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Home , Archie Green, Bess Lomax Hawes, Doc Watson, Happy Traum, Moses Asch, Ralph Rinzler

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~.JLJ.J.... ~ .... "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You" A Remembrance of Festival Director

RICHARD KURIN

Our friend Ralph did not feel above anyone. He quickly became a symbol of the Smithsonian helped people to learn to enjoy their differ­ under Secretary S. Dillon Ripley1 energizing

ences. . . . "Be aware of your time and your place, II the Mall. It showed that the folks from back he said to every one of us. "Learn to love the beau­ home had something to say in the center of 1 ty that is closest to you. II So I thank the Lord for the nation S capital. The Festival challenged sending us a friend who could teach us to appre­ America1s national cultural insecurity. ciate the skills of basket weavers, potters, and Neither European high art nor commercial bricklayers - of hod carriers and the mud mix­ pop entertainment represented the essence of ers. I am deeply indebted to Ralph Rinzler. He did American culture. Through the Festival1 the not leave me where he found me. Smithsonian gave recognition and respect to - Arthel 11 Doc" Watson the traditions/ wisdom1 songs1 and arts of the American people themselves. The mammoth Lay down, Ralph Rinzler, lay down and take 1976 Festival became the centerpiece of the your rest. American Bicentennial and a living reminder of the strength and energy of a truly wondrous o sang a Bahamian chorus on the and diverse cultural heritage - a legacy not to at a wake held for Ralph be ignored or squandered. a day after his passing on the second day of the 1994 Festival. It seems so incongru­ The Festival of American Folklife will ous to those who knew Ralph Rinzler to imag­ remain Rinzler's major contribution, one that has ine him lying down and resting. If there are had tremendous influence both in this country festivals in heaven1 one can only imagine that and the world. It represents a place where the Ralph is organizing them. whole country could be itself and be appreciated. 1 Ralph Rinzler S career at the Festival1 the - Smithsonian/ and beyond was marked by his attention to traditional music and crafts1 his The Festival for Ralph required sound development of institutions that support peo­ research and understanding. He also felt that ple1S culture1 his social activism1 and his use of the value of the Festival lay in its impact back electronic media in support of the traditional. home on the lives and hearts of people. He was caring1 gentle1 and courteous1 frustrat­ 11 Presenting these people with pride on the ingly creative/ brilliant of wide scope1 some­ Mall1" he said1 11 makes them feel they have one who brought out the best in people. something of value1 and it encourages them to 11 Freewheeling and of boundless energy I he was keep doing it. The Festival also stimulated also charming and a man of incredibly good institutional activities locally and nationally/ taste. Self-effacing and quite modest for some­ at home and abroad. one so accomplished/ Ralph left thousands of friends on the Mall and around the world. Ralph was a beautiful example of a basical­ Ralph came to the ly scholarly person doing an extraordinary show­ in 1967 to develop with James Morris the business job, bringing hundreds of thousands of Festival of American Folklife. The Festival people to music, food, and crafts they'd never heard before. His miracle was how to get the authenticity in a larger space and still keep it authentic. -

Ralph's mission was personal and profes­ sional. He was active in the folk song move­ ment in the 1950s at Swarthmore College and on the festival circuit with fellow student, folklorist, and lifelong colleague Roger Abrahams. Ralph's early interests spanned fine arts and mythology, but then field recordings of traditional music captured his attention. He was an excellent musician and learned to play and man­ dolin. He taught others, and became part of a bluegrass group, the Greenbriar Boys. Ralph learned some tunes from in Washington Square Park, organized perfor- mances with Pete Seeger, , Mary cians in traditional music are as profound as Fieldwork took Ralph Travers, and Bernice Reagan, and worked artists in any kind of art." Rinzler into churches, with Moses Asch and Mike Seeger in produc- barbershops, bars, ing . Ralph was a giver of opportunities. radio stations, homes, - Robert Yellin back yards, and street Ralph Rinzler had an adamant and acute corners nationwide. critical sense. Early on he knew what he liked Ralph managed Watson's early career and His documentation of and why. revived the career of . Ralph American expressive - Jonathan Shahn worked for the , travers- forms- traditional ing the nation researching and documenting music, crafts, and Ralph Rinzler selflessly sacrificed a profes­ American folkways, learning his theory and narrative -resulted in sional career as a musician to make sure that the method en route from Alan Lomax, Charles collections, Festival music of others could be heard. But it is as a per­ Seeger, A.L. Lloyd, and others. Through the programs, sonal friend and mentor that I knew and loved seminal Newport Festival, Ralph brought documentary films, Ralph. .. Ralph was my musical guru. Dewey Balfa and a host of people to broader scholarly recordings, - public attention. books, and exhibitions.

