Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Radio

In this episode, we explore the rich cultural legacy of Black American music, focusing on the evolution from slave seculars—non-religious songs of survival, work, and resistance—to the development of the blues. Through stories, historical insights, and music, we uncover how enslaved African Americans used music to communicate, preserve their identity, and confront hardship. They also used their tr...

January 31 marks a pivotal moment in American history—the passing of the 13th Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery. But freedom was more than a legal decree; it became a living story told through the rhythms of the blues, the wisdom of Black folklore, and the resilience of Afro-Indigenous traditions. On this episode, we explore how the fight for liberation shaped cultural expressions that en...

African American Folklorist of the Month - Larry Handy Larry  Handy discusses with me the concept of Ethnopoetic theory (a method for analyzing and recording oral poetry and performances to capture the poetic elements of the original performance) and his love for archiving and being a librarian. Handy is a “Folklife Poet” and shares with us the meaning; he also dives deep into activism and protest...

Misty Blues and lead singer Gina Coleman celebrate 25 years of composing and performing original blues. They will be celebrating this feat on a Blues Cruise this coming Friday. With that, after an encounter with Legendary singer and activist Odetta, Coleman and crew have been working towards a project that has now manifested as – I’m Too Old For Games: A Live Tribute To Odetta. In this episode, I...

THE BLUES SOCIETY is a re-evaluation of the 1960s seen through the lens of the Memphis Country Blues Festival (1966-1969). It’s the story of Blues masters like Furry Lewis and Robert Wilkins, who had attained fame in the 1920s but were living in obscurity by the 1960s. It’s also the story of a group of white artists from the North and the South who created a celebration of African American music i...

In February of 2024, the Mississippi John Hurt Museum burned. The fire, believed to have been set intentionally, happened immediately after the Legendary Mississippi Blues Pioneer's cabin received landmark status. That was not the first or last attack on the Hurt Family museum, land, or legacy. A week later, the sheriff's office began investigating a break-in at the historic store located...

As we celebrate JUNETEENTH, we must understand how Folklore and the Blues Narrative relate to this celebration. In this episode, I will discuss the celebration, what the celebration is actually about, and its connection to and significance of African American Folklore and traditional Black Music. Juneteenth should always be mentioned with “African American Traditional Music and Folklore!” Juneteen...

Black Spirituals, Field Hollers, and Slave Seculars celebrate Black American Traditional Music and Experience. This show is dedicated to sharing and raising awareness of folklife, songs, dance, scripture, lyrics, and everything related to black Spirituals, Field Hollers, and Slave secular expressions, as well as the coded songs of Black Spirituals that were maps and landmarks for escaping bondage....

On this episode of Jack Dappa Blues, enjoy the collaboration of Jack Dappa Blues Radio and Southern Ohio Folklife for a conversation w/ Lady D (West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul) to talk about her recent performance of The Lady and the Empress, a one-woman show about the life and music of Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues. Learn about Bessie Smith, her role in Blues music, her lasting impact...

For some reason, when it comes to Country Music, most people do not associate it with black folk or folk musical expression. The thing is, country music, in its many forms, comes directly from black expression. i.e., the blues, country blues, and more. To give the context to the roots of commodified music presented and thought of as white music… We can use Leslie Riddle as an example… he was the t...

Today, I speak with Candice Ivory about her new project, When The Levee Breaks. As said on her website After releasing three acclaimed albums of jazz-driven original songs, vocalist Candice Ivory reveals a whole new sound on When the Levee Breaks: The Music of Memphis Minnie. Raised in Memphis and based in St. Louis, Ivory hails from an illustrious musical family that shaped Memphis’s secular and...

Many Black Academic Scholars are also active practitioners in our respective cultures and traditions. That doesn't negate their ability to teach, mentor, or share skills and tricks of the trade with the folk. It actually makes them even more qualified. Some feel Black Scholars who are educated or formally trained cannot teach or pass on the folk tradition. I see it differently, and here's...

On this episode, I'm encouraging all folks invested in the story of Black American tradition, folklore, folklife, material art, street art, religious belief, spiritual belief, Advocacy, Organization work, Public Programming, and everything that has to do with the "so-called" African American Narrative to submit work to the African American Folklorist Magazine and website. We no longe...

