Managing Townes Van Zandt, the Lomax legacy, interview with John Lomax III.

We were lucky enough to sit down with John Lomax III, grandson of John Avery Lomax, son of John Avery Lomax Jr., and nephew of Alan Lomax. He shared with us a piece of his family’s staggeringly rich history pertaining to folk music, as well as some reflections on his time as Townes Van Zandt’s manager. If you are a fan of folk music and somehow haven’t heard of the Lomax family, you’ve been watching the wrong documentaries my friend. We’re incredibly grateful for John’s kindness and willingness to speak with us, and we hope you enjoy watching this doc as much as we enjoyed making it.

John is currently releasing music, and you can check it out on streaming:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KyjGOi6X5GimTgRERT0F7?si=ZLnLOieuS8GE3KPe795olg

If you want to contribute to his creation/release of his album “AMERICAN FOLK SONGS”, honoring his father John Avery Lomax Jr., you can do so at this link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-lomax-folk-legacy-add-a-new-chapter

He is also on Substack, and blogs frequently, subscribe here:
https://substack.com/@johnlomaxiii?r=4ogsol&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile

Consider becoming a Patreon contributor to help sustain this project. For the price of a cup of coffee every month, you let us continue finding and filming amazing artists.
https://www.patreon.com/gemsonvhs

Lastly, check out the Lomax digital archive (some really incredible stuff here):
https://archive.culturalequity.org/

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0:00 What draws the Lomaxes to music?
1:15 the significance of the Lomax recordings, introduction
3:15 how we met John Lomax III
3:58 The beginnings of the Lomax music legacy
4:55 “Cowboy Songs” published in 1910
6:27 John A. Lomax’s life/career after “Cowboy Songs”
7:57 The Lomaxes discover Leadbelly, in prison
10:26 Alan Lomax travels to England
12:05 John reflects on his uncle Alan Lomax
14:36 John Lomax Jr.’s impact
15:51 Lightnin’ Hopkins relationship with the Lomaxes
16:36 Folklore Society alumni
17:03 John Lomax III meets Townes Van Zandt, becomes his manager
18:05 “Heartworn Highways”
18:57 How Townes and John’s professional relationship ended
20:30 The last times John saw Townes perform
21:12 John’s thoughts on Townes becoming a folk music legend
21:45 The Lomax legacy, and their love of music
22:48 how would you define “folk music”?
23:11 “The Global Jukebox” project
25:16 outro and special thanks

Written by GemsOnVHS