Meeting Appalachian musicians Clarence Ralph had felt intuitively that the melodies Ashley and in their homes gave and harmonies of a region were directly related to Ralph a new perspective. Said Ralph, "I knew the rhythmic vitality of its handcrafted objects .... the style of the music but had never really Ralph brought his insistence on the contextual connected with the people who played. I presentation of tradition to the Smithsonian. knew it as a sound, not as an expression of the - Jeffrey LaRiche thinking, functioning person sitting in front of me. I had no idea what kind of people played Ralph also loved regional crafts, especial­ this music. I just had the sound ringing in my ly pottery. He drove across the South and ears of this beautiful, pentatonic, archaic­ brought back quilts, pots, and baskets. Ralph sounding music sung in a vocal style that left thought that people should know about them, far behind .... What astonished that the object was as significant as the per­ me was that the people who are great musi- formance in representing particular people. Ralph Rinzler was the key person who opened space in the Institution for peoples who were not part of the Smithsonian agenda. - Bernice Johnson Reagan

Ralph's work continued as the Smithsonian's Assistant Secretary for Public Service. He founded the Cultural Education Committee and the Committee for a Wider Audience to encourage the broad inclusion of the American people in collections, programs, staff, and audiences. As the Smithsonian's Assistant Secretary Ralph blazed the Institution's trail toward dig­ ital technologies. He led the effort to acquire Folkways Records from founder Moses Asch Photo by Diana Davis as a collection, museum of sound, and busi­ Bill Monroe had a He joined with to help finan­ ness. Needing money for the acquisition, he profound influence on cially support several craft enterprises, and produced Folkways: A Vision Shared, with Ralph, who learned to with Bob Sayers coauthored two books and , , , play films on pottery. Emmylou Harris, , Bob Dylan, bluegrass style when Sweet Honey in the Rock, and others render­ he joined the No one in our day has more deeply and pos­ ing contemporary interpretations of Woody Greenbriar Boys trio in itively influenced folklore than Ralph Rinzler. Guthrie and songs. The album, on 1958. Ralph became The foundation of his contribution was broad which Ralph accompanies on the Monroe's manager vision and perfect taste. mandolin, made the money, and won a and introduced him to - Henry Glassie Grammy in 1988. northern, urban audiences. Left to Ralph worked with scholars Kenny We continue to celebrate Ralph's success in right: Bill Monroe, Goldstein, Bess Hawes, Archie Green, Roy making Folkways a part of his vision that the Alice Gerrard, Birch Bryce-Laporte, Victor Turner, Abrahams, great diversity of American and world cultures Monroe, Charlie Glassie, and others to develop ways of under- must be integral to the mission of the Monroe, Mike Seeger, standing and communicating the significance Smithsonian. and Ralph Rinzler on a of cultural differences. As - Michael Asch workshop stage at the well noted, Ralph was 11 a champion of cultural Festival of American equity long before the winds of multicultural­ Ralph continued his work on the Festival Folklife, late 1960s. ism first blew." At the Festival he hired the and Folkways after retiring as Assistant first Native Americans - Lucille Dawson, Secretary. He co-curated Roots of Rhythm & Clydia Nahwooksy, Barbara Strickland, Rayna at the 1991 Festival and won another Green - to work for the Institution. He Grammy nomination for the resultant record­ worked with a dedicated group of African­ ing. He produced new albums of Watson, American folklorists and cultural docu­ Monroe, and Ashley, and at the time of his menters - Gerry Davis, Bernice Reagan, death was completing an expanded edition of James Early, Worth Long, Roland Freeman­ Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk in establishing the African Diaspora programs. Music. Ralph produced a series of oral histo­ He encouraged all sorts of people to bring ry/ music instruction videos with Pete Seeger, their insights and perspectives to the Festival Ralph Stanley, Watson, and Monroe, and in order to better represent their communities encouraged video/ book publications, CD­ and others to the nation. ROM, and CD-I products. Alan Lomax guided Ralph's fieldwork for the Newport Folk Festival and the Festival of American Folklife. worked with Ralph as Deputy Director of the Bicentennial Festival before joining the Photo by Carl Fleischhauer National Endowment Ralph received many honors, including As a lover of humankind, Ralph celebrated for the Arts. Left to the Smithsonian Secretary's Gold Medal in both folk traditions and traditions of freedom. He right: in the center, 1993 and Washingtonian of the Year in 1976. understood the relationships between theory and Bess Hawes, Alan He served as vice chair of the U.S. National practice, between freedom and culture. Lomax, and Ralph Commission to Unesco, and on a White - Roland Freeman Rinzler. House task force for music in education. He was also a fellow of the American Folklore Ralph himself was the subject of an oral Society. tradition. Renowned for his expertise, he could dissertate on innumerable subjects from Ralph facilitated the role of all people to come the origin of the bagpipes to the potential of and be part of the conception and diffusion of high-definition television. Ever thoughtful, he knowledge. would whoosh into meetings and astound -James Early everyone with the sheer force of heartfelt, brilliant ideas. Ralph had ideas upon ideas, at Ralph and his wife Kate were members of least eight or ten an hour. A few had been the board of the Highlander Center in thunk before, some were wacky. But one or Tennessee and strong supporters of move­ two would be innovative, insightful, and ments for civil and human rights. Ralph was strong. And so on any day you might be left always aflame with something, often a cam­ with a dozen or so, any one of which could paign that had to be organized right then. have occupied a lifetime - as indeed they Ralph made the struggles of traditional artists, have. It didn't stop during the day, either. cultural exemplars, and intellectuals his own. Ralph loved to call well into the night, begin­ As Bess Hawes noted, Ralph 11 Strove with the ning conversations mid-sentence and bursting artists he loved and admired; he argued with with energy. Ralph spent so much time on the them and listened to them with all his being; phone that deaf participants at the Festival he totally supported their right to dignified, one year made up a unique sign for him - the democratic, conflict-laden choices even when sign for 11 R" with each hand positioned next to he thought they were wrong." mouth and ear, as if to indicate two tele- 12 :.

