MF 185 Country, Western, and Bluegrass Music Collection

Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History: MF 185 Country, Western, and Bluegrass Music Collection

Number of accessions: 44
Dates when interviews were conducted: 1960s – 2000s
Time period covered: late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries
Principal interviewers: various
Finding aides: some indexes and transcripts
Access restrictions: NA0365, 0538, 0546, 0674, 0677, 2280, 2605, 2902, 3302, 3862,
Description: This is an arbitrary collection of accessions created in June 2014 to bring together interviews that deal with country & western music. A number of the accessions are cross-listed with MF 149 (Country Music in New England/ Clifford R. Murphy Collection), MF 076 (Maine / Maritimes Folklore Collection), AY 123 (Folksong, introduced in 1980), and ANT 325 (Oral History and Folklore: Fieldwork, introduced in 1985). MF 094 AY 123 (Country Music in Maine Series) used to be a separate collection, but was brought into this one instead. That was a series of interviews about country music in Maine recorded for a class (AY 123) taught at the University of Maine by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives in 1975. Most focus on country music in the 1930s in the Bangor, Maine, area. Topics covered include bands and performances and country music on the radio.

0365 Warren Brooks, Paul Bourque, Lynne Forest, Kay Killam, Bernice Lewis, Mrs. M. MacPartland, Herman Morris, Margaret Morrow, Ralph McCready, Harold Somers, Norma Webster, Leonard Wilson, and William Wilson, Lionel Poirier, Butch Roy, Faye, and Somers, interviewed by Faye Somers for CP 180, October 1963, Fredericton, Westfield, Lorneville, Saint Martins, Sussex, and Saint John, New Brunswick. Paper includes brief sketches of informants and abstract texts of material collected. Narrators talk about devil stories; ghost stories; mystery lights; haunted houses; ghost ships; forerunners and omens; legends; sayings; Glooscap lore; place name lore; jokes; wart charming; hidden treasure (Captain Kidd’s Treasure, etc.); children’s rhymes, games, songs; dowsing; architecture (shingle patterns). Accompanying tape features bluegrass and fiddle music played by Poirier, fiddle, and Roy, guitar and banjo: “Maple Sugar,” “Carleton County Hornpipe,” “Grandfather’s Clock,” “Bugle-Call Rag,” “Shucking the Corn,” “Orange-Blossom Special,” and more with Poirier’s whole band, and two short songs by Somers remembered from childhood: “Good Morning Merry Sunshine,” “Jack Frost” (does not remember all the words, sings the melodies). Text: 84 pp. paper. Recording: T 0249 / PM 0040 1/2 hour.

0538 Rusty Wellington, interviewed by Rhoda Mitchell for FO 108, fall 1968, Lisbon Falls, Maine. Wellington was a country and western musician, songwriter, and singer. Accession also includes: a photocopied 8×10” photo (ca. 1930s) of Wellington with band believed to be “The Downhomers” contributed in June, 1999 by Steve Green. Band members pictured are Rusty Wellington (guitar), Guy Campbell (fiddle) Ginger Shannon (upright bass), and Shorty Cook (guitar). Text: 39 pp. transcript and manuscript. Recording: T 0281 1 hour.

0546 Mr. Paul Bowden and Mrs. Paul Bowden, interviewed by Frederick Seyford for FO 108, fall of 1969, Orland, Maine. Paper deals with bluegrass music of the Bowden family. Text: 45 pp. transcript, brief catalog. Recording: T 0284 / PM 0105 1 hour.

0674 Raymond “Slim” Clark, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives for FO 108, March 28, 1972, UMaine, Orono, Maine. Recording of a class session. Clark discusses his career in country and western music. Also included: Slim Clark songbook. Text: 47 pp. transcript. Recording: T 0383 1 1/4 hours. Photos: P 0525 – P 0527.

