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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 | 11.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 900 items) |
| Abstract | Scholar and folklorist, Ed Kahn (1938-2004) spent much of his life devoted to the study of American folk songs and early country music, conducting extensive field research and writing at length about both Merle Travis and the Carter Family. Kahn was was involved in the creation of the John Edwards Memorial Foundation (JEMF), along with Archie Green, D. K. Wilgus, Fred Hoeptner, and Eugene Earle. He was initially appointed Executive Secretary of the JEMF and was instrumental in starting the JEMF Quarterly newsletter. The collection consists of papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials relating to Kahn's research documenting American folk songs, Mexican border radio, and early country music and recording history. The bulk of the materials focus on Merle Travis and the Carter Family. Carter Family research materials include personal and professional correspondence; research files related to Kahn's dissertation on the Carter Family; transcripts from interviews with members of the Carter Family and people associated with them; letters to and from members of the Carter Family and their friends, family, and business associates; and handwritten songs found in a cabin where Sara Carter stayed after divorcing A. P. Carter. Merle Travis research materials include personal and professional correspondence; research files relating to Kahn's planned biography of Travis, including interview transcripts, discographies, sheet music, and song titles; chapter layouts and drafts for the biography; and articles and liner notes on Travis and American folk songs. Photographs chiefly represent the Carter Family, including publicity shots of the Carter children; the Carter Family performing with other artists, such as Mainer's Mountaineers, James Carson, Jimmie Rodgers, and Chet Atkins; individual images of Sara Carter, Maybelle Carter, and A. P. Carter; snapshots of the Carter Family at various points during their career; and images of friends and family. Other photographs include a publicity shot of Merle Travis and an image of Ray DeAutremont, who was involved in a 1923 train robbery. Audiovisual materials include Kahn's collection of commercially recorded transcription discs, non-commercial field recordings on open reel tape, and commercial and non-commercial audiocassettes and videocassettes. Transcription discs include recordings of Mexican border radio programs featuring the Carter Family, Patsy Montana, Cowboy Slim, the Pickard Family, and others. Open reel tapes chiefly include field recordings of early country and folk musicians, including Charlie Bowman, Mose Rager, Doc Hopkins, Ernest V. Stoneman, Clayton McMichen, the Blue Sky Boys, the Stanley Brothers, and others. Audiocassettes and videotapes chiefly record the Carter Family and Merle Travis. |
| Creator | Kahn, Ed. |
| 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
Scholar and folklorist, Ed Kahn was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on 5 July 1938. He attended Oberlin College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California Los Angeles. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from UCLA in 1970. While Kahn was pursuing his doctorate, he also taught courses in folklore and folksong in UCLA's evening school program. An edited version of his dissertation, "The Carter Family: A Reflection of Changes in Society," focusing on the chapters related to Mexican border radio, was later published in JEMF Quarterly #30 as: "International Relations, Dr. Brinkley, and Hillbilly Music."
Ed Kahn devoted much of his life to the study of American folk songs, radio broadcasting, and early country music and recording history. He conducted extensive field research and wrote at length about both Merle Travis and the Carter Family. Kahn was was involved in the creation of the John Edwards Memorial Foundation (JEMF), along with Archie Green, D. K. Wilgus, Fred Hoeptner, and Eugene Earle. He was initially appointed Executive Secretary of the JEMF and was instrumental in starting the JEMF Quarterly newsletter.
While carrying out his field work, Ed Kahn became the only folklorist to interview all three members of the original Carter Family. In addition, he frequently traveled throughout the United States interviewing and recording the music of numerous other country musicians, including Clarence Green, Dorsey Dixon, Ernest V. Stoneman, Charlie Bowman, Mose Rager, the Pickard Family, and many others. Archie Green and Mike Seeger were also involved in many of these field recordings. Kahn also interviewed key players in the history of country music recording, such as Polk Brockman and Steve Sholes. Additional field work carried out by Kahn includes extensive recordings in the communities surrounding Coal Creek, Tenn., chiefly focusing on the miners and their music.
