The sound recordings in California Gold were gathered in less than two years, but the songs themselves cover a wide range of topics regarding American history.
Students can make an American history time line of songs.
Students can also use the Subject Index to help them locate these and other related topics. This collection provides students with an excellent opportunity to use visual, literary, and music sources to get a sense of what life was like for a particular group of people in California in the 1930s. Students can begin their research with the listing of Ethnic, Cultural, and Language Groups in California Gold . Selecting one of the group names will allow the students to explore the relevant sound recordings, photographs, drawings, and other materials collected by Cowell. For example, in the listing for the Spanish group, students will find all manner of information about Spanish-Americans and their musical traditions.