0677 Frederick Seyford, recorded January 10, 1970. A 30 minute radio program he recorded January 10, but which aired on WMEB-FM January 14, 1970, titled “Music from the South: Tradition and Innovation,” which traces the history of country-western bluegrass and rock and roll from black and white folk roots. Text: 1 pp. tape catalog. Recording: T 0384 1/2 hour.

0759 Mr. Ashley Parlin and Mrs. Ashley Parlin, interviewed by Gary Sweatt for FO 134, April 19, 1973, New Vineyard, Maine. The Parlins talk about country and western music; singing by the Parlins. Also included: map. Text: 22 pp. partial transcript. Recording: T 0601 – T 0602 1 hour.

0794 By Edward D. “Sandy” Ives, November 1973, Stonington High School, Stonington, Maine. Recording of a program of country western music held for benefit of local Headstart Program. Also included: Headstart Newsletter #3. Text: 27 pp. brief catalog. Recording: T 0700 – T 0703 1 hour.

0847 Eva Littlefield and Mary Slate (Littlefield’s daughter), interviewed by Lisa Feldman for AY 123, March 9, 1975, Orono, Maine. Littlefield and her children talk about her husband Seth Littlefield and his career in music in the Bangor, Maine area; a series of photographs that were not included in accession; piano lessons; life during the Depression; members of Uncle Seth’s hillbilly band; a minstrel show; local area bands; baking bread; different popular dances in the Depression; struggles of earning wages as a musician during the Depression; more discussion of the set up of minstrel shows; changes in types of popular music; band member personalities; Seth’s background; band turning to hillbilly music; and touring. Text: 10 pp. index. Recording: T 0783 – T 0784 / PM 0742 / CD 0556 – CD 0557.

0848 Ann Little and Ray Little, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives for AY 123, April 2, 1975, in Milbridge, Maine. Others present at interview are Lisa Feldman, Mary Beth Argentieri, and Mark Lafond. The Littles talk about their background information; their move to Maine; country music business and performance; traveling and radio shows; nature of working as a band on the radio; band members; local musicians (e.g., Lone Pine Mountaineer); publicity and the influence of radio on band’s popularity; playing up in the Maritimes; a show at O’Leary PEI; starting up with hillbilly music; Ann’s radio program in Boston; combining acts; comparison of radio and television; booking shows independently; instruments played; using costumes on stage; auditioning for a television show; and some previously recorded songs captured on tape. Text: 26 pp. transcript, 7 pp. index. Recording: T 0785 – T 0786 / CD 0558 – CD 0559.

0849 Horace Dinsmore, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives for AY 123 (which Ives taught), March 7, 1975, Bangor, Maine. Mary Beth Argentieri was present at the interview. Dinsmore talks about country music programs circa 1940; layout of downtown Bangor; poor transference of country music to television; professional performers; Bob Whitten’s theater in Milbridge; discussion of different types of music; discussion of popularity of country music; its playtime on radio; discussion of “uncle” as a moniker for performers; learning country songs to perform; personal involvement as a country performer; a discussion of the Chateau Ballroom; minstrel shows; prevalence of country music in rural areas; singing with other performers; and how he met his wife. Included in accession is an analysis of the interview and a five minute tape index of Sally Olsen, conducted by Edward D. Ives, on March 6, 1975. Text: 6 pp. index. Recording: T 0787 / PM 0745 / CD 0560.

0856 Irving Hunter, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives for AY 123 (which Ives taught), March 12, 1975. Lisa Feldman was present at the interview. Hunter talks about musician Watie Akins; his employment with WLBZ circa 1930; his prior employment in radio; discussion of local and national programming; discussion of local talent; equipment used for station; affiliations with different networks; technological advancements in radio and equipment; remote broadcasts; delayed broadcasts; the Wednesday night amateur hour; the Bangor Auditorium; Norm Lambert’s talents as music director; patterning local programs after national formats; broadcasting from the Rose Garden and other local spots; hillbilly music; nature of statewide broadcasts; discussion of performers. e.g., Uncle Ezra; performers in costumes; lamentation of lack of recordings; process of making radio logs. Also included: pages of handwritten notes. Text: 6 pp. index. Recording: T 0805 – T 0807 / PM 0746 / CD 0561 – CD 0563.

