hill, County Meath. 31 August 1972. James Kelly, fiddle. Dublin. 6 September 1972. Tom Daly, fiddle. Dunquin, County Kerry. 23 August 1972. Seán Keane, fiddle. Dublin. 2 September 1972. Seán de Hóra, Gaelic singing. Dunquin, County Kerry. 23 August 1972.

Julia Clifford, fiddle, and Billy Clifford, flute. County Tipperary. Brendan McGlinchy. County Armagh. Bridge Cheilidh Band. Mary Bergin, tinwhistle. Dublin. [1972?]

Arrangement: alphabetical from 78 rpm recordings owned by Frank George, then alphabetical by first artist listed.

Most of these dubbed recordings were originally owned by Frank George. Paddy Cronin, Packie Dolan and his Melody Boys, and Tommy Peoples are some of the musicians included in this section. Publication information for many of these recordings is available in the additional documentation for this collection.

Paddy Cronin, The House in the Glen. Leader Lea, Music from the Coleman Country. Leo Rowsome (from Frank George). Leo Rowsome, uillean pipes. Liam Walsh, uilleann pipes.

Packie Dolan and his Melody Boys, fiddle, tin whistle, and spoons. John Howard, fiddle. Charles McDonough, fiddle. Danny O'Donnell, fiddle. Honeyman's Fiddlers. Neil O'Boyle, fiddle. Frank O'Higgins, fiddle (all from Frank George).

Side 1.1: "Kitty's Gone A-Milking," "The Dogs Among the Bushes," and "The Merry Sisters" (reels)

Side 1.15: "Miss McLeod's" (reel), "Faral O'Gara" (reel), "Irish Washerwoman" (jig), "Spitfire Reel" (reel), and "Paddy Whack" (jig)

Felix Doran. Michael Grogan, accordion, and John Howard, violin. Tom Morrison, flute, and John Reynolds, tambourine. Various Irish penny whistle tracks. Various fiddle and pipes tracks. Irish Dance Music, various artists. Old Time Fiddle Tunes, Jean Carignan. The Riendeau Family (all from Frank George).

Paddy Canny, P.J. Hayes, Peter O'Loughlin, Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Sean O'Conaire, John Kelly.

"Willy Clancy," "Michael Coleman," "Seamus Ennis," "Joe Heane," "J.J. Gannon," "Martin Byrnes."

Irish Jigs and Reels, Michael Coleman. Seán Keane. Bobby Casey, Quilty, County Clare. John Kelly. Seán Ryan. Patrick Kelly, County Clare. Brendan McGlinchy, County Armagh. Tommy Peoples, Kilfenora, County Clare. [Recordings of Bobby Casey, Patrick Kelly, Brendan McGlinchy, and Tommy Peoples were probably done live, most likely in 1972.]

Michael Gorman, Willie Clancy, Packie Dolan, John Howard, Charles McDonough, Michael Coleman, Danny O'Donnell.

Paddy Killoran. Pubs in London Town, Michael Gorman and Margaret Barry. Irish Music in London Pubs, Michael Gorman. Joe Heaney. Margaret Barry.

Side 1.14: "Smash the Windows," "The Frost Is All Over," "Flannagan's Ball," and "Off She Goes"

John Vesey, fiddle, Tom Standeven, piano, and Mike McIntyre, flute, from a Philadelphia radio broadcast, 1957. Michael Gorman.

John Vesey, fiddle, Tom Standeven, piano, and Mike McIntyre, flute, from a Philadelphia radio broadcast, 1957.

Fiddle recordings of local artists from Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. There is also some Cajun fiddling from Louisiana.

Oscar Wright. Princeton, West Virginia. July 1970. Lee Triplett. Clay County, West Virginia. Allan Jabbour with The Hollow Rock String Band. Kevin Delaney, practice tape.

Burl Hammons. Marlinton, West Virginia. Summer 1971. Mose Coffman. Franford, West Virginia. Fall 1970. French Carpenter and Phoebe Parsons. Clay County, West Virginia.

Taylor Kimble, fiddle, and Stella Kimble, banjo. Laurel Fork, Virginia. September, 1971. Richard Blaustein. Frank George. Princeton, West Virginia. Fall 1970 or Spring 1971. Emory Bailey (dub from Malvin Artley).

Joe Caudill. Ennie, North Carolina. May 1972. Gaither Carlton. Deep Gap, North Carolina. 1972. Luther Strong. Kentucky.

Burl Hammons. Marlinton, West Virginia. 9 July 1972. Glen Smith. Elizabeth, West Virginia. 10 July 1972.

Glen Smith. Elizabeth, West Virginia. 10 July 1972. Woody Simmons. Mill Creek, West Virginia. 11 July 1972. Tommy Jarrell, fiddle. Mount Airy, North Carolina. 12 July 1972 and 13 July 1972. Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham. 13 July 1972.

Tommy Jarrell, fiddle and Fred Cockerham, banjo. 13 July 1972. Tommy Jarrell. Mount Airy, North Carolina. 15 July 1972.

Wilson Douglas, fiddle. Iveydale, West Virginia. 13 September 1973. Glen Smith, fiddle. Elizabeth, West Virginia. 13 September 1973. Delbert Hughes, fiddle. Ohley, West Virginia. 17 September 1973.

Delbert Hughes, fiddle. Ohley, West Virginia. 17 September 1973. Mike Humphreys and Pete Humphreys, fiddle and banjo. Charleston, West Virginia. 17 September 1973.

Mike Humphreys and Pete Humphreys, fiddle and banjo. Charleston, West Virginia. 17 September 1973.

Winfred Burchett and Mary Burchett, memorates and anecdotes, fiddle and vocals. Morgan's Creek, Kentucky. 18 September 1973.