presenting their evening programme. A great storm came up, and a thousand, maybe more, in the audience gathered into the tent. We had a respite for a few moments. Then the heav­ ens broke loose with a sweeping deluge. It was a frightening display of thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour of rain. Some of the folks from The Bahamas noted how it was God that was talking through the thunder and Ralph loved to lightning and that it was not appropriate to vacation at Naushon perform until He'd finished. Kayla Edwards, Island, off of Cape the presenter and the Deputy Director of Cod. He befriended all Culture for The Bahamas, explained how of his wife Kate's some people thought that such strong storms cousins, and became a signified that a great person had died - that figure to be reckoned the storm was nature's way of making room with, vigorously driving for a new, ascending spirit. She did not know horse and carriage that Ralph had passed away just at that time. along the miles of dirt As the electricity went down, those in the tent roads. His last and sang "Amazing Grace." favorite horse was The next day, learning of Ralph's passing, Timmy, a retired the Bahamian group did a settin' up- a wake Photo by Sam Sweezy racing trotter from for the benefit of Kate Rinzler, Ralph's nurse New Zealand. phones and the initials "RR." Donna Lang, and other friends. Though the Ralph had great vision, crossing bound­ Bahamians did not know Ralph, they saw the aries of race, class, gender, technology. He evidence of his good work in what was now was also a bundle of opposites, caring and their Festival, too. The folks from Thailand compassionate to people, systematic and dis­ also saw Ralph's footprints on the Mall, and passionate with institutions. He was generous. left a shrine made of candles and incense When the Smithsonian didn't support his stuck on plastic cups on the desk in our office work, Ralph, out of his own pocket, paid trailer to allay our grief. employees. Once I saw him write a $10,000 A few days later in that same tent we held check to help pay a salary. Soon after, he went a memorial service. Clydia and Reeves out in the middle of the night before a Festival Nahwooksy provided a Comanche Baptist searching for donuts to bring back for those invocation. Mike Seeger, Guy Carawan, and still working, and then tracked down adminis­ Bill Monroe played and sang. Bernice Reagon trator Barbara Strickland to reimburse him the sang, as did the Bahamian ladies. Bess Hawes $16 and whatever cents he'd spent. Ralph talked about Ralph's legacy, as did Jeffrey donned the dress of the elite, but struggled to LaRiche and James Early; messages from Pete make conditions better for hundreds of and Toshi Seeger, Roger Abrahams, Henry Smithsonian working men and women who Glassie, Doc Watson, and others were read. wear a uniform. He loved to drive a horse and Lucille Dawson talked about the truly pro­ buggy on his beloved N aushon Island in found effects the Festival's Native American Massachusetts, and also to play with the latest programs had had on Indian education and digital-electronic calendars and computers. civil rights. Mike Thomas, who helped care for We all have our Ralph stories. And last Ralph during the last year, spoke for the year, Ralph's passing at the Festival generated Smithsonian custodians who always found in a few more. It was in the big music tent on the him a friend and supporter. Mall that Saturday that the Bahamians were You don't get too many bow-tied %-:.;~, 13 ;~~-';·_. ,,