0863 Norm Lambert, interviewed by Mark LaFond for AY 123, March 17, 1975, Hampden, Maine. Lambert talks about country western singers; tenure with WLBZ; duties as music director; live performers as sustained shows; the Carmel Auto Rest Park; remote broadcasting; activities in the area; different types of music performed on station; popularity of country western music; Maine Central orchestra; similarities between country western and hillbilly music; Uncle Ezra and his show; different performers; his activities as an accompanist with performers; the Maine Central Railroad Orchestra; country western singers and Canadian listeners; the Maine Central Broadcaster; information in a scrapbook; amateur shows versus Uncle Ezra; local dance spots; evolution of popularity of country western music in region; types of instruments used; and other occupations of singers. Text: 3 pp. index. Recording: T 0823 / PM 0749 / CD 0564.

0865 Glenice Beaulieu, interviewed by Mark LaFond and Mary Beth Argenteiri for AY 123, March 27, 1975. Beaulieu talks about list of country western performers; square dancing to music from radio; the Lone Pine Mountaineer; revival of country western music; Uncle Ezra; Ray Little; Jimmie and Dick; radio and country western music; WLBZ; similarities between country western and hillbilly; preference of national to locally produced country western music; local square and contra dances; local band “Kitty Kats”; a discussion of Jimmy and Dick and the players in the group; longevity in the region; compares the Novelty Boys (a band they formed later on) versus other groups; popularity of Novelty Boys; how the group traveled around; instruments they played; outfits they wore while performing; time on the radio; discussion of other singers; differences between Jimmie and Dick and other performers’ ability to create country western music; Eddy Arnold; differences between country and hillbilly music; different singers’ interpretations of country western music; live performances at local halls; and a commentary about the decline in country music performers. Text: 12 pp. index. Recording: T 0827, T 0828 / PM 0750, 0751 / CD 0565, CD 0566 2 hours.

0867 Reid Hand, interviewed by the spring 1975 AY 123 class, April 22, 1975. Hand talks about performing and working at the Auto Rest Park; the weekly schedule of the Auto Park events; broadcasting from the Auto Park; Ray Little’s ranch; charging fees on Sundays and Tuesdays; beano; working for Sears on the air; a converted schoolhouse as a dancehall; renovations to the Auto Rest Park; playing for kids’ dances; various performers at Auto Rest; Jimmie and Dick; musical styles of performers; playing accordions; tensions between union and non-union performers; working with different musicians; musicians during Prohibition; working for Sears; the Chateau; growing up in Houlton; playing for WLBZ; performing with multiple instruments; personal health in relation to playing; stories at the Auto Rest; square dances; playing with different orchestras; being a caller; description of pictures shown; performing at different venues; learning and playing music; being a master of ceremonies; more on playing with Sears; discussion of personal health; selling for Sears; visit to Florida; learning different music genres; country music’s popularity; singing; comparison between 1930’s music and current popular (circa 1970s); learning country western songs; modern and older country singers; pay for musicians; amateur shows; owning a dance hall; Uncle Seth’s Hillbilly’s; more on Auto Rest; hiring bands for the Auto Rest; band musicians smoking marijuana; working at the Chateau; more on amateur nights; the demise of Auto Rest; retiring from performances; comparing old with current square-dances; playing at the Bar Harbor Hayseeder’s Ball; Bar Harbor in the summer; and more on beano at Auto Park. Text: 18 pp. index. Recording: T 0833 – T 0835 / PM 0756 – PM 0758 / CD 0571 – CD 0573. Photos: P 0581 – P 0582.

