DJ Ryan Swift

Transcription of an amazing video interview with Buster Smith by James Standifer.  It’s part of the Black American Musicians section of the Video Archive of Oral History in the University of Michigan’s African-American Music Collection.  Many, many more interviews at the link.

This collection was begun in 1968, and it contains approximately 150 videotaped interviews. It concentrates primarily on interviews with black musicians who have made highly significant contributions to musical genres of African-American origin or influence. There are also a few interviews with whites who have demonstrated historically important leadership in black-derived music and performances. Almost all interviews were conducted by James Standifer. More than half were originally on black and white reel to reel tape. They were transferred to 3/4 inch cassette tape for purposes of preservation and were later transferred to VHS for ease of use and archival study.

Each interview varies in length from one to five hours and many have been updated (supplemented) within several years of the death of the artists in question. Some of the supplements include performances of the musicians in live concerts and obituary retrospectives taped from the TV news. In addition to the interviews, the collection has material such as photo stills, slides and print information on the artists and their careers. A few of the videos include PBS programs featuring the artist’s life history and performance episodes.