|
In 1959 Shirley joined legendary
musicologist Alan Lomax on a year-long journey
through the musical heartland of the Southern States of America. During
this field trip they recorded the music of religious communities, social
gatherings, prisons and chain gangs, and
discovered the legendary bluesman Mississippi
Fred McDowell. These original recordings were featured in the Coen brothers’
film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou".
Shirley’s book "America
Over The Water" recounts this
journey, intercutting and complementing the American narrative with an
autobiographical account of growing up in Hastings during and
after the war, and of her first meeting with Alan Lomax in London. The show of the same name includes readings
by Shirley and by actor Pip Barnes, pictures of the singers taken on the journey
and recordings made on the trip.
"America
over the Water" was first published in 2004 by SAF
Publishing.
A new paperback edition was published in October 2006.
'I found it very touching indeed....... truly
moving' - David Attenborough
|
|