0868 Ray Prosser, interviewed by Mary Beth Argentieri for AY 123, March 1, 1975, Surry, Maine. Prosser talks about radio programs listened to; his wife’s fan club; celebrities visiting area; singing country western music; his daughter Raegine’s experience in Nashville; different country music performers in area; singing cowboy movies; minstrel shows in the 1940s; Mrs. Prosser’s photo collection of singers; Uncle Zeb; influence of Jimmy and Dick in the region; other performers; Canadian records; locally-produced records; interview ends with looking at Mrs. Prosser’s record collection. Text: 8 pp. index. Recording: no tape.

0866 Cherry Noble Frechette, interviewed by Greg Boardman for AY 123, March 23, 1975. 4 page index. Feuchette talks about her experiences playing music; her grandfather, well known fiddler Mellie Dunham; Victor Records; her father’s cello playing; band personnel; different tunes; Dunham’s fiddle playing; songs written by him; family and furnishings around the house; family pictures; recordings by Dunham; Feuchette’s violin experience; her artificial elbow; ox-trots and square dances; members of Noble’s orchestra; Don Delano’s orchestra; pieces written by Feuchette; dances; fiddles; snow shoes; and a house fire. Feuchette also performs several songs. Text: 3 pp. index. Recording: T 0829 – T 0832 / PM 0752 – 0755 / CD 0567 – CD 0570 4 hours.

1296 Curly O’Brien, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives, spring 1977, Bangor, Maine. 11 pp. Tape: 2 hrs. w/ brief cat. Recording of two O’Brien television shows done as a memorial for Hal Lone Pine (aka the Lone Pine Mountaineer), a nationally known country music performer (née Harold Breau) from Old Town, Maine. Hal Lone Pine died in March, 1977. New England Country Music. Text: brief catalog. Recording: T 1385 – T 1386 2 hours.

1331 Rose Bean, interviewed by Debora Kodish, Maine Folklife Survey, May 28 , 1980, Topsfield, Maine. 218 pp. 23 pp. catalog. Interview with Rose Bean about her scrapbook of country music star photos and memorabilia; country music in Maine; copies of Gene and Flo Hooper fan club newsletters (pp. 24 – 113) and copies of scrapbook photos (pp. 114 – 218). Text: catalog. Recording: T 1456.

1342 Ernest Tweedie and Thelma Tweedie, interviewed by Debora Kodish, Maine Folklife Survey, June 11, 1980, Guilford (Parkman), Maine. Tape: 2 1/2 hrs. w/ cat. The Tweedies talks about playing guitar and step-dancing; their activities with the Grange; piano player Dorothy Knowles Perkins; moving from Fort Fairfield to Sherman Station; musician Joe Bashaw; dancing for men in the barber shop; working in Benedicta and Patten; clogging; how the audience keeps time in step-dancing; tapping the juba; dancing in Corinna; piano player Grace Ballard; Ernest’s houses that he built; the Robertson Lumber Company; how they met and married; working at Boiestown Mountain as a cook; first aid in a lumber camp; Thelma’s father, Elmet Clement; cooking with her parents at Chesuncook Lake; folklore in the lumber camps; log rolling in Molunkus Stream; driving logs; various dances Ernest shows the interviewer; their daughter, Rita; minstrel shows; songs sung for the interviewer; their interest in country music. Text: 42 pp. detailed catalog. Recording: T 1468 – T 1469 2 1/2 hours. Photos: P 3710 – P 3730.

2072 Maynard Jalbert, interviewed by Joseph Ogando, April 14, 1988, Caribou, Maine. Jalbert discusses country and traditional Maine music in the early-to-mid twentieth century; bilingual nature of woods songs; plays recordings with songs; instruments and musical learning in northern Maine during the 1920s and 30s; winter work in lumber camps during the Great Depression; lumber camps food; role of music at home and as a social pastime; story tellers in the lumber camps; fighting lice; differences between music in lumber camps and at dances; introduction of the radio circa 1938; French-Canadian heritage; wedding and Fourth of July celebrations; common French-Canadian names and how men with identical names were distinguished; why country music became popular in northern Maine; and recites and sings in French parts of folk songs made by a friend. Text: 26 pp. transcript. Recording: C 0595 – C 0596 2 hours.

