Published By:
Lamont Jack Pearley
Dom Flemons “The American Songster” of the legendary Carolina Chocolate Drops, has made a career preserving Traditional American Folk songs and it’s history as a practitioner and folklorist. He’s covered the gambit of traditional music from Blues to jug bands. Today, he’s delved deep into a part of American history and African American traditions that many are not familiar with. His new project on the Smithsonian Folkways Records is a journey through the life and heritage of the Black Cowboy. In this new project, Dom explores the History of the American West With a Collection of African American Cowboy Songs and the stories that accompany the tunes.
On this episode, Dom goes into detail of how a visit with family some 10 years ago landed him at a gift shop around the Petrified Forest, where he came across a book called “The Negro Cowboys”. Probably no coincidence, Dom shares with us what transpired from this book purchase, and how the journey of producing The Black Cowboys album brings him full circle of his own family’s lineage.
‘Black Cowboys’ is the new album from multi-instrumentalist, songster, and co-founding member of the GRAMMY Award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, Do
m Flemons. More than a collection of songs from the “Wild West,” the record sheds light on the prominent but often overlooked role African American pioneers played in westward expansion.
In 2018, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings celebrates its 70th anniversary, honoring Folkways founder Moses Asch’s mission to “document the people’s music.” As a musical torchbearer andinnovator, Dom Flemons is committed to extending and reinterpreting Asch’s legacy in the modern age. Joining him on this year’s extensive release schedule are avant-garde folk duo Anna & Elizabeth, Iraqi-American oud virtuoso Rahim AlHaj, Tejano giants Los Texmaniacs, and special projects that include the ‘Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap,’ a topical box set on ‘The Social Power of Music,’ and extensive retrospectives on Folkways greats Pete Seeger and Barbara Dane.
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