Top of page

Notice
Wednesday, January 28, 2026: Due to inclement weather, The Library will open the reading rooms to researchers at 9:30 AM following the one (1) hour delayed arrival for staff.

Audio Recording Musical performances, Tift County Singing Convention, Tifton, Georgia, parts 1 and 2, includes interviews with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington

About this Item

Title

  • Musical performances, Tift County Singing Convention, Tifton, Georgia, parts 1 and 2, includes interviews with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington

Names

  • Stanley, David, 1942- (Collector)
  • Givens, T.W.
  • Pennington, J.C.

Created / Published

  • Tifton, Georgia, July 23, 1977

Headings

  • -  Folklore--Georgia
  • -  Song festivals
  • -  Field recordings
  • -  Songs
  • -  Sound recording
  • -  United States -- Georgia -- Tift County -- Tifton

Genre

  • Field recordings
  • Songs
  • Sound recording

Notes

  • -  Side A: Part 1 of a 10-part recording of interviews and performances at the Tift County Singing Convention, held at the Chapel of All Faiths, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton GA (Saturday, 23 July 1977): interview with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington (fieldworker's notes state that Givens is elderly, Pennington about 60, often led songs together), begins with comments by fieldworker David Stanley; Givens and Pennington, on choosing songs, sometimes pick a favorite, often just choose one from the book, especially if someone else has done the song you chose, the hymn books have a few old songs but most are new, song directors get familiar with the styles of certain composers and can lead a song they've never sung before; recording of the event, opening remarks (with microphone noise) by J. Wallace Franks, President of the Convention, he asks directors to limit the number of those directing with them to one or two in order to make the convention move as quickly as possible, comments "to sing praised unto the Lord and to His glory," and "I don't know what this building is going to sound like when we get to singing," points out location of rest rooms, says the "ad book" urges directors to be ready when their turns come, "I'm not gonna rob you from your own piano player, whoever you want to play for you, you call them up, but please try to have them ready to go," offers a comment on a malfunctioning microphone (fieldworker writes, "after putting it in stand, made electric vibrating motions with his hands"); performances of theme song, "Thank you dear Lord for Saving My Soul," led by convention officers, "It's right in the middle of the book, number 108," voice is heard, "Gimme a book!" and fieldworker comments that "Franks has the habit of scaling books to people in the pews," Franks asks attendees to stand for the song; prayer to bless officers and singers; an elderly woman (fieldworker notes "who led the first and last song both days" and tentatively identifies her as "Mom Bethay" in part 9) directs number 1 in the hymnal Road to Glory, Jeffress Music Co.; T.W. Givens with help from J.C. Pennington leads number 14 in the hymnal Pure Gospel, James D. Vaughan, publisher; Pennington leads, with help from Givens, number 128 in the hymnal New Songs of Praise, Stamps-Baxter Music Co.; Mrs. Agnes Lepper leads number 10 in the hymnal Road to Glory, Jeffress Music Co.; Rev. R.C. Taylor and two others lead number 50 in the hymnal Pure Gospel, James D. Vaughan, publisher.
  • -  Side B: Part 2 of a 10-part recording of interviews and performances at the Tift County Singing Convention, held at the Chapel of All Faiths, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton GA (Saturday, 23 July 1977): performance led by Bud Nobles and two others of number 14 in the hymnal Road to Glory, Jeffress Music Co.; fieldworker notes that, "after each director finishes, convention president J. Wallace Franks puts a check mark on the board next to his or her name," adding "the blackboard has 5 or 6 names in a vertical column on each side, after one side is finished, it's erased and a new 5 or 6 are listed"; call for the Convention Quartet who are not ready yet (fieldworker comments that one of them had a whispered conversation with a piano player), event proceeds to performance of number 42 in the hymnal Road to Glory, Jeffress Music Co., led by Bud Nobles and others; two men and one woman (none identified) lead number 52 in the Road to Glory; the Convention Quartet perform two hymns, with loose-leaf song books and a small child playing around their feet, for the second, a young man points out that the song is number 119 in the hymnal New Songs of Praise, Stamps-Baxter Music Co., and invites the audience to follow, fieldworker comments that a few attendees watched the song in their books, very few sang along, the piano had considerable difficulty on this one; Frank White and two others lead number 74 in the hymnal Pure Gospel, James D. Vaughan, publisher, fieldworker comments that White is elderly and the others support him as he comes to the front; R.C. Harp leads number 88 in the hymnal Road to Glory; fieldworker's notes state that "during this part of the convention, the daughter of the woman in the Convention Quartet, aged about one, ran back and forth between the male and female sections, rocking back and forth to the music, and grinning"; Leroy Vickers leads number 114 in the hymnal Road to Glory, fieldworker comments that Vickers is a "dynamic leader who picks up the pace and tells the singers, 'separate your 8th notes from your 16ths' or something like that"; W.A. Gray and three others lead number 56 in the hymnal Pure Gospel Gospel; D.W. Perkins leads number 52 in the hymnal New Songs of Praise, fieldworker comments that the little girl is still playing up front, adding that "here and many other times, the directors often hold their hands, usually just the right hand, in the air until the beginning of the second verse"; E.W. Padgett, with the same four leaders as with W.A. Gray, above, and two additional women, leads number 136 in the hymnal Pure Gospel, several from this set of leaders continue to direct at the beginning of part 3.

Medium

  • audiocassette

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1982/010: AFS 21180
  • MBRS shelflist: RYA 0991
  • Field project identifier: GA7-DS-C13

Source Collection

  • South-Central Georgia Folklife Project collection (AFC 1982/010)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use or reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

In addition, the American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. Rights assessment is your responsibility. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit line: South-Central Georgia Folklife Project collection (AFC 1982/010), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Stanley, David, T.W Givens, and J.C Pennington. Musical performances, Tift County Singing Convention, Tifton, Georgia, parts 1 and 2, includes interviews with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington. Tifton, Georgia, 1977. Audio. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1982010_afs21180/.

APA citation style:

Stanley, D., Givens, T. W. & Pennington, J. C. (1977) Musical performances, Tift County Singing Convention, Tifton, Georgia, parts 1 and 2, includes interviews with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington. Tifton, Georgia. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1982010_afs21180/.

MLA citation style:

Stanley, David, T.W Givens, and J.C Pennington. Musical performances, Tift County Singing Convention, Tifton, Georgia, parts 1 and 2, includes interviews with T.W. Givens and J.C. Pennington. Tifton, Georgia, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1982010_afs21180/>.