Folk

Hubert Carl (Hugh) Ashley (1915–2008)
Hubert Carl (Hugh) Ashley lived a life revolving around country and western music and public service. He wrote...
Bobby “El Charro Negro” Butler (1937–2016)
Bobby “El Charro Negro” Butler broke down barriers as the first African American to become an award-winnin...
Iris DeMent (1961–)
Arkansas native Iris DeMent has used her distinctive voice to sing folk, country, bluegrass, and gospel music....
Connie Dover (1958–)
Connie Dover is a musician who has received critical accolades internationally for her interpretations of trad...
Jimmy Driftwood (1907–1998)
aka: James Corbett Morris
Jimmy Driftwood was a prolific folk singer/songwriter who wrote ov...
Emma Hays Dusenbury (1862–1941)
Emma Hays Dusenbury was an outstanding traditional singer; her work is represented by some 116 songs in the na...
Elton and Betty White
aka: Elton White
aka: Betty White
In the mid- to late 1980s, Elton and Betty White were highly visibl...
Sandford C. "Sandy" Faulkner (1803?–1874)
Sandford C. (Sandy) Faulkner is an iconic individual from Arkansas’s early statehood. Although he never held...
Folk Music
Folk music is part of a society’s “unofficial culture,” much of which is passed on through face-to-face ...
Ollie Eva Woody Gilbert (1892–1980)
Both a local and national celebrity, Ollie Eva Woody Gilbert, known popularly as Aunt Ollie, performed with Ji...
Lee Elhardt Hays (1914–1981)
Lee Elhardt Hays was a singer best known as the big man who sang bass with the folk music group the Weavers. ...
Violet Brumley Hensley (1916–)
Known as the “Whittling Fiddler,” the “Stradivarius of the Ozarks,” or more simply, the “Fiddle Make...
Dan Hicks (1941–2016)
Daniel Ivan Hicks was a cross-genre singer/songwriter specializing in a type of music he referred to as “fol...
Rhena Salome Miller Meyer (1905–1988)
aka: Goat Woman of Smackover
Rhena Salome Miller Meyer—better known as “the Goat Woman”—...
Elmer Wayne Mikel (1905–1988)
Elmer Wayne Mikel was a bootlegger during Prohibition and later became a self-published author who wrote book...
Richard "Curly" Miller (1954–2013)
Richard “Curly” Miller was a renowned musician who lived in Kingston (Madison County). He and his wife, Ca...
Mary Celestia Parler (1904–1981)
Mary Celestia Parler was responsible for developing and implementing the most extensive folklore research proj...
Rackensack Folklore Society
The Rackensack Folklore Society was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the traditional folk music of t...
Rackensack Folklore Society, Pulaski County
The Rackensack Folklore Society, Pulaski County (RFSPC) was founded in mid-1963 by noted political cartoonist ...
Almeda James Riddle (1898–1986)
Discovered by a ballad collector in the 1950s, Almeda James Riddle of Greers Ferry (Cleburne County) became a ...
The Rock Island Line
“The Rock Island Line” is a world-famous song—recorded by the likes of Johnny Cash, Harry Belafonte, and...
The State of Arkansaw
The ballad, or narrative folksong, usually titled “The State of Arkansaw” has been a principal exhibit in ...
Trout Fishing in America
Trout Fishing in America (TFIA), based in northwestern Arkansas, is a musical performance duo consisting of Ke...
Lucinda Williams (1953–)
Lucinda Williams is one of America’s most critically acclaimed songwriters and recording artists, as well as...
John Quincy Wolf Jr. (1901–1972)
A college professor and self-trained folklorist, John Quincy Wolf Jr. left a lasting legacy in the mid-South ...