Ed Kahn also contributed to the study of American folk music by his numerous writings, including articles and record reviews for the journals "Western Folklore" and JEMF Quarterly; an academic paper focusing on a discographer and discography, "Will Roy Hearne: Peripheral Folksong Scholar"; and liner notes for RCA, Capitol, and Bear Family labels. Other work included an article about folklorist Alan Lomax, and significant contributions to the Meade/Spottswood discography, Country Music Sources (2002). Ed Kahn died in Pinole, Calif., on 24 March 2002.
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Scope and Content
The Ed Kahn Collection consists of papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials relating to Kahn's research documenting American folk songs, Mexican border radio, and early country music and recording history. The bulk of the materials focus on Merle Travis and the Carter Family.
Carter Family research materials include personal and professional correspondence; research files related to Ed Kahn's dissertation, "The Carter Family: A Reflection of Changes in Society"; transcripts documenting interviews with members of the Carter Family and people associated with them; letters to and from members of the Carter Family and their friends, family, and business associates; and handwritten songs found in a cabin where Sara Carter stayed after divorcing A. P. Carter.
Merle Travis research materials include personal and professional correspondence; research files relating to Kahn's planned biography of Travis, including interview transcripts, discographies, sheet music, and song titles; chapter layouts and drafts for the biography; and articles and liner notes on Travis and American folk songs.
Photographs chiefly represent the Carter Family, including publicity shots of the Carter children; the Carter Family performing with other artists, such as Mainer's Mountaineers, James Carson, Jimmie Rodgers, and Chet Atkins; individual images of Sara Carter, Maybelle Carter, and A. P. Carter; snapshots of the Carter Family at various points during their career; and images of friends and family. Other photographs include a publicity shot of Merle Travis and an image of Ray DeAutremont, who, with his brothers Roy and Hugh, was involved in a 1923 train robbery.
Audiovisual materials include Ed Kahn's collection of commercially recorded transcription discs, non-commercial field recordings on open reel tape, as well as both commercial and non-commercial audiocassettes and videocassettes. Transcription discs include recordings of Mexican border radio programs featuring the Carter Family, Patsy Montana, Cowboy Slim, the Pickard Family, and others. Open reel tapes chiefly include field recordings of early country and folk musicians, including Charlie Bowman, Mose Rager, Doc Hopkins, Ernest V. Stoneman, Clayton McMichen, the Blue Sky Boys, the Stanley Brothers, and others. Audiocassettes and videotapes chiefly record the Carter Family and Merle Travis.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Carter Family Research Materials, 1930-1998.
Carter Family research materials consist of items relating to Ed Kahn's dissertation, "The Carter Family: A Reflection of Changes in Society." General correspondence includes letters between Kahn and members of the Carter Family, Anita Peer, Polk Brockman, and Harry Steele. Other correspondence includes letters relating to early recording companies, border radio, and national census and weather records documenting conditions in Virginia and Tennessee. There are also letters to and from members of the Carter Family and their friends, family, and business associates. Research encompasses the Carter Family; Mexican border radio stations; Dr. John R. Brinkley; the evolution of broadcasting; and the Bristol recording sessions. Transcripts document interviews with the Carter Family, as well as interviews with C. P. MacGregor, June Carter, Coy Bays, and the Pickard Family. Discographies, sheet music, liner notes, song titles, and articles and clippings are all related to the Carter Family. The last folder includes a large amount of handwritten songs found in a cabin where Sara Carter stayed after divorcing A. P. Carter.
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Series 2. Merle Travis Research Materials, 1944-1999.
Merle Travis research materials consist of items relating to Ed Kahn's interest in American folk music originating in and around the coal mining towns of Kentucky and Tennessee and to his planned biography of Travis. Correspondence is chiefly between Kahn and Merle Travis. Other correspondents include individuals associated with record companies and folk scholars. There are also letters to and from Merle Travis, including correspondence with friends and business associates, such as Mose Rager, Wesley Tuttle, and Grandpa Jones. Writings include drafts of "Merle Travis: Folk Informant," an article written for the JEMF Quarterly newsletter; drafts of liner notes written for Bear Family Records; chapter layouts and drafts for a biography on Merle Travis begun in the 1980s, but never completed; and drafts of an NEH proposal to fund the book on Merle Travis. In addition to Kahn's writings, there are writings by Merle Travis, chiefly liner notes and short articles. Transcripts document interviews with Merle Travis, Mose Rager, Steve Sholes, Wesley Tuttle, Grandpa Jones, Juanita McMichen Lynch, and others. Discographies, sheet music, liner notes, and song titles are all related to Merle Travis. The manuscript by A. H. Walle focuses on how indigenous performers adjust to mass media.