2073 Gene Hooper, interviewed by Joseph Ogando, April 7, 1988, Machias, Maine. Hooper talks about country and traditional music in early-to-mid twentieth century Maine; influential musicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s; early radio in Maine and the stations he listened to; changes in radio and material aired; his experiences performing for radio; adapting traditional “story songs” for radio; importance of Jimmy Rodgers as a model; yodeling in music; playing in Canada and Virginia; why country music was popular in Maine and the Maritime Provinces; changes in country music by 1988; importance of lyrics and the story to early country music; and what instruments would sometimes accompany him. Text: 25 pp. transcript. Recording: C 0597 1 hour.

2074 Jim Dowling, interviewed by Joseph Ogando, April 20, 1988, Orono, Maine. Dowling discusses country music in the Bangor area; his childhood in the 1940s and 50s; growth of rock music; bars that played country music; prominent local musicians, particularly Dick Curless; and country songs coming out of stories. Text: 13 pp. transcript. Recording: C 0598 1 hour.

2280 Bob French, interviewed by Don DePoy for Fieldwork in AY 425, fall 1992, Cambridge, Maine. 47 pp. Tape: 3 with transcript. A series of interviews. French, a bluegrass banjo player, talks about the New England bluegrass scene; banjo technique and style. One cassette is of a performance by French. RESTRICTED. Text: 38 pp. paper, 71 pp. total documents. Recording: C 1060 – C 1062.

2115 By Joseph Ogando, December 15, 1988, Orono, Maine. Independent study titled “Regional Country Music in Maine and the Maritimes.” Text: 20 pp. manuscript.

2365 Gene Hooper, interviewed by Joseph “Joe” Ogando, November 23, 1987, at Hooper’s home in Machias, Maine. Hooper talks about his career in country music; opinions; performing in Maine, Canada and West Virginia; radio stations in Maine and Canada; folk songs; songs from Great Britain; Victrola record player; country music versus country and western; Jimmie Rodgers; learning guitar; National Barn Dance; covering songs; audiences; country rock; selling out. Text: 20 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1411, CD 0890 37 minutes.

2438 Dick Curless and Gene Hooper, written by Joseph C. Ruff, summer 1996, Maine. 142 pp. A master’s thesis titled “Country Music in the Northeast: Two Careers” about Dick Curless and Gene Hooper. Text: 142 pp. thesis.

2572 By Maine Folklife Center, 1999, various locations, New England. 44 handbills, most printed on colored paper, announcing bluegrass and country music festivals to take place in New England states during 1999. The handbills were collected at the Hebron Pines Bluegrass Festival in Hebron, Maine on May 30, 1999. The bills are similar in format, listing bands who will be performing, giving dates, places, fees and other pertinent information. Some have photos of performers and bands. Text: handbills.

2605 Evergreen, the Stevens Family, Sassygrass, Bluegrass Supply Company, the Gibson Brothers, the Sandy River Ramblers, Smokey Greene, Eddie Poirier and the Bluegrass Four, Simon St. Pierre, Kenny Baker & Josh Graves, the Lewis Family, Shady Creek, Yodelin’ Slim Clark, Psaltery, Jete Le Po, Souterie, and others, produced by Don DePoy, 1994-1996, Sydney and Crawford, Maine. Accession consists of 116 video tapes (150 hours approx.) produced by Depoy, founder of F. O. L. K., Inc. (Focus On Local Knowledge) “a nonprofit Maine based corporation dedicated to the performance and preservation of traditional music.” Tapes contain raw footage and edited masters for a series of TV programs titled “Mainely Bluegrass” broadcast on Maine Public Television in 1996. Footage features music groups taped at the Breakneck Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Crawford, Maine (1994) and the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival in Sydney, Maine (1995). Artists include Evergreen, the Stevens Family, Sassygrass, Bluegrass Supply Company, the Gibson Brothers, the Sandy River Ramblers, Smokey Greene, Eddie Poirier and the Bluegrass Four, Simon St. Pierre, Kenny Baker & Josh Graves, the Lewis Family, Shady Creek, Yodelin’ Slim Clark and others. Also, a series of tapes for a program called “Women and the Franco-American Experience” featuring a concert of Franco-American music presented at the University of Maine with groups Psaltery, Jete Le Po, and Souterie. Recordings: V 0187 – V 0303 (0187-0297 are 3/4”, 0298-0303 are VHS) 150 hours approx. / C 1814 – C 1817.