Alva Green, fiddle. Sandy Hook, Kentucky. 20 September 1973. Clarence Kelly, saw. Morgan's Creek, Kentucky. 21 September 1973. Lena Hughes, banjo and fiddle. Ludlow, Missouri. 21 September 1973. Pete McMahan, fiddle (dubbed recording). Cleo Persinger, fiddle (dubbed recording).

Cleo Persinger, fiddle. Ludlow, Missouri. Russell "Casey" Jones, fiddle. Ludlow, Missouri. Ben Drake, fiddle. Humboldt, Nebraska. 2 October 1973.

Glenville 1973. Lester McCumber, Woody Simmons, Lee Triplett, Glen Smith, Ira Mullins, Melvin Wines, Delbert Hughes, Wilson Douglas, Eck Robertson.

Shape-note singing. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 3 April 1977. Southern Folk Festival, 16 April 1977. St John's Island.

National Folk Festival. Wolftrap Farm, July 1977. Gospel workshop. Carter family workshop. Tape 1 of 3.

National Folk Festival. Wolftrap Farm, July 1977. Jimmy Rodgers workshop. Blues, accordion workshop.

Arrangement: 78 rpm recordings owned by Joe Bussard appear first. Subsequent tapes are arranged alphabetically by first artist listed.

Most of these dubbed recordings were originally owned by Joe Bussard. Fiddlin' Bill Henley, Lee Triplett, and Tommy Jarrell are some of the musicians included in this section. Publication information for many of these recordings is available in the additional documentation for this collection.

Dubbed recordings of 78 rpm material owned by Joe Bussard, various artists. Dubbed recordings of 78 rpm material owned by Malcolm Owen's uncle. Texas Gladden and Hobart Smith. Fiddlin' Bill Henley. John Hilt and Arthur Hilt. Lee Triplett.

Dewey Balfa. Eck Robertson. Oscar Harper and Don Harper. Hugh Roden and the Texas Nighthawks. The Fox Chasers. Humphries Brothers.

Byron Berline with The Dillards. Kenny Baker, A Baker's Dozen. Mountain Banjo Songs and Tunes, various artists.

The Cajuns, various artists. Negro Work Songs and Calls, various artists. Blind Boy Fuller, Blues Classics II. Afro-American Blues and Game Songs. Blind Lemon Jefferson, Black Snake Moan.

The Camp Creek Boys. Clark Kessinger. Joe Greene, Joe Greene's Fiddle Album. Kyle Creed, Blue Ridge Style Square Dance Time. Ben Jarrell and Frank Jenkins. Band Music of Grayson and Carroll Counties. A.C Robertson. John Ashby and The Free State Ramblers.

French Carpenter. John Summers, Fine Times at Our House. American Fiddle Tunes from The Archive of Folk Song. Fiddle Contests in Weiser, Idaho and Missoula, Montana. Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's. The McGee Brothers and Arthur Smith, Milk 'em in the Evening Blues. Cousin Cecil Brower, Old Fashioned Country Hoedown. Hell Broke Loose in Georgia. Charlie Poole and The N.C. Ramblers.

Traditional Music from Grayson and Carroll Counties, various artists. Band Music of Grayson and Carroll Counties, various artists. Joe Caudill.

Oscar Harper. Smith's Garage Fiddle Band. Milner and Curtis. F. Hendley and the Carolina Tar Heels. Dilly and his Dill Pickles. Luke Highnight. Arkansas Charlie. John Summers.

Old Time Fiddle Classics, various artists. A Fiddler's Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee, various artists. John Ashby. Charlie Poole.

Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers. Benny Thomasson, Country Fiddling from the Big State. Echoes of the Ozarks, vol. 2. Echoes of the Ozarks, vol. 3.Uncle Wade.

Texas Farewell, various artists. A Collection of Mountain Songs, various artists. Fiddling John Carson. Old Love Songs and Ballads, various artists. The Cajuns, various artists.

The Watson Family. The Music of Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward. Hobart Smith. Rufus Crisp. Ernest V. Stoneman and the Dixie Mountaineers. The Bogtrotters. Dez King, King of the Country Fiddlers.

Notebooks used by Delaney to document the recording of the artists in this collection. They contain track listings for various recordings, and personal information about some of the artists. Also included are some stories and anecdotes about fiddlers and fiddling competitions. In some cases, Delaney included personal reactions to the interviews he conducted with some of the musicians. Materials in this series are photocopies of original notebooks retained by Kevin Delaney.

Notes and track listings for several Irish artists. Also a separate section at the end with chord structures, musical notations, and notes/track listings for several musicians from North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

Notes, stories, track listings, and chord progressions used for several musicians from West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Also track listings from various dubs of previously recorded material. Includes a section on Irish musicians towards the end, along with track listings for dubs of Irish material.

Track listings and extensive biographical notes for midwest and southeast musicians. Also some track listings and notes towards the end on Irish musicians. Resembles Notebook 3, but has slightly different information.

Notes and track listings about various live performances and festivals in the southeast. Also various track listings towards the end for pop, jazz, blues, gospel, and children's music.

Posters and flyers collected by Delaney. Included is a poster that was probably torn from a musical score and an advertisement for a performance.

"Old Black Joe, arranged by J. W. Turner" (from musical score); "Bob Nichols' Disco Stereo" (promotional poster); "World's Smallest Evangelist, Bobby Brindle" (photocopy); "Revival, Missionary Evangelist John Swann" (promotional poster); "Roberts Bros. Circus" (promotional poster).

Autographs of B. B. King, Lightning Hopkins, Kenny Baker, Ma Rainey, Bill Monroe, Junior Wells, Bryan Bowers.