a_s2044_02_tape04 | Sonny Treadway performing sacred steel music with a band at a House of God church | Sound | Guitarist Singers Fieldwork Steel guitars Guitar music Performing arts Guitarists Music performance African Americans Religious songs Religious music Gospel songs Gospel musicians Gospel (Black) Musical groups Churches Religion Christianity Protestants Bands (Music) Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Sonny Treadway performing sacred steel music with a band at a House of God church
- Date
- 1994-02-20
- Description
- One audio cassette recording. Made during the last day of the annual State Assembly of the Jewell Dominion churches of Florida. These are excerpts from a longer recording. The Sacred Steel Guitar Recording Project originated in 1992 when Florida Folklife Program folklorist Robert Stone discovered that several predominantly African American House of God churches (a sub-sect of the Pentecostal church) in the St. Petersburg area were using steel guitars in their religious services. The practice began by Willie and Troman Eason in the 1930s, and expanded upon by players such as Henry Nelson and Lorenzo Harrison. Realizing that this was a unique musical tradition, labeled Sacred Steel, the Florida Folklife Program to applied for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct fieldwork and create a music album for public dispersal. The aim of the project was to increase public awareness of the gospel steel guitar tradition, as well as document it for future generations. Matched with state funds, the grant period originally ran from October 1993 through October 1994, but was extended for another year. In that time Stone, along with sound engineers William Dudley and Mike Stapleton, interviewed and recorded several steel guitarists in the St. Petersburg area. An album entitled Sacred Steel was released in 1995. It was then re-released through an agreement with Arhoolie Records in 1997.
- Collection
a_s2044_02_tape07 | Sonny Treadway performing two takes of This is a Holy Church | Sound | Guitarist Singers Fieldwork Steel guitars Guitar music Performing arts Guitarists Music performance African Americans Religious songs Religious music Gospel songs Gospel musicians Gospel (Black) Bands (Music) Musical groups Churches Religion Christianity Protestants Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Sonny Treadway performing two takes of This is a Holy Church
- Date
- 1994-10-12
- Description
- One audio cassette recording. The Sacred Steel Guitar Recording Project originated in 1992 when Florida Folklife Program folklorist Robert Stone discovered that several predominantly African American House of God churches (a sub-sect of the Pentecostal church) in the St. Petersburg area were using steel guitars in their religious services. The practice began by Willie and Troman Eason in the 1930s, and expanded upon by players such as Henry Nelson and Lorenzo Harrison. Realizing that this was a unique musical tradition, labeled Sacred Steel, the Florida Folklife Program to applied for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct fieldwork and create a music album for public dispersal. The aim of the project was to increase public awareness of the gospel steel guitar tradition, as well as document it for future generations. Matched with state funds, the grant period originally ran from October 1993 through October 1994, but was extended for another year. In that time Stone, along with sound engineers William Dudley and Mike Stapleton, interviewed and recorded several steel guitarists in the St. Petersburg area. An album entitled Sacred Steel was released in 1995. It was then re-released through an agreement with Arhoolie Records in 1997.
- Collection
a_s1576_77_d98-016 | Sunday performances at the 1998 Florida Folk Festival (Main Stage) (Tape 1) | Sound | Singers Musicians Guitarist Storytellers Folk festivals Folklore revival festivals Festivals Special events Performing arts Music performance Singing Guitar music Steel guitars Old time music String bands Stringband music Gospel music Gospel (Black) Gospel songs Religious songs Religious music Storytelling Bands (Music) | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
a_s1576_68_c97-086 | Sunday program at the 1997 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Narrative Stage) (Tape 1) | Sound | Folk festivals Folklore revival festivals Festivals Special events Oral performance Life histories Interviewing African Americans Steel guitars Guitar music Gospel (Black) Gospel music Gospel musicians Religious music Religious songs Personal experience narratives Singers Musicians Guitarist | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
a_s1576_68_c97-087 | Sunday program at the 1997 Florida Folk Festival (Folklife Narrative Stage) (Tapes 2) | Sound | Singers Musicians Guitarist Artists Folk festivals Folklore revival festivals Festivals Special events Oral performance Life histories Interviewing African Americans Steel guitars Guitar music Gospel (Black) Gospel music Gospel musicians Religious music Religious songs Personal experience narratives Arts, Jewish Jewish Americans Jewish art and symbolism Ketubah Marriage contracts | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_audio.jpg |
a_s2044_02_tape01 | Willie Eason performing steel guitar music at his home | Sound | Guitarist Singers Fieldwork Steel guitars Guitar music Performing arts Guitarists Music performance African Americans Religious songs Religious music Gospel songs Gospel musicians Gospel (Black) Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/audio.jpg |
Willie Eason performing steel guitar music at his home
- Date
- 1994-01-16
- Description
- One audio cassette recording. This tape consisted of excerpts of a longer recording of Eason, recorded at his home. The Sacred Steel Guitar Recording Project originated in 1992 when Florida Folklife Program folklorist Robert Stone discovered that several predominantly African American House of God churches (a sub-sect of the Pentecostal church) in the St. Petersburg area were using steel guitars in their religious services. The practice began by Willie and Troman Eason in the 1930s, and expanded upon by players such as Henry Nelson and Lorenzo Harrison. Realizing that this was a unique musical tradition, labeled Sacred Steel, the Florida Folklife Program to applied for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to conduct fieldwork and create a music album for public dispersal. The aim of the project was to increase public awareness of the gospel steel guitar tradition, as well as document it for future generations. Matched with state funds, the grant period originally ran from October 1993 through October 1994, but was extended for another year. In that time Stone, along with sound engineers William Dudley and Mike Stapleton, interviewed and recorded several steel guitarists in the St. Petersburg area. An album entitled Sacred Steel was released in 1995. It was then re-released through an agreement with Arhoolie Records in 1997.
