Library of Congress. moving image eng In this presentation, John Szwed discusses his forthcoming biography of Alan Lomax. He writes: It seems odd that no biography of Alan Lomax was written before now, especially given that many of the folk music performers whom Lomax discovered have had biographies of their own. True, Lomax was not a well known performer like Pete Seeger. He never held an academic post or a high government position, nor did he receive international or even national awards for his work until the very end of his life. But he was arguably one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century, a man who changed how everyone heard music and even how they viewed America. When he died, newspaper and TV news reporters pointed out that he had been a musicologist, archivist, singer, DJ, filmmaker, photographer, author of 19 books, producer of dozens of radio, TV, video, and concert programs and hundreds of recordings, in addition to being the world's most famous folklorist. They might have added that he was also an anthropologist, political activist, lobbyist, and in his later years, something of a social theorist in the grand tradition of the nineteenth century. Classification: Music and Books on Music. John Szwed. Recorded on 2010-05-05. Kids, Families. Researchers. Biography, History. Culture, Folklife. Culture, Performing Arts. Performing Arts, Music. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdcwebcasts.100505afc1200