Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
Interview and music performance with blues singer Moses Williams
Subject
Interviewing
Interviews
Music performance
Blues (Music)
African Americans
Diddly bow
String instruments
Life histories
Oral histories
Personal experience narratives
Guitarist
Blues singers
Musicians
Description
One reel to reel recording. Williams was born 15 February 1919 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. After traveling with several acts in the 1930s/1940s, he moved to Florida to work the citrus groves. He always played the diddly bow, a one-string instrument played throughout that south that functioned as a primitive guitar. Moses talked about playing the diddly (for this recording, he hung a broom wire from the wall); performing with Sonny Boy Williams; and his life history. He played several songs. NOTE: According to the depositor's agreement, any commercial use of this recording must be cleared by Moses Williams or Dwight Devane.