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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 | 13.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 10000 items) |
| Abstract | Multi-instrumentalist and Grammy Award winner David Holt was born in Gatesville, Tex., in 1946. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Holt began collecting Appalachian music and stories in the southeastern mountains. A historian of Appalachian music and culture, Holt began performing his collected music and stories in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Holt founded the Appalachian Music Program at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. In the early 1980s, Holt resigned from Warren Wilson and began touring fulltime, performing his music and stories at festivals around the world and on various TNN, the Nashville Network, and North Carolina PBS television shows. In the late 1990s, Holt and Doc Watson began working together to create Legacy, an album that features them in conversation and in song. The collection contains materials relating to the career of musician and storyteller David Holt. Included is correspondence, printed materials, clippings, and photographs that Holt referred to as "Career Memorabilia" and organized by decade. Correspondence chiefly consists of letters from children and thank you notes. Printed materials are chiefly advertisement for musical and storytelling events and festivals. Clippings are chiefly reviews of Holt's performances and albums. Photographs include both publicity and performance photographs. There is also material relating to the television and radio shows Holt hosted, including Fire on the Mountain, Celebration Station, Folkways, and Riverwalk, and to Holt's work with Doc Watson and their album Legacy. Also included are publicity materials, information about Holt's work with the Warren Wilson College Appalachian Music Program, his international tours, and his Grammy Awards. There are also audiovisual materials documenting Holt's performances, both alone and with other artists such as Doc and Merle Watson and on Riverwalk, Fire on the Mountain, and Folkways, as well as recordings of other artists (primarily the Jim Cullum Jazz Band), interviews, other television programs, instructional videos on how to play various instruments, and other recordings. |
| Creator | Holt, David, 1946- |
| 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.
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
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Biographical
Information
Multi-instrumentalist and Grammy Award winner David Holt was born in Gatesville, Tex., in 1946. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Holt began collecting Appalachian music and stories in the southeastern mountains. A historian of Appalachian music and culture, Holt began performing his collected music and stories in the early 1970s. In the mid-1970s, Holt founded the Appalachian Music Program at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. In the early 1980s, Holt resigned from Warren Wilson and began touring fulltime, performing his music and stories at festivals around the world and on various TNN, the Nashville Network, and North Carolina PBS television shows. In the late 1990s, Holt and Doc Watson began working together to create Legacy, an album that features them in conversation and in song.
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Scope and Content
The collection contains materials relating to the career of musician and storyteller David Holt. Included is correspondence, printed materials, clippings, and photographs that Holt referred to as "Career Memorabilia" and organized by decade. Correspondence chiefly consists of letters from children and thank you notes. Printed materials are chiefly advertisement for musical and storytelling events and festivals. Clippings are chiefly reviews of Holt's performances and albums. Photographs include both publicity and performance photographs. There is also material relating to the television and radio shows Holt hosted, including Fire on the Mountain, Celebration Station, Folkways, and Riverwalk, and to Holt's work with Doc Watson and their album Legacy. Also included are publicity materials, information about Holt's work with the Warren Wilson College Appalachian music program, his international tours, and his Grammy Awards. There are also audiovisual materials documenting Holt's performances, both alone and with other artists such as Doc and Merle Watson and on Riverwalk, Fire on the Mountain, and Folkways, as well as recordings of other artists (primarily the Jim Cullum Jazz Band), interviews, other television programs, instructional videos on how to play various instruments, and other recordings.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s-2000s.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence chiefly consists of letters from children and thank you notes. Printed materials are chiefly advertisement for musical and storytelling events and festivals. Clippings are chiefly reviews of Holt's performances and albums. Photographs include both publicity and performance photographs.
Holt's original organization and file names have, in most cases, been retained.
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Subseries 1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s.
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." Folder 1Includes information about the National Endowment for the Arts grant Holt received to study Virgil Craven of Cedar Falls, N.C.; the Holt family Christmas card and Christmas cards sent to the Holt family' a note from Janette Carter confirming Holt's booking at the Carter Store; thank you notes from children for whom David Holt performed; and other items. |
| Folder 2-4 |
Printed materials, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." Folder 2-4Includes journals with pieces by Holt; programs, advertisements, and newsletters for festivals and shows at which Holt performed; and other items. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/1 |
Printed materials, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." OPF-20366/1See folders 2-4 description. |
| Folder 5-9 |
Clippings, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." Folder 5-9Includes an article about Holt's first solo performance (Pack Place Library, Asheville, N.C., April, 1974), and an article about the Holt family in Life Magazine from the early 1950s, and other articles about Holt's performances and albums. |
| Folder 10 |
Photographs, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." Folder 10Includes primarily promotional materials. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/2 |
Photographs, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." OPF-20366/2See folder 10 description. |
| Folder 11 |
Other papers, 1970s #20366, Subseries: "1.1. Career Memorabilia, 1970s." Folder 11Includes the draft of the 1976 Holt family Christmas card, hand written notes, notes on expenses, resume, and Holt's "Teaching the Concepts of Music through the Traditional Music Program" lesson. |
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Subseries 1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s.
