Negro Folk Music U.S.A.

Courlander, Harold. Negro Folk Music U.S.A. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2019.

First published in 1963, Negro Folk Music, U.S.A. remains an interesting read on the history of African-American songs. Courlander studies the characteristics of the lyrics as well as the rhythms and instrumentations of the songs. He compares the instruments of the American South to those in Africa in regards to comparable sounds. He covers genres from ballads to Gospel songs to the blues. He often includes snippets of songs with lead lines or simply texts of songs in the text. The book concludes with lead notes and lyrics to several African-American songs of multiple genres. The weakness is the lack of chord notations along with those lead lines. Dover should be commended for republishing the work. Many persons will find it an interesting work to add to their private collections, and many libraries may replace worn copies. I received an electronic copy through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.