American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America

Storyline

From 1978 to 1985 Alan Lomax traveled the American South and Southwest with a television crew to document regional folklore with deep historical roots. From the resulting 400 hours of footage came the five-program series American Patchwork, which aired on PBS in 1991.

First Aired

1990-07-06
Last Aired

1990-08-03
Creator
Genre

Documentary
Seasons

1
Episodes

5
Status

Ended
Language

English
Network

PBS

Keywords:

southern usa blues music music

Stream and watch American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America

Season 1

1. Jazz Parades: Feet Don't Fail Me Now

A celebration of New Orleans’ musical culture — from its piano bars and barrelhouses to brass bands an...More

A celebration of New Orleans’ musical culture — from its piano bars and barrelhouses to brass bands and street parades, with their colorful, riotous, and symbolic second lines, in which the community plays an essential part in the performance. Archival film footage, photographs, interviews with and performances by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mardi Gras Indians, and Danny Barker tell the story of the New Orleans tradition.Less

58mins 1990-07-06

2. Cajun Country: Don't Drop the Potato

The bayous of Louisiana have combined French, German, West Indian, native American and hillbilly ingre...More

The bayous of Louisiana have combined French, German, West Indian, native American and hillbilly ingredients into a unique cultural gumbo. Cajun Country investigates the Cajuns’ roots in Western France, visits their cattle drives, horse races, and fais do-dos in rural Louisiana, and listens to the salty tales and raunchy songs of its black, white, and Indian music-makers.Less

57mins 1990-07-13

3. The Land Where the Blues Began

Alan Lomax, John Bishop, and Worth Long explore the enduring African-American performance traditions o...More

Alan Lomax, John Bishop, and Worth Long explore the enduring African-American performance traditions of the Mississippi Delta. Featuring bluesmen R.L. Burnside and Jack Owens; tall-tale tellers, fife and drum bands, and diddley-bow players; and former prisoners, railroad workers, and roustabouts singing field hollers, work chants, and levee camp songs. (re-edited version of a 1979 film)Less

58mins 1990-07-20

4. Appalachian Journey

Investigating the songs, dances, and religious rituals of the descendants of Scotch-Irish settlers of ...More

Investigating the songs, dances, and religious rituals of the descendants of Scotch-Irish settlers of the Southern Appalachian mountains. Preachers, fiddlers, moonshiners, cloggers, and square dancers recount the good times and the hard times of rural life. Performances by Tommy Jarrell; Janette Carter; Ray and Stanley Hicks; Frank Proffitt, Jr.; Sheila Kay Adams; and Ray Fairchild, the man reputed to be the fastest banjo-picker in the world.Less

57mins 1990-07-27

5. Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old

Examining the talents and wisdom of elderly musicians, singers, and story-tellers, who perform not for...More

Examining the talents and wisdom of elderly musicians, singers, and story-tellers, who perform not for fame or fortune but to preserve and share their culture. Stories told by Janie Hunter (80) of Johns Island, SC; ballads sung by ex-coal miner and union organizer Nimrod Workman (91), of Chatteroy, WV; fiddle tunes and tales of moonshining and feuds from Tommy Jarrell (83) of Toast, NC; and footage from the Alabama Sacred Harp Convention in Fyffe, AL, in which people of all ages gather to sing old-time shape-note hymnody.Less