Biography

She visited union halls and immigrant organizations to find authentic folk music. She used a mule and 300 pounds of equipment to find songs of remote Mexican and Guatemalan tribes. She recorded 2,000 of their songs for the Library of Congress.

She was also a radio announcer, interviewer, and producer. Starting in the 1930s, she broadcast only folk music, both traditional and modern, at a time when few people were familiar with it. Woody Guthrie once called her and asked if he could be on her show.

She was an ethnomusicologist who made thousands of recordings around the world. They include ritual songs from North, Central, and South American Indians, and folk songs from eastern Europe, Spain, Morocco, the Caribbean, and Appalachia.