2643 Linda Lord, interviewed by Alicia Rouverol, December 1, 1994, Belfast, Maine. Lord talks about work at Penobscot Poultry; childhood chores tending chickens; work at Crowe Rope; playing in country music band; depressed economy of Belfast area and impact of government regulations on small businesses; her feelings about being interviewed for the book; work ethic; her vision problems as limiting job opportunities; further reflections on working at Penobscot Poultry in the blood tunnel; business relations with community; feelings about work. Text: 48 pp. transcript plus correspondence relating to accession. Recording: C 1938 90 minutes.

2902 Asael Logan, Don McAtee, and Eric Richards, circa 1971-1972. Logan, on fiddle, McAtee, on guitar, and Richards, of Houlton, play typical square and country music with comments on well known fiddlers in the area: Claire Lake and Clifford Lockhart; callers Ambrose O’Donnell and Lawrence Carmichael of Monticello – a fiddle maker; the songs: “Wreck at Altoona” and “Haste to the Wedding”; and a comparison with southern style fiddling. Recording: C 0113, CD 0502.

3284 Julia Alice Smith, interviewed by Alice Mummé, October 10, 1996 and October 29, 1996, Orono, Maine. In the first interview, Smith talks about growing up in Parsonfield, ME, in the 1920s and 1930s; rural life and technology; dairy farming; corn farming; apple varieties and orchards; food preservation; veal farming; country music and performing; farm chores for children; 4-H and the Grange; 4-H Congress Chicago, IL in 1937; college at the UMaine; social activities and clubs; feather beds; one-room schoolhouse with her teacher mother; cooking; maple syrup production; farm life during the Depression; hunting deer; mushrooms; Christmas festivities. In the second, Smith talks about Dr. Carpenter; medical procedures; scarlet fever; milk delivery in Limerick, ME; traditional medicine; Ford Model-T; transportation; baking biscuits; a typical childhood day; winter activities; maple syrup collecting; berry processing; canning fruits and vegetables; water supply. Text: 35 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2416 40 minutes, C 2417 1 hour.

3302 Al Hawkes, interviewed by Jeffrey “Smokey” McKeen. Hawkes discusses the business of country music on the radio in Maine in the 1940s and 1950s. Text: 12 pp. partial transcript. Recording: C 2439 1 hours 15 minutes.

3373 Denny Breau, interviewed by Clifford R. Murphy, June 2, 2005. Breau was born May 26, 1952. He talks about his music and about his family who were all musicians; father Harold “Hal Lone Pine” Breau and mother Betty Cody; parents divorced; mother left music and worked in a shoe shop in the Lewiston-Auburn area; three brothers: Lenny, Richard, and Bob; more on Lenny: what he was like as a person, his musical style, movie “The Genius of Lenny Breau”; Denny in the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame; how music scene in Maine has changed; race relations; lifestyle of musicians; influences (Beatles and folk music); writing music; being on the road; musical training; family; Rusty Rogers/The Pemaquid Cowboy; drinking. Text: 61 pp. transcript. Recording: CD 0969 45 minutes, CD 0970 43 minutes. Photos: P 9901.