Washington officials meriting Baptist Indian Suggested Readings prayers, Buddhist shrines, or Bahamian Rinzler, Ralph, and Robert Sayers. 1987. The wakes, or having the 11 Bourgeois Blues" played Korean Onggi Potter. Smithsonian Folklife as the recessional for their memorial service. Studies, No . 5. Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian It is indeed a tribute to Ralph's life that he was Institution. so appreciated, in so many different ways, by Rinzler, Ralph, and Robert Sayers. 1980. The so many different people. And it's my guess Meaders Family: North Georgia Potters. Smithsonian Folklife Studies, No. 1. that Ralph had a satisfied chuckle when the Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Times erroneously reported in its Rinzler, Ralph, and Peter Seitel. 1977. The obituary that he was Black. RICHARD KURIN is Festival of American Folklife. Smithsonian Magazine. Director of the I think most of us will remember his ability Smithsonian Institution to find the brilliance in the talents of his friends Suggested Listening Center for Folk/ife and then to search out the best ways to let the DeVito, Don, Joe McEwen, Harold Levanthal, Programs & Cultural world in on this brilliance .. . He was made of the and Ralph Rinzler. 1988. Folkways: A Vision Studies and a best stuff Shared, A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Professorial Lecturer Leadbelly. Columbia Records OC 44034. - Roger Abrahams at the Johns Hopkins DeVito, Don, Worth Long, Barry Lee Pearson, University Nitze and Ralph Rinzler. 1992. Roots of Rhythm and Ralph Rinzler left a legacy in the people School for Advanced Blues: A Tribute to the Robert Johnson Era. he brought into his work: an articulate Black Columbia Records/ Sony Music Entertainment International Studies. guy with an attitude and politics from and Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings CK He is a cultural Jacksonville, an Indian farm gal from North 48584. anthropologist with a Carolina with a knack for getting things done, Rinzler, Ralph. 1990. The Doc Watson Family. Ph.D. from the a preacher's daughter from Kentucky, an Ivy Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings SF 40012. University of Chicago Leaguer with a Peace Corps heart and con­ Rinzler, Ralph. 1993. Bill Monroe and has done most of noisseur's eye, a Jewish truck driver's kid Bluegrass Boys: Live Recordings 1956-1969, his research and writ­ born in the south Bronx. Ralph, in every way, Volume 1. Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings ing on issues of cultur­ demonstrated that while differences among SF 40063. al policy and the folk people often divided them, those same differ­ Rinzler, Ralph. 1993. Bill Monroe and Doc cultures of Pakistan ences could be used, powerfully and creative­ Watson: Live Duet Recordings 1963-1980, and India. He first Volume 2. Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings ly, to bring people together. Those following worked on the Festival SF 40064. in his footsteps know the importance of this of American Folklife in Rinzler, Ralph. 1994. Doc Watson and Clarence work. We see it in the faces of the people who 1976. Ashley, The Original Folkways Recordings, sing and speak at the Festival to their fellow 1960-1962. Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings citizens and humans on this Mall, and maybe SF 40029/ 30. appreciate it a little more in our own hearts, because we know we've also been honored, Suggested Viewing even blessed, in helping to make it happen. Rinzler, Ralph, and Happy Traum. 1992. Pete Seeger, Instruction. Homespun Tapes and Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings. Ralph was a man of multiple talents, of immensely broad experience, and of absolutely Rinzler, Ralph, and Happy Traum. 1992. Doc Watson, Guitar Instruction. Homespun Tapes startling energies .. .. I hope .. . many of us here will and Smithsonian/ Folkways Recordings. determine that we ourselves can try to help fill the Ralph Rinzler: A Celebration of Life . Video of the terrible gap his death leaves; it will take a lot of July 7, 1994, memorial service on the us working all together, but we know a lot m ore National Mall at the Festival of American now, from watching him, about how to do it. Folklife. Smithsonian Institution Center for -Bess Lomax Hawes Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies.