| Washboard Bill Cooke | Washboard Bill Cooke | Still Image | Fieldwork
African Americans
Musical instruments
Percussion instruments
Blues singers
Storytellers
Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_photo.jpg |
Washboard Bill Cooke
- Date
- 1987-08-10
- Description
- Nine color slides. The Folk Arts in Education Project in Palm Beach County was a joint venture between the Palm Beach County School System and the Florida Folklife Program. It was conducted between 1986 and 1987 by folklorist Jan Rosenberg with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to add to existing social studies curriculum. The goal was to impart an appreciation of multi-ethnic traditions and provide a sense of place to the mobile student population. The project focused on the Florida Studies component for fourth grade students. The project consisted of field research to identify local traditions and folk artists, a series of five two-day seminars to acquaint teachers with the use of folklore and folk arts, in-school programs conducted by a folklorist and traditionalist, which included visits by local folk artists. In total, the project involved 15 schools with 779 students.
- Collection
| F201844 | "Washboard Bill" Cooke at the 1995 Florida Folk Festival- White Springs, Florida | | Performing arts
Popular music
Ethnicity, African American
Musical traditions, African diaspora
Folk music
Washboards
Musical instruments
Instrumentalists
Music--Performance
African American musicians
Arts (Performing)--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Special events
Folklore revival festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Folk festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
African American men--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs | /fpc/folklife/f201844.gif |
| a_s1576_30_c93-016 | "Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area | sound | Musicians
Storytellers
Singers
Railroads Employees
Folk festivals
Florida Folk Festival
Interviews
Hoboes
African Americans
Oral histories
Music industry | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
"Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area
- Date
- 1993-05-30
- Description
- Two audio cassettes. NKwanda Jah is the interviewer. On C93-16, Cooke, born in Dupont, Fla., gives a history of his early life and family. He discusses his early experiences of hoboing and tells stories about hitchhiking in Florida. He details his educational experiences, including dropping out of school. He took his last name "Cooke" from his grandfather after being adopted by him. He explains that from 1926 to 1930, he worked as a "gandy dancer" on the railways. After that, until 1941, he hoboed. He discusses being ostracized because of being a hobo. He recounts his beginnings as a washboard musician in 1946 in New York, before moving to Miami from 1947 to 1963 and working as a musician there. He explains that he learned to play the ukulele in 1979. Cooke discusses working on railroads, as well as having met Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson, B.B. King, Gene Krupa, and Sam Cooke. He shares his opinions on the relationship between black and white musicians, using Presley and King as an example of the positive interchange of ideas. He recounts working as a washboard musician in studios and being a part of the musicians union in New York. He recorded with Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Pete Seeger, Pete "Guitar" Lewis and Johnny Winter. He explains that his first recording was in 1959, and that he worked on a Harry Belafonte recording in 1979. He also recounts his relationship with Sammy Davis Jr.'s grandmother. He discusses receiving social security and other government subsidies in the 1970s. He tells some stories about getting married and having children.
On C93-17, Cooke discusses his children. He recounts his life during the 1980s playing music gigs around Florida, and the difficulty of making a living as a musician. He tells a story about being robbed. He compares the joy of receiving an invitation to attend the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter with working four months on a Waycross, Ga. chain gang in 1931. He details his travels on the railroad after leaving Waycross. He explains why he joined a church. He closes by telling a story about travelling to California in 1991.
- Collection
| a_s1576_30_c93-003 | "Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area | sound | Musicians
Storytellers
Railway Workers
Folk festivals
Florida Folk Festival
African Americans
Railyway workers
Occupational folklore
Washboards (musical instruments)
Transportation
Hoboes | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
"Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area
- Date
- 1993-05-28
- Description
- Two audio cassette recordings. NKwanda Jah is the interviewer. On C93-3, Cooke tells stories about traveling the railroads as a hobo during the 1930s; beginning his career as a washboard musician after World War II in 1946; problems with living in Palm Beach; and working for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the Florida East Coast Railroad. He tells a story about working in St. Lucie County for Reid and Lowe Railroad Contractors on the Florida East Coast Railroad, lasting only three days due to the mosquitoes. Some of what Cooke says it difficult to hear due to background noise. Wright and Brown of the Gandy Dancers join the conversation and discuss the differences between the railway workers and the machines used to replace them. Cooke reminisces about the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, his favorite line.
On C93-4, Cooke, the Gandy Dancers, and Jah discuss blues musicians including B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and Mississippi John Hurt. They talk about the African American background of many of Elvis's songs. They also discuss integration in Birmingham and the Apollo Theater; treatment of children in the company "quarters" in the 1940s; pay; foods and their cost of living at that time. The theme for the 1993 Florida Folklife Area was transportation.
- Collection
| a_s1576_30_c93-024 | "Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area (Second interview) | sound | Railroads Employees
Dancers
Singers
Musicians
Folk festivals
Florida Folk Festival
African Americans
Railroads
Oral narratives
Hoboes | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
"Washboard" Bill Cooke interview at the 1993 Florida Folk Festival Folklife Area (Second interview)
- Date
- 1993-05-28
- Description
- One audio cassette. NKwanda Jah is the interviewer. The tape stops and starts intermittently. Cooke tells stories about busking and buck dancing. Members of the Gandy Dancers can be heard in the background. Cooke tells various stories from his life, including being locked up in Waycross, Georgia for hoboing and working on a chain gang. He recounts his days hoboing before becoming a professional musician. At 15:00, Jah asks Brown about the consequences of African American men talking to white women in Alabama. At 16:30, Cooke discusses how old his instruments are. An audience member asks him to autograph his washboard. Cooke talks about "buck and wing" dancing and being born in Dupont, Fla., and moving to Sanford at eleven years old. He talks about Club Eaton in Eatonville, Fla.
