The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to American Folk Music
Kip Lornell has been researching and writing about American roots music since the late 1960s. Since 1973 he has lived and worked in the South, primarily on music-related films, record projects, and books. Currently teaching in the Music Department at George Washington University, he is the author of eight books includingThe Life and Legend of Leadbelly(with Charles Wolfe),Introducing American Folk Music: Grassroots and Ethnic Traditions in the United States, andHappy in the Service of the Lord: African American Gospel Quartets in Memphis. He was awarded the 1992 ASCAP-DEEMS TAYLOR Award for the best book about American music and a 1997 Grammy Award for his writing that appeared in the booklet accompanying the "Anthology of American Folk Music" issued by Smithsonian Folkways.