Audio Recording Where You Been So Long?

Rights assessment is your responsibility.

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the material in this collection, except as noted below. Users should keep in mind that the Library of Congress is providing access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other holders of rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

These collections were presented with the consent of members of the families of John W. Work III and Willis Laurence James. We were unable to locate members of Lewis Wade Jones' family. Attempts were made to contact the performers in this collection, but our letters were returned. We welcome any further information about Lewis Jones and the performers featured in this presentation.

The following materials are included in this online Collection with permission.

The Peachite, March 1944 Festival Edition (Vol. II, No. 2), with permission of the Mass Communications Department, Fort Valley State University, 1005 State University Drive, Fort Valley, Georgia 31030, Attn: Lloyd Archer.

Drawing of W. C. Handy (part of The Peachite as reproduced here), with permission of the family of Bettina Steinke.

Arrangement of "Get Right, Stay Right" (part of The Peachite as reproduced here)and correspondence by Willis Laurence James, with permission from the family of Willis Laurence James (Minnie-Rose J. Richardson: [email protected]).

Arrangement of "This Ol' Hammer" (part of The Peachite as reproduced here)and correspondence by John Wesley Work III, with permission from the family of John Wesley Work III.

Quotation from The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes, with permission from Harold Ober Associates Incorporated.

Selection from Red River Blues by Bruce Bastin. Copyright 1986 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Press. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press, 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820-6903.

Credit line

Please cite the source collection title, collection number, and repository, for example:

John Work Collection of Negro Folk Music from the Southeast (AFC 1941/035), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Lewis Jones and Willis James Recordings at Fort Valley State College (AFC 1943/012), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Fort Valley, Georgia, Recordings (AFC 1944/003), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as holders of publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. There may be content that is protected as "works for hire" (copyright may be held by the party that commissioned the original work) and/or under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations.

Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permission ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Users should consult the bibliographic information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding items and may assist users in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items as related to their desired uses.

Items included here with the permission of the rights holders are indicated as such in the bibliographic record for each item.

In some cases, the Library was unable to identify a possible rights holder and has elected to place some of those items online as an exercise of fair use for strictly non-commercial educational uses. The Library of Congress would like to learn more about these materials and would like to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information or know of their history. Please contact:  Performing Arts Reading Room.

Suggested credit line: Library of Congress.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.