FOLK MUSIC FROM NORTHWEST LOUISIANA (1928-2019)
Compiled in October 2026 for Highland Hasbeens, volume 2, issue 2, winter 2026, theme: Folk.
Folk music comes in a variety of styles…old-time, regional sounds, non-commercial, non-professional, singer-songwriters, field recordings, topical songs, protest songs, work songs, sacred songs, and more. Here’s music by folks from Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana.
Listen online: https://hearthis.at/shreveportsongs/folkmusicfromnorthwestlouisiana/
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1 THE CADDO PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA Two Morning Dance Songs (Canyon, 1976)
Northwest Louisiana and the surrounding region is the ancestral homeland of the Caddo people. The Caddo Nation is now headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. This recording features a group of singers – Lowell Edmonds, Leon Carter, Houston Edmonds, Hubert Halfmoon, Irvin Whitebread, Reuben Whitebread, and Malford Williams.
2 TAYLOR-GRIGGS LOUISIANA MELODY MAKERS Sweet Rose of Heaven (Victor, 1928)
With members hailing from the communities of Arcadia and Bryceland, this group performed around North Louisiana and broadcast live performances over Shreveport radio station KWKH.
3 RAMBLIN' THOMAS Poor Boy Blues (Paramount, 1929)
Born in Logansport, Louisiana, Willard Thomas moved to Dallas in the 1920s. A new generation of listeners heard this song when it appeared on the Folkways Records compilation “Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume Three” released in 1952.
4 LEAD BELLY Fannin Street (Musicraft, 1939)
Growing up near Mooringsport, this staple of Huddie Ledbetter's repertoire describes his teenage visits to Shreveport’s red light district despite the pleas of his mother and sister.
5 AUSTIN BARTLEY Shreveport Journal news cry (1940)
While collecting material for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, John and Ruby Lomax recorded a newsboy for the Shreveport Journal.
6 LARRY BAMBURG Boil Them Cabbage Down (circa 1956)
From the town of Coushatta, Bamburg moved to Shreveport in the late-1940s. He played fiddle for members of the Louisiana Hayride (Red Sovine, Webb Pierce, Jerry and Peggy), then appeared on early recordings issued on Mira Smith’s Ram record label. This demo recording features his version of an old-time fiddle standard.
7 LOUISIANA HAYRIDE Theme and JOHNNY HORTON John Henry (1957)
This live recording from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium includes the Hayride’s introductory theme (“featuring some of the outstanding folk music artists in the country” says the announcer), then it shifts to Horton’s rockabilly version of a song celebrating folk hero John Henry.
8 ARNIE CARVER John Kennedy Ballad (Carver, 1964)
A self-released memorial to the 35th President of the United States. It seems to be the handiwork of Arnett Carver, a Shreveport post office employee.
9 MAMA CASS [with JAMES BURTON on dobro] Talkin' To Your Toothbrush (Dunhill, 1968)
Hear that chicken pickin’ technique on dobro? That’s prolific session musician James Burton, born in Dubberly, raised in Shreveport, and relocated to the recording studios of Los Angeles.
10 UPWARD BOUND Knockin' on Heaven's Door (U. B. Productions, circa 1974)
Bob Dylan channeled by teenagers from First United Methodist Church in Shreveport.
11 ESSIE LEE HAYES I'm Working For The Lord (Custom Sound, circa 1975)
Recorded at Sound City Studios (3316 Line Ave.), Hayes sings of her devotion to the Lord.
12 VICTORIA WILLIAMS Harry Went to Heaven (Atlantic, 1994)
Born and raised in Shreveport, Williams moved to Los Angeles where she was catching the attention of music critics by the mid-1980s. After two solo albums and a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, she founded the nonprofit charity Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. The lyrics namecheck Shreveport’s Creswell Hotel (727 Milam Street).
13 DYLAN LEBLANC If Time Was For Wasting (Rough Trade, 2010)
LeBlanc’s formative years were spent between his birthplace of Shreveport and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where his father worked as a session guitarist at FAME Studios. This song appeared as a single from his debut album.
14 AIRHEART And I Want To (2012)
This trio formed in 2010 and consists of people that have long been on the Shreveport music scene – Amelia Blake, Paula O'Neal, and Dan Garner.
15 CONGREGATION AT THE FUNERAL OF REV. ELBERT GILES I Know the Lord Will Answer Prayers (2019)
A “Dr. Watts” style hymn from the funeral of Rev. Elbert “Eddie” Giles held at Praise Temple Full Gospel Church. Giles pastored Salem Missionary Baptist Church, served as an announcer for radio station KOKA, and was a prolific recording artist in the 1960s known for his soul song “Losin’ Boy.”
