id_number: ADS-1002-17

last_name: White

first_name: Willie Jr.

middle_name:

nickname:

group_org_name:

Call number: PRJ-1002

address: 110 Franklin St. or P.O. Box 284

artist_city: Hoboken

state: GA

zip: 31542

artist_county: Brantley

home_phone:

business_phone:

fax:

email:

birthdate: 03/21/48

birthplace: "Hoboken, GA"

ethnicity_1: African American

ethnicity_2:

religion: "Christianity, Holiness Church"

genre: "Turpentine, personal experience narrative, occupational folklife, naval stores, music, religious songs, gospel"

occupation: Sawmill Worker

education:

date_of_contact: 07/15/03

contact_made_by: Timothy Prizer

notes: "Location of interview: Solid Rock Holiness Church, just 100 or so yards behind Mr. White's home in Hoboken, GA. Very little noise outside whatsoever. An absolutely beautiful DAT recording of Mr. White playing his guitar and singing spirituals and gospel hymns. On a couple of songs, a teenage boy from the congregation provides a nice beat on the drums. 7/6/2003 Fairly constant sound of children playing and/or dogs barking, but these intrude very little on the sounds of the interview itself. An excellent recording both in sound and content. Mr. White tells jokes, demonstrates calls and hollers, and sings--beautifully--traditional spirituals that he once sang in the woods."

keywords: "gospel, spirituals, blues"

Name of person(s) interviewed: Willie White, Jr.

Fieldworker: Timothy C. Prizer

Date of interview: 6 July 2003

Location of interview: Front yard of informant’s home at 110 Franklin St. in Hoboken, Georgia

Other people present: N/A

Brand of tape recorder: Radio Shack CTR-122

Brand and type of tape: Maxell XLII

Tape Number: 03.1 and 03.2 (Fieldworker’s designations)

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF TAPE QUALITY (background noise, etc.)

This is an excellent recording both in sound and content. The sounds of passing cars, playing children, and barking dogs are fairly constant, but these do not intrude significantly upon the voices of the informant or the fieldworker.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF TAPE CONTENTS

Willie White talks at length about his life working in the turpentine woods. He demonstrates calls and hollers, tells jokes, and sings – beautifully – spirituals that he once sang while working in the woods.

Name of person(s) interviewed: Willie White, Jr.

Fieldworker: Timothy C. Prizer

Date of interview: 15 July 2003

Location of interview: Solid Rock Holiness Church in Hoboken, Georgia

Other people present: For a short time, a woman and her son and daughter (all members of the congregation) joined White and the fieldworker in the otherwise vacant sanctuary. The young boy is in his early teens, and he plays keyboards and drums during Sunday services. On this recording, he accompanies White on drums for two of the songs.

Brand of tape recorder: Sony DAT Walkman AVLS (TCD-D8)

Brand and type of tape: MASTERDAT R-124MD

Tape Number: 03.5 (Fieldworker’s designation)

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF TAPE QUALITY (background noise, etc.)

As with most Digital Audio Tape recordings, this one is of splendid sound quality. Far superior to regular cassette tapes, the DAT recorder makes all the difference in the world. White’s voice, both when speaking and when singing, comes through with superb clarity, and his guitar also wonderfully balanced in the mix. The only background noise to speak of is the aforementioned drumming (which actually sounds quite nice) and the brief rustling of the two teenage siblings who entered the church with their mother and stayed for approximately 20 minutes.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF TAPE CONTENTS

Willie White speaks of his musical past, from listening to his father blow the harmonica as a small child and hearing his mother sing spirituals at dawn to singing in the turpentine woods and later (and presently) directing the choir at his church. Additionally, he sings and plays guitar on a number of spirituals and gospel tunes, some of them traditional and others that enjoyed some commercial success once upon a time.