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Series 3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated.
Arrangement: by subject.
Chiefly photographs of Carter Family members, including publicity shots of the Carter children; the Carter Family performing with other artists, such as Mainer's Mountaineers, James Carson, Jimmie Rodgers, and Chet Atkins; rare early images of Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter; snapshots of the Carter Family at various points during their career; and images of friends and family. Other photographs include a publicity shot of Merle Travis; snapshots of Merle Travis's family and hometown; and an image of Ray DeAutremont, who, with his brothers Roy and Hugh, was involved in a 1923 train robbery.
| Image P-4589a-c |
The Carter Family with a radio announcer, circa 1950s, b&w prints, two roughly 2x3, one roughly 8x10. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4589a-cStanding from left to right: Joe Carter, Sara Carter, unidentified radio announcer, Janette Carter, and A. P. Carter. |
| Image P-4590 |
June Carter, circa early 1950s, b&w print, roughly 3x4. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4590June Carter wearing a long dress and photographed in mid-air. Autographed. |
| Image P-4591 |
June Carter, Helen Carter, and James Carson, March, 1959, b&w print, roughly 3x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4591Standing from left to right: June Carter, Helen Carter, and James Carson. All three are performing in a grocery store. |
| Image P-4592 |
June Carter, Helen Carter, and James Carson, March, 1959, b&w print, roughly 3x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4592Standing left to right: June Carter, Helen Carter, and James Carson. All three are performing on stage. |
| Image P-4593 |
Jimmie Rodgers and the Original Carter Family, June, 1931, b&w print, roughly 3x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4593Standing from left to right: Jimmie Rodgers, Maybelle Carter, A. P. Carter, and Sara Carter. Inscription on the back reads: "Jimmie Rodgers and the famous Carter Family pose together in Louisville, Kentucky just after a recording session. There that day they recorded 'Jimmie Rodgers visits the Carter Family' and 'Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in Texas.' Sara and Jimmie recorded 'Why There's a Tear in Your Eye' and 'Wonderful City.'" |
| Image P-4594 |
Anita Carter, circa 1950s, b&w print, roughly 5x3. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4594Publicity head shot of Anita Carter. Autographed. |
| Image P-4595 |
The Carter Family and the Mainers, circa 1939, b&w print, roughly 4x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4595A composite photograph with the Carter Family on the left and the Mainers on the right. The Carter Family is photographed with Brother Bill Rinehart at Dell Rio. Top row: A. P. Carter, Janette Carter, Brother Bill Rinehart, Sara Carter, and Maybelle Carter. Bottom row: Helen Carter, Anita Carter, and June Carter. All four of the Mainers are featured with their instruments. |
| Image P-4596 |
A. P. Carter, circa 1960, b&w print, roughly 3x3. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4596The last photograph of A. P. Carter before his death. He is seen standing in front of a porch with the assistance of an unidentified woman. |
| Image P-4597 |
The Carter Family, circa late 1920s, b&w print, roughly 4x3. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4597Standing left to right: Maybelle Carter, A. P. Carter, and Sara Carter. |
| Image P-4598 |
Maybelle Carter's House in Nashville, Tenn., circa 1950s, b&w print, roughly 4x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4598 |
| Image P-4599 |
Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter, circa 1915-1919, b&w print, roughly 5x3 (negative included). #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4599Early photograph Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter. Both are seated outdoors in front of a tree with instruments on their laps. Sara carries a banjo and Maybelle carries an autoharp. |
| Image P-4600-4607 |
Various snapshots of Sara Carter, Maybelle Carter, Coy Bayes, Ed Kahn, and Mike Seeger, circa late 1960s, b&w prints, roughly 4x3. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4600-4607Photographs include Maybelle Carter and Coy Bayes on a motorcycle; Maybelle and Sara with their instruments while Coy poses with a shotgun; and Ed Kahn and Mike Seeger posing with Sara and Maybelle. |
