Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977-1980

In 1981, the Florida Folklife Program released the 27-track double LP Drop on Down in Recent Field Recordings of Afro-American Traditional Music , based on four years of fieldwork throughout the state. The album was intended to highlight African-American music traditions for a statewide public audience--blues and sacred traditions in particular. Recently, the Folklife Program sought the opportunity to produce an expanded reissue of the album that would include previously unissued fieldwork recordings and photos. Dust-to-Digital, celebrated for its specially packaged rereleases of American vernacular music, agreed to release the expanded reissue. Drawing upon fieldwork materials now housed in the State Archives of Florida, this volume includes 28 new tracks, plus a book with numerous photos documenting the musicians and communities that perpetuated these traditions. Also included are new track notes; essays by past and present folklorists with the Florida Folklife Program; and an essay on African-American one-string instrument traditions.