3374 Herbert LeBlanc, interviewed by Clifford R. Murphy, August 20, 2005, in his camper van in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. LeBlanc, a country musician, grew up in Nova Scotia and played with a band called Les Tymeux De La Baie. LeBlanc talks about his early family life; fiddling family; “Bienvenue a Clare” (”Welcome to Clare” on Sounds of Nova Scotia); favorite country musicians; Hawkshaw Hawkins; Hal Lone Pine; Betty Cody; Gene and Florence Hooper; how he became interested in playing; Don Messer; The Clare Tones (band); his family; yodeling; Johnny White; Gary Hall Hallida. Includes performance by The Good Tymes Band (Track 1) and several performances by Herbert LeBlanc with his guitar throughout Tracks 2 and 3. Text: 10 pp. transcript. Recordings: CD 0971 38 minutes. Photographs: P 9905 – P 9918.

3375 Kathleen M. Clark, interviewed by Clifford R. Murphy, June 1, 2005 at her home in St. Albans, Maine. Kathleen is the widow of country music star Yodelin’ Slim Clark and used to perform with him as “Dr. Kathy.” Clark talks about Slim: meeting him; what he was like; his love of painting, camping, hunting, fishing and performing songs; recording music; working with WABI radio and television; performing in New England; bluegrass festivals; his son Wilf; how his heart surgery affected him; Dick Curless; Rusty Rogers; Kenny Roberts; Johnny White; Wilf Carter; his first wife Celia; Hal Lone Pine; Betty Cody; Gene and Flo Hooper; yodeling; becoming a Catholic; his family; Jewel Clark; Walkway of Stars (Country Music Hall of Fame); Western Music Hall of Fame; biggest hits; pitching for Boston Braves; Mike Preston; Georgia Mae; Larry Sullivan. Text: 28 pp. transcript. Recording: CD 0972, CD 0973 1 hour 14 minutes.

3376 Gene Hooper and Flo Hooper, interviewed by Clifford R. Murphy, August 18, 2005, Machias, Maine (at the Hoppers’ home). Gene discusses how he became interested in country music; Jimmie Rodgers and Singing Brakeman; Dennis Breau; Hal Lone Pine Breau (Lone Pine Mountaineer); western dress; Ray Couture; radio; being a disk jockey; education; Depression; family; radio shows; recording; Hank Snow; Hawkshaw Hawkins, alcoholism; Doc Williams; playing in Canada and in New England; old radio transcriptions; fellow New England musicians (Dick Curless, Ken Mackenzie, etc); Paul Roberts. Flo discusses working with Hal Lone Pine and Betty Cody (her sister); her family; music in her home; performing; country music shows; yodeling; Betty; Flo’s family. Text: 71 pp. transcript. Recording: CD 0974 52 minutes, CD 0975 22 minutes. Photos: P 9902 – P 9904.

3533 Bob French and Grace French, interviewed by Mary Cook, March 27, 2003, Cambridge, Maine. Also included: article from “Bluegrass Unlimited” pp. 60-65. Text: 31 pp. transcript, 7 pp. paper, 2 biographical data sheets; 1 pp. tape index. Recording: C 2565.

3862 Paul “Paul Roberts” Metivier, interviewed by Cliff Murphy, July 13, 2005, by telephone. Metivier, born in 1915 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, talks about his stage name Paul Roberts; being a hillbilly yodeler; his song “There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere”; Bob Miller (Shelby Darnell); hillbilly music being renamed country music; learning to yodel; doing a triple yodel; performed with his wife Ann; other singers (Yodelin’ Slim Clark, Smilin’ Ernie Lindell, Johnny White, Montana Slim , etc.); his song “She Taught Me How To Yodel”; how to yodel; his 10 songs; profits; winning amateur contests; doing stage shows with his wife in Maine; radio broadcasts. RESTRICTED. Text: 21 pp. transcript, 2 pp. field notes. Recording: Flash Recording CM-05-05.