| Image P-4608 |
The Carter Family, circa 1950s, b&w print, roughly 8x10. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4608Seated left to right: Janette Carter, Joe Carter, A. P. Carter, and Sara Carter. Publicity photo. |
| Image P-4609 |
Helen Carter, circa 1950s, b&w print, roughly 8x10. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4609Autographed publicity headshot. |
| Image P-4610 |
The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle with Chet Atkins, circa 1950, b&w print, roughly 10x5. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4610Promotional photograph of the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle with Chet Atkins and an advertisement for Martha White's Plain and Self-Rising Flour. From left to right: Mother Maybelle Carter, Helen Carter, Chet Atkins, June Carter, and Anita Carter. |
| Image P-4611 |
Merle Travis, circa 1967, b&w print, roughly 8x10. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4611Promotional photograph of Merle Travis with his guitar; autographed and inscribed to Ed Kahn. |
| Image P-4612-4621 |
Merle Travis's Family and Hometown of Drakesboro, Ky., circa 1993, color prints, roughly 4x5 (negatives included). #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4612-4621Photographs of Merle Travis's family and hometown. Included are shots of Travis's brother, John Travis, and sister, Veda Adler; family photos; street signs named after Merle Travis and Mose Rager; and monuments erected in honor of both Merle Travis and Mose Rager. |
| Image P-4622-4623 |
The Foreman Phillips Show, "Back to School" party souvenir photo, circa late 1940s, b&w cards, roughly 5x4. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4622-4623The Foreman Phillips show featured three hours of live programming five days a week and aired on KECA-TV. Performers included Merle Travis, Johnny Bond, Joe Maphis, and others. |
| Image P-4624 |
Merle Travis, circa 1953, b&w postcard, roughly 6x4. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4624 |
| Image P-4625 |
Ray DeAutremont, circa 1973, color print, roughly 3x3. #20360, Series: "3. Photographs, circa 1910-1990 and undated." P-4625Ray DeAutremont photographed with Gary Williams. Williams interviewed DeAutremont in November 1973. |
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Series 4. Sound Recordings and Videotapes, 1939-1999 and undated.
Arrangement: by format.
Commercial and non-commercial audiovisual materials, including commercially recorded transcription discs, non-commercial field recordings on open reel tape, as well as both commercial and non-commercial audiocassettes and videocassettes. Transcription discs include many recordings of Mexican border radio programs featuring the Carter Family, Patsy Montana, Cowboy Slim, the Pickard Family, and others. Open reel tapes chiefly document field recording with interview subjects focusing on early country and American folk musicians, including Ernest V. Stoneman, Mose Rager, Charlie Bowman, Dorsey Dixon, Sara Carter, Polk Brockman, and many others. Dubs of transcription disc collections are also recorded on open reel tape. Audiocassettes chiefly consist of dubs of transcription discs and field recordings. Videocassettes feature Merle Travis, Johnny Cash, Mose Rager, and others.
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Subseries 1.1. Transcription Discs, 1939-1941 and undated.
Arrangement: original order has been maintained.
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Subseries 1.2. Open Reel Tapes, 1946-1973 and undated.
Arrangement: original order has been maintained.
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Subseries 4.3. Audiocassettes, 1978-1995 and undated.
Arrangement: original order has been maintained.
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Subseries 4.4. Videotapes, 1946-2000 and undated.
Arrangement: original order has been maintained.
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Items Separated
Items separated include photographs (P-4589-4625).
Back to TopProcessed by: Kirston C. Johnson and Kelly Kress, October 2005
Encoded by: Kirston C. Johnson, November 2005
Preservation of and access to the Ed Kahn Collection was made possible through a grant from the Grammy Foundation.
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