Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977-1980

$35.00
This 2-CD set comes in a 224-page hardback book with original liner notes, new essays, and 60 unpublished images. Originally released in 1981, "Drop on...

This 2-CD set comes in a 224-page hardback book with original liner notes, new essays, and 60 unpublished images. Originally released in 1981, "Drop on Down in Florida" offers a glimpse into the state's African American music traditions, focusing on blues and sacred traditions. The reissue, drawn from previously unreleased fieldwork recordings and photos, includes 28 new tracks and almost 80 minutes of music. Notable additions include music and personal stories from one-string musician Moses Williams, four-shape-note Sacred Harp singing, and blues and gospel-blues recordings from the Richard Williams family. Accompanied by track notes from music scholars and insightful essays from past and present folklorists, this expanded edition sheds light on the rich history of African American music in Florida.
Read more about this collection in our recent Substack post. 

1. Robert Dennis – “Early One Foggy Morning”
2. Robert Dennis – “Boogie”
3. Robert Dennis – “Questionnaire Blues”
4. Robert Dennis – “Mean Mistreater Blues”
5. Richard Williams – “Tain’t but the One Thing That Grieves My Mind”
6. Richard Williams – “Baby, Please Don’t Go”
7. Richard Williams – “Old Forty”
8. Ella Mae Wilson and Richard Williams – “Careless Love”
9. Ella Mae Wilson and Richard Williams – “Polk County Blues”
10. Willie Gillard – “Polk County Blues”
11. Emmett Murray – “Old-Time Rounders”
12. Emmett Murray – “She’s a Fool, She Ain’t Got No Sense”
13. Emmett Murray – “Mobile Blues”
14. Emmett Murray – “I’m Gonna Dig Myself a Hole”
15. Emmett Murray – “I’ll Find My Way”
16. Emmett Murray – “Drinkin’ Bad Bad Whiskey”
17. Moses Williams – “I’m from Itta Bena, Mississippi”
18. Moses Williams – “Rolling and Tumbling”
19. Moses Williams – “Sitting on Top of the World”
20. Moses Williams – “Mama Got More Out of Me Away from Home”
21. Moses Williams – “I Was Natalie Roberta’s Son”
22. Moses Williams – “Harmonica Solo”
23. Moses Williams – “Harmonica ‘Hustle’”
24. Moses Williams – “The Train”
25. Moses Williams – “Catfish Blues”
26. Moses Williams – “Come Back, Baby”
27. Moses Williams – “Apple Farm Blues”
28. Moses Williams – “13 Highway”
29. Moses Williams – “Which Way Did My Baby Go?”
30. Johnny Brown – “That’s All Right”
31. Johnny Brown – “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
32. Johnny Brown – “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”
33. Johnny Brown – “He Got the Whole World in His Hand”
34. Johnny Brown – “I Don’t Know What I’d Do without the Lord”
35. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “Motherless Children”
36. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “Do, Lord, Remember Me”
37. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “Trial in Judgment”
38. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “When the Saints Go
Marching In (When the Moon Go Down in Blood)”
39. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “You Got to Move”
40. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “I Knew It Was the Blood”
41. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “In the Morning”
42. Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams – “He’s a Battle Axe”

Catalog Number DTD-24

Release Date

Artist(s)

Recording Era(s)

  • 1977-1980

Number of Tracks

Page Count

Label(s) / Partner(s) Dust-to-Digital

Producer(s) Dwight DeVane, Steven Lance Ledbetter, Blaine Waide

Audio Engineer(s) Michael Graves

Designer(s) Debbie Berne

Writer(s)

Additional Information

  • USA

  • English

  • Blues
  • Gospel