| Folder 12-13 |
Correspondence, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." Folder 12-13Includes drawings and letters from children, fan mail, a letter from North Carolina Representative James Clark congratulating Holt on being named "Best of the New Generation" by Esquire magazine, and a handwritten letter from John Hartford, among other items. |
| Folder 14-23 |
Printed materials, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." Folder 14-23Includes event and festival programs, advertisements, and newsletters for both musical and storytelling programs; promotional materials for "Banjo Reb and the Blue Ghost"; and journals featuring Holt, including Vogue (July 1983), Entertainment Weekly (14 September 1990), and Esquire (December 1984). |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/3 |
Printed materials, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." OPF-20366/3See folder 14-23 description. |
| Folder 24-30 |
Clippings, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." Folder 24-30Includes promotional articles and reviews of Holt's musical and storytelling performances. |
| Folder 31 |
Photographs, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." Folder 31Includes publicity photos, pictures of performances, autographed pictures of TNN (The Nashville Network) stars, and postcards made from reproductions of photographs taken by Holt. |
| Folder 32 |
Other papers, 1980s #20366, Subseries: "1.2. Career Memorabilia, 1980s." Folder 32Includes a Library of Congress finding aid entitled "Virginia Field Recordings in the Archive of Folk Culture," Holt's notebook, Holt's passport, and various certificates. |
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Subseries 1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s.
| Folder 33 |
Correspondence, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." Folder 33Includes invitations to Holt's 50th birthday party, thank you notes from students for whom Holt performed, and an evaluation/review of Holt and his son Zeb's school performance in 1997. |
| Folder 34-44 |
Printed materials, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." Folder 34-44Includes advertisements for musical and storytelling events and festivals; information and advertisements relating to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.; and information and advertisements relating to MerleFest. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/4 |
Printed materials, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." OPF-20366/4See folder 34-44 description. |
| Folder 45-52 |
Clippings, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." Folder 45-52Includes press about David Holt's Grammy Award, advertisements for upcoming shows, and reviews of shows and albums. |
| Folder 53 |
Photographs, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." Folder 53Includes photographs from Holt's performances and photographs from a North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching workshop. |
| Folder 54 |
Other papers, 1990s #20366, Subseries: "1.3. Career Memorabilia, 1990s." Folder 54Includes passes to festivals, Holt's North Carolina driver's license, song lists, a book of photographs commemorating Holt's daughter Sara Jane after her death, an article on grief written by Holt for the Compassionate Friends newsletter, class of 1965 reunion material, and a book entitled Out of the Mold. |
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Subseries 1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s.
| Folder 55 |
Correspondence, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." Folder 55Includes some photographs and thank you letters from children for whom Holt performed. |
| Folder 56-76 |
Printed materials, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." Folder 56-76Includes advertisements for musical and storytelling events and festivals; information and advertisements relating to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.; and information and advertisements relating to MerleFest. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/5 |
Printed materials, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." OPF-20366/5See folder 56-76 description. |
| Folder 77-89 |
Clippings, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." Folder 77-89Includes information about shows, reviews of shows and albums, information about the Grammy Awards, and information about the film "O Brother Where Art Thou?" |
| Folder 90 |
Photographs, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." Folder 90Includes aerial shot of Shindig on the Green in Asheville, N.C., and photographs of the Luke Smathers Band at the World's Fair, 1982. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/6 |
Photographs, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." OPF-20366/6See folder 90 description. |
| Folder 91-92 |
Other papers, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." Folder 91-92Includes personal history file created by Holt, Christmas card designed by son Zeb Holt, songs and set lists, earnings statements from the Screenwriter's Guild for "O Brother Where Art Thou?", and bound thank you note books from children for whom Holt performed. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/7 |
Other papers, 2000s #20366, Subseries: "1.4. Career Memorabilia, 2000s." OPF-20366/7See folder 91-92 description. |
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Subseries 1.5. Other Career Memorabilia, 1970s-2000s.
| Box 25 |
Ephemera #20366, Subseries: "1.5. Other Career Memorabilia, 1970s-2000s." Box 25Includes business cards, buttons, identification cards, certificates, name tags, t-shirts, and badges. |
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Series 2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s.
