Sidney Robertson Cowell Recordings: Warde H. Ford

FW-ASCH-7RR-0691

CDR copy Tape Info: These recordings feature Warde Ford, of Crandon, Wisconsin, near Wolf River. Warde and other relatives were involved in lumbering and many of the songs they sing are from the lumber camps. Warde was originally recorded by Sydney Robertson Cowell as part of the WPA Northern California Folk Music Project, begun in 1938, when Warde was in California to work on the Shasta Dam. Some of those recordings are in the CFCH Archives; all of them are in the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and are available on their website, identified as "California Gold." From 1952 - 1955, Sydney Robertson Cowell re-recorded Warde Ford and other family members, notably Warde's uncle, Robert Walker. Warde had enlisted in the Army, and in 1954 - 1955 was stationed in Munich, Germany, where he was recorded at the studio of Radio Free Europe, where these recordings were made in August 1954. Many of these recordings, and those of his uncle and other family members can be found on Wolf River Songs, FW04001. See other sheets for song lists and their durations.