Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

Use of audiotapes or videotapes may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Copyright Notice

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

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols Collection #20378-z, Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Acquired April 2003.

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.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Cantwell, Robert, 1945-
• Country music--Discography.
• Country music.
• Ferris, William R.
• Filene, Benjamin.
• Folk music--Discography.
• Folk music.
• Green, Archie.
• Jabbour, Alan.
• Meade, Douglas S. (Douglas Shannon), 1956-
• Meade, Guthrie T., 1932-1991.
• Meade, Guthrie T., 1932-1991. Country music sources : a biblio-discography of commercially recorded traditional country music.
• Music in context.
• O brother, where art thou? (Motion picture)
• Old-time music.
• Popular culture--Southern States.
• Popular music--Southern States.
• Southern States--Social life and customs.
• Spottswood, Richard K. (Richard Keith)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Center for the Study of the American South.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.

In response to a surge in the popularity of traditional music inspired by the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and in celebration of the publication of Country Music Sources: A Biblio-Discography of Commercially Recorded Traditional Country Music by Guthrie T. Meade Jr. with Douglas S. Meade and Richard K. Spottswood (Southern Folklife Collection, 2002), Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols: Country Music, Cultural Brokerage and O Brother, Where Art Thou? was held 4-5 April 2003 in the Wilson Library, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The conference was sponsored by the Southern Folklife Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South, and Music in Context, all associated with UNC. Author and historian Benjamin Filene gave the keynote address. Among the panelists were folklorist Alan Jabbour; William R. Ferris (Bill Ferris), senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South; discographer Richard K. Spottswood (Dick Spottswood); and professor of American Studies Robert Cantwell. There were also presentations of research papers by students and concluding remarks by folklorist and labor historian Archie Green.

See also online exhibit: Hillbilly Music: Source & Symbol.

The Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols Collection documents the Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols: Country Music, Cultural Brokerage and O Brother, Where Art Thou? conference, held 4-5 April 2003 at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and sponsored by the Southern Folklife Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South, and Music in Context. The collection includes promotional materials (poster and program), two articles, and audiocassettes and videocassettes containing recordings of conference events. Among the topics covered at the conference were country music, folk music, and old-time music and the popular culture of the American South.

The articles are "Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol" by folklorist and labor historian Archie Green ( Journal of American Folklore, July-September 1965, volume 78, number 309; reprinted and bound for the University of Illinois Campus Folksong Club), and " Country Music Sources: A Personal Perspective" by Douglas S. Meade. This article concerns the life and career of Meade's father, Guthrie T. Meade Jr. (Gus Meade), focusing on his work on the discography that became Country Music Sources.

Ten audiocassettes, one VHS videocassette, and nine Mini DV videocassettes document Benjamin Filene's keynote speech; panel discussions featuring Alan Jabbour, William R. Ferris, Richard K. Spottswood, and Robert Cantwell; student presentations; Archie Green's closing remarks; and other activities.