06/19/2026
Check out this post from the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress in celebration of Juneteenth. The link leads to a really interesting read and several wonderful sound clips. Scroll to the bottom to hear "Free at Last."
On or about June 19, 1934, Alan Lomax arrived at Lake Arthur, Louisiana, to record the “Two Sweet Singers,” Becky Elzy and Alberta Bradford. The formerly enslaved spiritual singers had provided over a hundred songs for a previous collector's book, but they had not been recorded in an audio format. Alan and his father John A. Lomax had first sought the singers at Avery Island, but when they arrived, they found that Elzy had moved to Lake Arthur, which presented a problem. Alberta and Becky always sang together, so the Lomaxes needed both of them to get good recordings. But the previous day’s torrential rainfall had left the roads awash with mud. The recording equipment and batteries were heavy. Though Alan Lomax was a slender youth of 19, John and Alberta were both rather stout. The result was that the Lomaxes couldn’t be sure the car could carry all three of them as well as the equipment as far as Elzy’s new home and back without breaking down or getting stuck in the mud. The course of action was clear: the heftier Lomax was left behind, and Alan and Alberta drove off together. They found Elzy at her new home and recorded ten songs. These recordings of Bradford and Elzy may well be the first recordings Alan Lomax made alone without his father.
The date, of course, was Juneteenth, and it's remarkable that among other songs, Bradford and Elzy sang "Free At Last." We think hearing that song on Juneteenth, sung by people born in slavery, is a uniquely moving experience. Find all the songs and the story at the link!
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2018/02/becky-elzy-and-alberta-bradford-spiritual-folklorists/?loclr=fbafc