- Collection
| a_s1685_05_tape25 | Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project | Sound | Singers
Storytellers
Fieldwork
Interviews
African Americans
Sound recordings
Oral histories
Life histories
Personal experience narratives
Juke joints
Music business
Storytelling
Music performance
Sawmills
Trains
Musical instruments
Washboards
Local history
Florida history
Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project
- Date
- 1987-08-10
- Description
- Two audio cassettes. Recorded at his home. Born in Dupont, just south of St. Augustine, on 4 July. His mother ran a jook joint, where he was first exposed to music and dance. He hoboed, played street music, worked for railways, and played at nightclubs in South Florida. In the interviews, he discusses jook joints; growing in East Florida; segregation; popular dances; building of the Dixie Highway; moving to New York; returning as a musician (washboard player) to West Palm Beach in 1947; his collection of black historical memorabilia; and his stories. In 1956, he made a recording with Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry called Washboard Country Band. In 1992, he won the Florida Folk Heritage Award. The Folk Arts in Education Project in Palm Beach County was a joint venture between the Palm Beach County School System and the Florida Folklife Program. It was conducted between 1986 and 1987 by folklorist Jan Rosenberg with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to add to existing social studies curriculum. The goal was to impart an appreciation of multi-ethnic traditions and provide a sense of place to the mobile student population. The project focused on the Florida Studies component for fourth grade students. The project consisted of field research to identify local traditions and folk artists, a series of five two-day seminars to acquaint teachers with the use of folklore and folk arts, in-school programs conducted by a folklorist and traditionalist, which included visits by local folk artists. In total, the project involved 15 schools with 779 students.
- Collection
| a_s1685_05_tape34 | Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project | Sound | Singers
Storytellers
Fieldwork
Interviews
African Americans
Sound recordings
Oral histories
Life histories
Personal experience narratives
Juke joints
Music business
Storytelling
Music performance
Minstrel shows
Trains
Jokes
Blackface entertainers
Entertainers
Florida history
Occupational groups
Television
Theater
Theatrical makeup
Racism
Racial segregation
Advertising
African Americans Segregation
Motion picture theaters
Vaudeville
Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project
- Date
- 1987-08-18
- Description
- One audio cassette. Recorded at his home. Cooke discusses black entertainment in Florida. Born in Dupont, just south of St. Augustine, on 4 July, Cooke worked as a street performer, a jook joint musician, a nightclub entertainer, and a railway worker. His mother ran a jook joint, where he was first exposed to music and dance. In the interviews, he discusses jook joints; Florida minstrel acts such as Florida Blossom, Rabbit Foot, and Silas Green; black vaudeville in Florida; Ringling Brothers circus; segregation in theaters and entertainment; blackface; national entertainers he knew such as Amos and Andy, Step'n Fetchit, and Al Jolson; racism in advertising; and Pullman Porters he knew. In 1956, he made a recording with Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry called Washboard Country Band. In 1992, he won the Florida Folk Heritage Award. The Folk Arts in Education Project in Palm Beach County was a joint venture between the Palm Beach County School System and the Florida Folklife Program. It was conducted between 1986 and 1987 by folklorist Jan Rosenberg with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to add to existing social studies curriculum. The goal was to impart an appreciation of multi-ethnic traditions and provide a sense of place to the mobile student population. The project focused on the Florida Studies component for fourth grade students. The project consisted of field research to identify local traditions and folk artists, a series of five two-day seminars to acquaint teachers with the use of folklore and folk arts, in-school programs conducted by a folklorist and traditionalist, which included visits by local folk artists. In total, the project involved 15 schools with 779 students.
- Collection
| a_s1685_05_tape27 | Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project | Sound | Singing
Storytelling
Field recordings
Interviews
African Americans
Oral narratives
Juke joints
Music industry
Music composition
Washboards (musical instruments)
Chordophones
Ukuleles
Rural blues
Blues (music) | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Washboard Bill Cooke interview for the Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project
- Date
- 1987-07-30
- Description
- One audio cassette. Recorded at his home. Born in Dupont, just south of St. Augustine, on 4 July. His mother ran a jook joint, where he was first exposed to music and dance. He hoboed, played street music, worked for railways, and played at nightclubs in South Florida. In the interviews, he discusses jook joints; writing songs; working in New York; playing the washboard and the ukulele; and plays various songs, some wellknown, others his own compositions. This interview was an exploratory interview for the Florida Folk Festival, and was expanded by Jan Rosenberg the following month. The tape speed is a little fast, noticeable in the higher pitch of their voices approximately half way through the tape. Side two is blank. In 1956, he made a recording with Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry called Washboard Country Band. In 1992, he won the Florida Folk Heritage Award.
- Collection
| a_s1576_t92-083a | Washboard Bill Cooke performing at the 1992 Florida Folk Festival (Old Marble Stage) | Sound | Folk festivals
Folklore revival festivals
Festivals
Special events
Performing arts
Performances
African Americans
Popular songs
Music performance
Washboards
Singers
Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
| FS921109 | "Washboard Bill" Cooke performing street music during Heritage Award reception at the 1992 Florida Folk Festival - White Springs, Florida | | Folklore revival festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Practices
Community rites--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Belief and custom
Ethnicity, African American
Ethnicity, African diaspora
Festivals, Events and Conferences
Receptions
Entertainers
Arts (Performing)--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Performing arts--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Music--Performance
Special events
Street music
Street entertainers
Street musicians
African American entertainers--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
African American men--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
African Americans
Manners and customs
Recreation--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
Folk festivals--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs
African American musicians--Florida--Hamilton County--White Springs | /fpc/folklife/fs921109.gif |
Listen: The Folk Program
