Scope and arrangement
The Samuel Carroll Buchanan audio collection consists of fifty-six audio recordings, primarily of interviews with former jubilee quartet members conducted by Buchanan from 1983 to 1987 as part of his doctoral research. The collection also includes classes, discussions, research, music, and events related to Black jubilee quartets. Since the collection's original format is audio cassettes, many of the items contain two or more parts, one for each side of the cassette. Some items include multiple recordings and are described separately. The order of items on each recording does not always reflect chronological sequence.
Black jubilee quartets and other musical groups discussed in the collection include:
- Angelic Gospel Singers Woman gospel group formed by Margaret Wells Allison in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Cab Calloway Orchestra Jazz band formed by Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (1907-1994) in 1930, based at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City.
- The Charioteers Quartet organized by Professor Howard Daniel in 1930 at Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
- Deep River Boys Quartet formed in the mid-1930s at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Hampton, Virginia.
- Golden Crown Quartet Quartet established in 1919 in Norfolk, Virginia.
- Golden Gate Quartet Quartet founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers in 1934, by four students at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia.
- Hampton Singers Quartet Quartet formed in 1873 in Hampton, Virginia.
- Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra Band organized by James "Jimmie" M. Lunceford in Memphis, Tennessee. They began their professional career in 1929.
- Mitchell's Christian Singers Quartet formed in the early 1930s in Kinston, North Carolina.
- Norfolk Jubilee Quartet (also known as Norfolk Jazz and Jubilee Quartet) Quartet formed by Len Williams and Delroy Hollins in the Tidewater area in Virginia. They began performing in 1919.
- Northern Brothers' Quartet Quartet formed by four brothers including Chauncey S. Northern.
- Selah Jubilee Singers Quartet founded by Thurman Ruth (also known as Therman Ruth, Thermon Ruth, and T. Ruth ) around 1927 in Brooklyn, New York. Ruth later based the group in Raleigh, North Carolina.
- The Trumpeteers (also known as CBS Trumpeteers) Quartet formed in 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Utica Jubilee Singers Quartet formed in 1926 as a fundraising arm of Utica Normal and Industrial Institute in Utica, Mississippi.
- Wilberforce Harmonizing Singers Quartet formed at Wilberforce University, which later became the Oleander Quartet.
The Samuel Carroll Buchanan audio collection is arranged in four series:
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circa 1959-2010 [bulk 1983-1987]
This series consists of forty-three interviews with former jubilee quartet members, musicians, and producers, as well as experts, all arranged alphabetically by last name. All but three interviews were conducted by Buchanan: journalist Al Leston's interview with Buchanan, a mock interview between jazz pianists and composers Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, and a self-recording of bass singer Orlandus Wilson. Interviewees include Eddie Bonnemère, Leonard De Paur, Harry Douglass, Milt Hinton, Benjamin F. McLaurin, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Sy Oliver, and Bayard Rustin, amongst others. When information about interviewees' years of birth and death are available, they are included in the items' descriptions. Square brackets indicate the spelling of participants' names is unclear. The interviews were conducted from 1983 to 1987 and covered participants' experiences in jubilee quartets and the history of Black jubilee quartets.
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circa 1983-1987
This series consists of eight items comprising fourteen recordings of lectures, and class and dissertation discussions with Buchanan and between unidentified students and instructors, likely part of Buchanan's PhD program. It also includes recordings of Buchanan conducting research at the Library of Congress and a self-recording. Unless otherwise noted, Buchanan likely made the recording but does not appear on it. The series is arranged alphabetically by title. Item titles are devised from the content of recordings and donor description of some items as "dissertation discussions."
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circa 1921-2005
This series consists of eleven items comprising thirteen audio recordings of music, primarily by Black jubilee quartets; song compilations and albums; a radio program; and a concert, arranged chronologically. Two items do not have a full tracklist available. Item titles reflect album titles or are devised from the content of recordings.
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1984-2005 [bulk 1984-1987]
This series consists of four audio recordings of events related to Black jubilee quartets likely recorded by Buchanan, arranged chronologically. They include a program on Black American quartet traditions presented by the Program in African American Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, a memorial service for political activist Bayard Rustin, and a talk by academic Michael Eric Dyson.