Ballew, Jim - A handwritten letter sent to Will McLean (January 27, 1987) thanking him for the "beautiful tape" which includes a composition written by Ballew ("…I'm greatly honored that you would praise 'Roll on Manatee' so highly. Your opinion means a great deal to me...") According to the FLORIDA MEMORY website: "Ballew was part of a Florida folk music movement that included Gamble Rogers, Jimmy Buffett, and Will McLean." Also included in the folder: a 3-page handwritten letter to Will McLean (on the back of a JIM BALLEW handbill promoting his "New Album Release" of ROLL ON MANATEE - January 18, 1987) and various obituaries. According to his obituary (August 14, 1987) in the Orlando Sentinel: "...He was the composer of the song 'Roll on Manatee,' used as the theme for a documentary that appeared on public television about the endangered sea mammal. Concerned with the preservation of Florida's folk music heritage, Ballew worked in recent months for the Pine Castle Center for the Arts building archives and recording folk music statewide. Ballew was born in Sylacauga, Ala., and moved to Orlando from Birmingham, Ala., in 1948..."
Scope and Content
Spanning a period beginning with his genealogical roots in the late 19th Century and detailing the private and public life of "Florida's premier folklorist" from his birth until his passing in 1990, THE WILL McLEAN FLORIDA FOLK MUSIC COLLECTION consists of family history and photographs, handwritten song lyrics and poetry, promotional posters, handbills, brochures and programs, recordings (various formats), artifacts (his iconic black wool hat, harmonicas, a guitar, etc.) as well as correspondence between McLean and his family, musical collaborators and colleagues and his longtime companion and champion Margaret Mary Longhill. This fascinating research collection reveals a complicated, creative and eccentric activist who lived to sing the praises of his home and to bring attention to the history of Florida and the environmental damage that threatened the ecology of this beautiful and fragile landscape. The researcher will find a vast archive of primary source ephemera that chronicles the 20th Century Florida folk music world and the talented musical pioneers who paved the way for future artists who now entertain and inform at the many folk festivals across the state.
Dates
- Creation: 1885 - 2000
Creator
- From the Collection: McLean, Will, 1919-1990. (Person)
Access
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 15 Linear Feet (18 Boxes, 1 Guitar and case, and 2 Oversize Folders)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755
special@uflib.ufl.edu