The story of America is entwined in the music that has permeated our lives and the lives of our ancestors and the Native Americans who preceded us on this continent. The Archive of Folk Culture of the Library of Congress was established in 1928 as a repository for American folk music and other ethnographic material. In 1976, Congress enacted Public Law 94-20, which officially established the American Folklife Center to "preserve and present this great heritage of American folk life through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibition, publication, and training." American Folklife Center.

 The collections in the Library focus on historical material, such as Native American culture and music, roots music of the late 19th and early 20th century, and the work of famous and influential folk musicians like Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. A clear line of musical descendants can be traced from those roots through performers such as Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Townes Van Zandt, Nanci Griffith, and others, to the current-day contemporary singer/songwriters such David Wilcox, John Gorka, Richard Shindell, and Ellis Paul. These modern-day troubadours are a living link to the past, and represent a segment of America's musical "roots" voice - not commercial, not always political, but representing a sounding board for thoughtful listeners to vicariously express their feelings on life, and their views on the world.

Often archival material is collected and assembled posthumously. The exact reasons for this is unclear - perhaps there is an inability by the artist to consider their work and their legacy as "historically significant" in the present, or perhaps the artist is not comfortable parting with certain personal materials. We are indebted to Ellis and his management for giving their tacit approval and support for this project.

This Ellis Paul archive is our attempt to capture this music, and one of its most vibrant practitioners, as the story happens and evolves. When this movement, and its music, is recognized in the future as a part of the logical heir to America's folk music heritage, we hope to have an extensive documentation of it as it happened.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Bill Eley

Pearland, TX;  June, 2003

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