On this episode, I speak with Shirley Moody-Turner, an associate professor of English and African American Studies and founding co-director with Gabrielle Foreman of the Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk. She is an Author and award-winning educator that says, “As a young girl growing up in Buffalo, NY, I felt a deep longing to learn more about my family history. Shirley has worked to unear...

On this episode, I speak with singer, songwriter, and music educator Hannah Mayree about her journey in music, culture, tradition, and the Black Banjo Reclamation Project. Hannah Mayree (she/her/they/them) is a creative facilitator and musician whose work and art lend itself as a tool for redesigning and reconnecting to our roots as humans on this planet. A banjoist, multi-instrumentalist, produce...

In this episode, I will speak with Kristina R. Gaddy about her journey and New York Times best-selling book, Well of Souls - Uncovering The Banjo's Hidden History. Kristina R. Gaddy is an award-winning writer who believes in the power of narrative nonfiction to bring stories from the past to life in order to inform the world we live in today. Her debut nonfiction book Flowers in the Gutter (Du...

In this episode, Todd Lawrence, Maria Lewis, and Lamont Pearley will host a live stream event offered by the AFS African American Folklore Section, the African American Folklorist and Jack Dappa Blues featuring Notable Folklorists of Color creators and curators, Phyllis May-Machunda, Sojin Kim, and Olivia Cadaval. The conversation will detail the inspiration, vision, purpose, and work of creating...

On this episode, I speak with Brei Carter, Country Singer-Songwriter, about her journey in Music and her signing with Brown Lee Entertainment For Exclusive Global Music Distribution & Digital Marketing. Emerging crossover country and southern pop recording artist Brei Carter proves that faith, patience, and time sometimes pay off. Growing up in Monroe, Louisiana, with a solid, southern upbring...

There is excellent Black Folklife, Indian Folklore, Black Music, AND educational oral history in Kentucky and nationally that Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation archives and builds a repository for. In this episode, I discuss Storyville, Oklahoma, Freedmen, Blues, and the People of the Blues To Raise Cultural and Ethnic awareness of Black American Traditional Music, Traditional Art,...

On this episode, I speak with Dr. Diana Baird N'Diaye, The African American Folklorist of the Month! Dr. Diane Baird N’Diaye is an interdisciplinary Visual artist/maker and cultural scholar. N’Diaye developed and headed the African American Crafts Initiative, is the principal investigator and Curator of the Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity, was awarded the Smith...

On this episode, we speak about, Why is B.OB. Essential in an era we are supposed to be united and integrated? What do we expect from a B.O.B. that we don’t expect from anyone else? And most of all, How do I determine where I spend my Money? The criteria for the last question is broken down by : Customer Service Products Locations We also discuss what is needed in the community. Are there any B.O....

By Lamont Jack Pearley On this episode, I speak with Glen David Andrews , born and raised in Treme 's 6 Ward, only blocks away from the historical Congo Square in New Orleans, Louisiana!  Andrews shares that the gumbo of New Orleans culture is evident in the music and traditions and should be honored. Andrews knows who he is, where he comes from, and the people he descends from. One of the ma...

On this episode, I speak with the youngest daughter of Civil Rights Activists Charles and Marvinia Neblett, Kesi Neblett, who was born and raised in Russellville, KY, and has a fantastic story. She was also recently featured on THE Mole; a reality game show that originally aired on ABC from 2001 to 2008 before being rebooted on Netflix in 2022. Charles “Chuck” Neblett’s songs of protest resounded...

After sitting in and listening to the presentation " Greenwood’s Past, Present, and Future " at this year's American Folklore Society Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Quraysh Ali Lansana (Tri-City Collective) and Carlos A Moreno (Tri-City Collective) shared the true story of the happenings before, during and after the 1921 Riots of Tulsa, I thought it would be beneficial for the Jack Dappa Blu...

From Me to You: The Power of Storytelling and Its Inherent Generational Wealth In this episode, I speak with Deidra R Moore Janvier, Esq. about her new book, From Me to You: The Power of Storytelling and Its Inherent Generational Wealth. From Me to You is the answer to one crucial question: “So, Mom, what exactly was slavery about?” asked the author’s young son after learning of the atrocities of...