Sneak Peek from the Stacks: The Human Jukebox

Snooks Eaglin, 1958. Photograph by Harry Oster.

This photograph of the great R&B guitarist Snooks Eaglin, taken early in his career, was recently digitized as a part of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections Save America's Treasures project. The aim of this project is to do preservation digitization for the Moses and Frances Asch Collection.

Snooks Eaglin's repertoire was unique to Folkways Records. According to Kenneth Goldstein in the original liner notes for FA 2476, Snooks Eaglin: New Orleans Street Singer, "The greatest part of his vast stock of songs was learned from two sources which most folklorists consider to be the bane of tradition - radio and recordings. One wonders, however, upon listening to Snooks' performances, if such is indeed the case."

-Cecilia Peterson, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections