Mike Seeger Research Guide: From Other Collections
In the Southern Folklife Collection
Alice Gerrard Collection, circa 1870s-2008
Sharing the same dedication as the rest of the Seeger family for understanding the tradition and practice of old-time music, Alice Gerrard thoroughly documented the bluegrass communities she was a part of. Her collection contains audio and video recordings of live performances and interviews, photographs, and correspondence. Primarily from the 1950s to the 1990s, these archival materials pertain to notable musicians within the genre and further detail Gerrard’s musical collaboration with Mike Seeger.
Archie Green Collection, 1944-2009
Being a prominent scholar in American folklore, the scope of Archie Green’s research included the study of folk musicians. His collection contains correspondence, subject files, research materials, photographs, and audio recordings pertaining to the Seeger family and their contributions to the genre. In particular, the collection has archival materials relating to the work of Charles, Pete, Mike, and Peggy Seeger.
Bill C. Malone Collection, 1950s-2016
Devoted to the academic study of country music and related genres, historian Bill C. Malone documented the cultural significance of its performers. His collection contains audio recordings of live performances and interviews, performer and subject files on Charles, Pete, and Mike Seeger, and research materials pertaining to Malone’s Mike Seeger biography, From the True Vine: Mike Seeger’s Life and Musical Journey.
Broadside Collection, 1962-1991
Founded by Agnes “Sis” Cunningham in the early 1960s, Broadside magazine was a significant part of the folk music revival by publishing and discussing topical songs. The Broadside Collection includes audio recordings of demo tapes, live concert performances, and interviews used to transcribe folk songs for the publication. The audio recordings in this collection mostly pertain to the work of Pete and Peggy Seeger.
D.K. Wilgus, folklorist and professor at UCLA, focused his research on Anglo-American folksongs. His papers include professional correspondence, writings, and audio recordings documenting the musical careers of Charles, Pete, and Mike Seeger.
Eugene Earle Collection, 1939-1980s
Eugene Earle was the founder and president of the John Edwards Memorial Foundation. He amassed an extensive collection of country sound recordings. His collection contains audio and video recordings, photographs, and papers pertaining to the musicians he studied. In particular, there are audio recordings of Pete, Mike, and Peggy Seeger.
Greenhill Family/FLi Artists/Folklore Productions Collection, 1947-2014
Founded by Manuel “Manny” Greenhill in 1957, Folklore Productions is a publishing company that represents folk and traditional musicians. This collection contains administrative files, posters, photographs, and audiovisual recordings related to the musical careers of Pete, Peggy, and Mike Seeger.
William R. Ferris Collection, 1910s-2022
William R. Ferris, folklorist and UNC professor, studies folklore through different media perspectives. His collection contains photographs, audio and video recordings, and papers from his work as a scholar from the early 1940s through the 2010s. This collection includes interviews, photographs, and project files on Charles and Pete Seeger, who are featured in Ferris’ The Storied South: Voices of Writers and Artists.
At other institutions
The Music Division of the Library of Congress houses the Seeger Family Collection, 1880-2001. This manuscript collection includes correspondence, biographical material, music, iconography, and realia from Charles, Ruth, and Peggy Seeger. There also are materials related to the lives and music careers of Mike and Pete.
University of California, Los Angeles
The Special Collections Library at UCLA holds the Charles Seeger Papers, 1914-1962. Since UCLA is one of the institutions Charles worked for, this collection contains music theory research, programs, correspondence, ephemera, and clippings detailing Seeger’s education and teaching of musicology.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, Pete Seeger carried a rock'n'roll attitude as a folk musician. The collections at the Rock Hall contain playbills, concert programs, manuscripts, interviews, and other archival materials relating to the musical career of Pete Seeger, such as the Pete Seeger and Fillmore East Concert Programs and the Carry It On Manuscript.
Partnering with the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, the Louie B. Nunn Center implemented a digital oral history project that documents the history of bluegrass music through the perspective of its musicians. Alice Gerrard (2017) and Mike Seeger (2018) were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. The institution collected their respective interviews from 2007 for the project. This collection also includes an interview with Pete Seeger.
The Northwestern University Libraries Digital Collections includes scans of photographs, correspondence, and notes relating to members of the Seeger family. In particular, Northwestern has digital materials on Charles, Pete, Mike, and Peggy Seeger.
Using Finding Aids
A finding aid is one way that archivists make the materials within a collection available to search. It typically includes a collection overview, scope of content, copyright and permissions and sometimes a more detailed list of content. Finding aids are meant to help in the research process rather than being a complete description of what is available.
Navigating the finding aid
Finding aids have multiple sections and can be overwhelming to look at. Understanding how they are organized can help with navigating them. The format of finding aids may vary from institution to institution, but all finding aids include the same basic information such as an abstract, biography, scope and content, copyright and permissions. The top of the finding aid will typically have more general information such as an overview of the collection, subject headings and related collections. The finding aid will provide more detailed information the further you go, sometimes including a complete content list.
Finding Aid Tip:
The menu on the left side of the screen provides links to jump to different sections of the finding aid. If you are looking for a particular item, you can use “ctrl and F” (or “command and F on macs) to search for individual names, dates, locations and other keywords.
Use “search archival collections” to search the finding aids in Wilson Library.
Requesting Materials From Finding Aids
If the item you are interested in is not digitized, you can request it by clicking "request this collection" and specifying the call number of the item you want. You may request the item for an in-person visit, or through a duplication request. For more information on registering and requesting materials, visit the Registering and Requesting Materials page.
