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This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 4.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1650 items) |
| Abstract | Dom Flemons is a folk musician from Phoenix, Ariz., and a founding member, with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The Carolina Chocolate Drops recreate and reinterpret the sound of African American string bands from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas in the 1920s and 1930s. They released their first record through Music Maker Relief Foundation in 2006. In 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops album Genuine Negro Jig won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. The collection consists of audio and video recordings, photographs, publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, news articles, a few letters, and other materials, documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Photographs are professional portraits and snapshots of the band and its individual members during photographic shoots and performances. Audio and video recordings are chiefly of live performances. Also included are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts, videotapes, and promotional literature from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005. |
| Creator | Flemons, Dom, 1982- |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
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.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical
Information
Dom Flemons is a folk musician from Phoenix, Ariz., who plays multiple instruments, including 4-string banjo, guitar, jug, and bones. After meeting Rhiannon Giddens and Sule Greg Wilson in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., the three musicians started the band Sankofa Strings, with occasional guest and fellow Black Banjo Gathering participant Justin Robinson. Dom Flemons moved to North Carolina in 2006, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops convened shortly thereafter, consisting of Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson. The Carolina Chocolate Drops released their first record through Music Maker Relief Foundation in 2006.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops recreate and reinterpret the sound of African American string bands from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas in the 1920s and 1930s. The band takes a studious approach to the genre, receiving tutelage from Piedmont Old-time musicians and taking into account the culture and history surrounding the music. The band has toured across the United States and Canada, playing at music festivals, concert halls, and other venues. It also performed in a scene of the 2007 film The Great Debaters. In 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops album Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch Records) won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.
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Scope and Content
The collection consists of audio and video recordings, photographs, publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, news articles, a few letters, and other materials, documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Photographs are professional portraits and snapshots of the band and its individual members during photographic shoots and performances. Audio and video recordings are chiefly of live performances. Also included are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts, videotapes, and promotional literature from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Papers, 2004-2009.
Arrangement: Alphabetical.
Publicity and press materials, concert and festival programs, letters, news articles, and other materials documenting the musical career of Dom Flemons and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. There are a few items relating to the recording process, including lyrics, set lists, legal documents, and album sales and design materials. There are also transcripts and flyers from the first Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005, where the Carolina Chocolate Drops met.
| Folder 1 |
Album sales materials, April-August 2007 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 1 |
| Folder 2 |
Artwork depicting the Carolina Chocolate Drops, undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 2Reproductions of a painted portrait by Sandy Martin and line drawings on napkins by an unknown artist. |
| Folder 3 |
Black Banjo Gathering transcripts, Boone, N.C., 7-10 April 2005, 2009 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 3Panel discussions and interviews. There is also a note from John Whitehead, dated 18 July 2009. |
| Folder 4-12 |
Concert and festival materials, 2004-2009 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 4-12Programs, brochures, schedules, and publicity materials, including a program from the Black Banjo: Then and Now Gathering, 7-10 April 2005, where the Carolina Chocolate Drops met. |
| Box 5 |
Concert and festival materials: Badges, 2004-2009 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Box 5 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/1 |
Concert and festival materials: Festival guides, 2007-2008 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." OPF-20427/1From the Ozark Folk Festival, Eureka Springs, Ark., October 2007, and the Spoleto Festival, Charleston, S.C., May-June 2008. |
| Folder 13 |
Day planners, 2006-2007 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 13 |
| Folder 14 |
Interview with Dom Flemons, interviewer unknown, 21 February, year unknown #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 14Typed transcript of an interview relating to Dom Flemons's interest in the banjo, bluegrass, and African American string music. The interview appears to have been conducted by an organizer of the Black Banjo: Then and Now Gathering in Boone, N.C. |
| Folder 15 |
Legal documents, March 2006-March 2007 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 15Chiefly contracts regarding performing and recording. |
| Folder 16 |
Letters to Dom Flemons or the Carolina Chocolate Drops #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 16Chiefly letters and thank-you notes from festival organizers, fans, an elementary school class, music vendors, and others, sent from locations in North Carolina and the southeastern United States, with one letter from Bristol, England. There are a few enclosures, including photographs, publicity materials, articles, and flyers. |
| Folder 17 |
Lyrics and set lists, March 2006 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 17A few have Dom Flemons's handwritten notes. |
| Folder 18-24 |
Magazines, 2007-2008 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 18-24National and regional publications relating to music, especially folk music in North Carolina and the South, many containing articles or blurbs about the Carolina Chocolate Drops. |
| Folder 25 |
Music industry materials, 2008 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 25Instrument catalogs, business cards, and other items. |
| Folder 26-27 |
Newsletters of folk music organizations, 2005-2008 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 26-27 |
| Folder 28-30 |
Newspaper articles, 2005-2008 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 28-30News articles about the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Dom Flemons, mostly appearing in publications from the southeastern United States. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/2-3 |
Newspaper articles, 2007-2008 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." OPF-20427/2-3 |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20427/4-6 |
Posters and publicity displays, circa 2005-2008 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." OPF-20427/4-6 |
| Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-20427/1 |
Poster from the Alaska Folk Festival, 2007 #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." XOPF-20427/1 |
| Folder 31 |
Publicity materials about the Carolina Chocolate Drops, undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 31 |
| Box 5 |
Pins, jug slings, key chain, ticket stubs, and knitted doll, undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Box 5 |
| Folder 32 |
Other papers, 2006 and undated #20427, Series: "1. Papers, 2004-2009." Folder 32An Encounter with Robert Johnson, undated, author unknown; Music Maker Relief Foundation-related comics by Gary Dumm and Harvey Pekar, undated; and a workshop guide for a creative learning retreat held by the Leadership Institute at Winston-Salem State University, 7-9 April 2006. |
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Series 2. Photographs, 2006-2008.
Arrangement: Chronological
Professional photographs and snapshots of members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops as a group and individually, including posed portraits and photographs taken during performances.
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Series 3. Audio Recordings, 2005-2009 and undated.
Chiefly live audio recordings of the Carolina Chocolate Drops at festivals and radio appearances. There are a few commercially produced recordings, including those from recording sessions for the Carolina Chocolate Drops's performance in a scene of the 2007 film The Great Debaters. There are also a few audio recordings of related musical groups, interviews, and events.
Note that original titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 4. Video Recordings, 2005-2008 and undated.
Video recordings chiefly of the 2005 Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., including performances, panel discussions, and interviews with participants. There are also video recordings of performances by Dom Flemons, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Sankofa Strings at music festivals, television stations, and other venues, chiefly in the southeastern United States.
Note that original titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Sara Mannheimer, September 2012
Encoded by: Sara Mannheimer, September 2012
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