Ballad Hunting with Max Hunter

Regular price €100.99
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In stock with our UK publisher. 14-28 days
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1950s
1960s
1970s
A01=Sarah Nelson
A23=Robert Cochran
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Anglo American balladry
authenticity
Author_Sarah Nelson
automatic-update
ballads
broadside ballad
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=AVGH
Category=AVH
Category=AVLT
Category=AVN
Category=AVP
Category=BGF
Category=DNBF
Category=JBGB
Category=JFHF
Child ballad
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Eureka Springs festival
farm chores for ballads
folk ballads
folk music
folk revival
folklorists
history
Language_English
last Ozarks song sweep
Mary Parler
Max Hunter
Missouri ballad collector
MO
murder ballad
musicians
narrative folksong
native ballad
nonacademic
oral storytelling
oral transmission
Ozark songsters
Ozarks fieldwork
Ozarks Folk Festival
Ozarks Folk Song Collection
Ozarks songcatcher
PA=Available
Price_€50 to €100
PS=Active
recordings
singers
singing party
softlaunch
song hunting
sources
Springfield
Springfield-Greene County Library
stall ballad
unaltered Ozarks ballads
Vance Randolph

Product details

  • ISBN 9780252044892
  • Weight: 454g
  • Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
  • Publication Date: 24 Jan 2023
  • Publisher: University of Illinois Press
  • Publication City/Country: US
  • Product Form: Hardback
  • Language: English
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A traveling salesman with little formal education, Max Hunter gravitated to song catching and ballad hunting while on business trips in the Ozarks. Hunter recorded nearly 1600 traditional songs by more than 200 singers from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s, all the while focused on preserving the music in its unaltered form.

Sarah Jane Nelson chronicles Hunter’s song collecting adventures alongside portraits of the singers and mentors he met along the way. The guitar-strumming Hunter picked up the recording habit to expand his repertoire but almost immediately embraced the role of song preservationist. Being a local allowed Hunter to merge his native Ozark earthiness with sharp observational skills to connect--often more than once--with his singers. Hunter’s own ability to be present added to that sense of connection. Despite his painstaking approach, ballad collecting was also a source of pleasure for Hunter. Ultimately, his dedication to capturing Ozarks song culture in its natural state brought Hunter into contact with people like Vance Randolph, Mary Parler, and non-academic folklorists who shared his values.

Sarah Jane Nelson is a writer and musical performer. She has written on music for Old-Time Herald, Ozarks Watch, Fiddlers Magazine, and other publications.

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