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Robert McCormick's blues collection becomes public

Mack McCormick and Spider Kilpatrick. (Courtesy of Chris Strachwitz)
Mack McCormick and Spider Kilpatrick. (Courtesy of Chris Strachwitz)

A massive and closely held collection of blues music and research from the 1950s and 60s is seeing the light of day. The collection is from Robert “Mack” McCormick, who died in 2015 at age 85.

Smithsonian’s Folkways label and American History Museum are releasing parts of his collection including a box set to mark Folkways’ 75th anniversary.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Susannah Nix, McCormick’s daughter, and John Troutman, curator of music and musical instruments at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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