Description
Bess Lomax Hawes is the daughter of
famed folklorist John A. Lomax. Ms. Hawes had an active musical career as a singer,
instrumentalist and songwriter. Her career as an educator began in 1954 when she became an
instructor in guitar, banjo and folk music in the extension division at the University of
California, Los Angeles. In 1963, she joined the Anthropology Department at San Fernando
Valley State College. The material contained in this collection consists of folkloric data
collected between 1958 and 1977 by students enrolled in Anthropology 309: American Folk
Music, Anthropology 311: Introduction to Folklore, and various senior seminars at San
Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge).
Background
Bess Lomax Hawes was born in Austin, Texas in 1921 to Bess Bauman-Brown Lomax and John A.
Lomax, famed folklorist and author of Cowboy Songs, American Ballads
and Folksongs, Adventures of a Ballad Hunter, and
director of the Archive of American Folksong at the Library of Congress. She is also the
sister of folklorist Alan Lomax, author of Mr. Jelly Roll, Folksongs
of North America, Folk Song Style and Culture, and editor of the Columbia World Library of Folk Music and the Global Jukebox.
Restrictions
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright
status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the
written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Availability
The collection is open to research use.