Material relating to the television and radio shows Holt hosted, including Fire on the Mountain, Celebration Station, Folkways, and Riverwalk, and to Holt's work with Doc Watson and their album Legacy. Also included are publicity materials, information about Holt's work with the Warren Wilson College Appalachian music program, his international tours, and his Grammy Awards.
| Folder 99-100 |
General TNN (The Nashville Network) materials #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 99-100Includes press releases, promotional information, schedules, and subscriber information relating to TNN. |
| Folder 101-104 |
Fire on the Mountain #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 101-104Includes fan mail, cancellation protest correspondence, clippings, notes from shows, and rundowns related to Fire on the Mountain, a show about bluegrass music that was hosted by Holt and shown on TNN. |
| Folder 105 |
Celebration Station #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 105Includes correspondence, clippings, notes from shows, rundowns, and information about grants relating to Celebration Station, a show on TNN hosted by Holt. |
| Folder 106 |
Folkways #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 106Includes press releases, promotional materials, clippings, and information about Folkways, a show on UNC-TV hosted by Holt. |
| Folder 107-108 |
Riverwalk #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 107-108Includes publicity information, advertisements, photographs, newsletters, and scripts related to Riverwalk, a public radio show hosted by Holt. |
| Folder 116-128 |
Riverwalk #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 116-128See folders 107-108 for description. |
| Folder 111-113 |
Doc Watson #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 111-113Includes printed materials advertising Doc Watson and David Holt's shows, set lists, clippings, Doc Watson's hotel key, photographs, and correspondence regarding Legacy, a Grammy Award-winning album by Watson and Holt. Also includes a reprint of a painting used for the Legacy cover and posters signed by Holt and Watson. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/10 |
Doc Watson #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." OPF-20366/10See folder 111-113 description. |
| Folder 93-94 |
Publicity materials #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 93-94Includes postcard advertisements, "Genuine Musical Margaret Knight Memorial Flat Bottom Paper Bag" advertisements, Holt's resume, posters, brochures, record catalog, publicity material for David Holt and the Lightening Bolts, business cards, and publicity materials relating to other performers. |
| Folder 114-115 |
Publicity materials #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 114-115See folders 93-94 for description. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/8 |
Publicity materials #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." OPF-20366/8See folders 93-94 description. |
| Folder 95-96 |
Warren Wilson College Appalachian Music Program #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 95-96Includes clippings about the program; photographs; correspondence, including Holt's resignation letter; class outlines; grant information; and other items. |
| Folder 97-98 |
International tours #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 97-98Includes photographs, clippings, promotional materials, posters, and song and set lists. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-20366/9 |
International tours #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." OPF-20366/9See folder 97-98 description. |
| Folder 109-110 |
Grammys #20366, Series: "2. Hosted Program and Other Materials, 1970s-2000s." Folder 109-110Includes nomination certificate for Spiders in the Hairdoo, 1998; tickets to the Grammy Awards ceremony; and publicity about the Grammy Awards. |
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Series 3. Audio/Visual Materials.
Includes materials documenting Holt's performances, both alone and with other artists such as Doc and Merle Watson and on Riverwalk, Fire on the Mountain, and Folkways, as well as recordings of other artists (primarily the Jim Cullum Jazz Band), interviews, other television programs, instructional videos on how to play various instruments, and other recordings.
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Subseries 3.1. Audiocassettes.
Includes recordings of various musical artists, primarily the Jim Cullum Jazz Band playing with other musicians, and recordings of performances by David Holt both alone and with other artists, such as Doc and Merle Watson.
Titles have been transcribed from the materials.
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Subseries 3.2. Compact Discs.
Includes recordings from Riverwalk, a public radio show hosted by David Holt, as well as recordings of Holt performing by himself and with other musicians, such as Doc Watson.
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Subseries 3.3. Videotapes.
Includes recordings of David Holt's performances; recordings of Fire on the Mountain, a show about bluegrass music that was shown on TNN and hosted by Holt; recordings of Folkways, a show on UNC-TV hosted by Holt; recordings of interviews and other television programs; and other recordings.
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Subseries 3.4. DVDs.
Contains videos of television shows hosted by David Holt and instructional videos on how to play various instruments.
| Digital Video Disc DVD-141 |
Folk Rhythms: Learn to Play Spoons, Bones, Washboard, Hambone, and the Paper Bag #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-141 |
| Digital Video Disc DVD-142 |
Clawhammer Banjo 1: Repertoire and Technique #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-142 |
| Digital Video Disc DVD-143 |
Clawhammer Banjo 2: Repertoire and Technique #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-143 |
| Digital Video Disc DVD-144 |
Great Scenic Railway Journeys, The West, Hosted by David Holt #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-144 |
| Digital Video Disc DVD-145 |
The Human Hambone #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-145 |
| Digital Video Disc DVD-146 |
Martin Zak Old-Time Country Band Stara Almara #20366, Subseries: "3.4. DVDs." DVD-146 |
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Subseries 3.5. Audiodiscs.
Contains recordings of performances by David Holt.
Processed by: Emily Walters, November 2009
Encoded by: Emily Walters and Benjamin Bromley, December 2009
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