- Collection
Florida Crossroads: Florida's Folk Festival | Florida Crossroads: Florida's Folk Festival | Moving Image | Singers Musicians Guitarist Artisans Leather workers Metal-workers Dancers Whip maker Secretary of State Public officer Festivals Folk festivals Folklore revival festivals Special events Performing arts Music performance Video recording Television Singing Park Ranger Saddles Leather craft Craft Whipcracking Whips Fiddle music Fiddlers Old time music Bandura Hammer dulcimer Dulcimer music A capella singers A capella singing Gospel (Black) Gospel music Signs and signboards Arts, Cuban Cuban Americans Workshops (Adult education) Yodeling Storytelling Dance Cooking and dining Food preparation Basket making Basket work Blacksmithing Guitar music Interviews Interviewing on television Secretaries of State (State governments) Bands (Music) Folklorists Volunteers | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_video.jpg |
Florida Crossroads: Florida's Folk Festival
- Date
- 1995-07-13
- Description
- One video recording. (3/4 tape; 28 minutes)An episode of the Florida Public Television series, "Florida Crossroads." Filmed by Florida Public television (through a Florida Dept. of Education grant), the episode features performances, demonstrations, interviews, and presentations at the 1991 Florida Folk Festival (26-28 May). Included are interviews with folklorists, park employees, musicians, artisans, and park attendees, as well examples of the folklife on display at the Festival.
- Collection
Video of gospel musician Willie Eason winning the 1995 Florida Folk Heritage Award | Video of gospel musician Willie Eason winning the 1995 Florida Folk Heritage Award | Moving Image | Singers African Americans Gospel (Black) Gospel musicians Awards Public speaking Rites and ceremonies Musicians | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/catalog_video.jpg |
flp_eason | Folklife People: Willie Eason | interactive resource | Gospel, Sacred Steel | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/folklife_people.png |
Folklife People: Willie Eason
- Date
- Description
- Willie Eason was a pioneering figure in the African American "Sacred Steel" guitar tradition of the House of God, Keith Dominion Holiness-Pentecostal churches. He influenced dozens of musicians and inspired many to play the steel guitar for worship services in nearly 200 House of God churches found in more than two dozen states. Florida is home to more than 40 House of God churches, more than any other state. Eason used the steel guitar to imitate the ornamented, improvised singing he heard in church and became known as "Little Willie and his Talking Guitar." His reputation increased as he made seven 78 rpm records in the 1940s and 50s for black gospel labels. Eason and his family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1986 where he continued to play for House of God services. He received the Florida Folk Heritage Award in 1995.
- Collection
fls_sacred_steel | Folklife Subject: Sacred Steel | interactive resource | Religious Music, Gospel, Worship Music, Steel Guitar | /fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/folklife_subjects.png |
Folklife Subject: Sacred Steel
- Date
- Description
- Since the 1930s, the sounds of steel guitar have been heard in an unlikely place, far removed from Nashville or the Hawaiian islands. Musicians in the Pentecostal House of God church use the steel guitar instead of the often-heard organ or piano to lead their lively, music-driven worship services. The very human, voice-like qualities of lap and pedal steel guitars are perfectly suited to underscore a spirited sermon or lead an ecstatic choir in praise. In 1992, while serving as State Folklorist, Bob Stone unearthed what became known as Sacred Steel music in South Florida.
- Collection