Georgia
On Sunday, June 11, 1939 after they had encountered the chain-gang but before they made recordings at the Little Hope Baptist congregation, the Lomaxes made their way to Toccoa Falls, Georgia for a "white singing festival" where about twenty thousand had gathered from three states. It was a hot day and the building of the main session was steaming, literally. Loud speakers made the singing audible over several acres. It was a great social gathering, a veritable reunion and so it was impossible to choose wisely. After listening for a long time on the outside, John Lomax chose two quartets, one of women, one of men, for recordings. They were conducted to a building where the machine was set up. The records ► Ready When the Great Day Comes, ► What a Morning That Will Be and ► I Could Tell You the Time were made in the midst of much noise and confusion.
Because of noises the door between the singers' room and the hallway where the machine was set up had to be closd closed after the "ready" signal was given. When the song was played back Mr. Lomax heard to his amazement an imitation of a Negro spiritual.' And on this trip he had just recorded hundreds of genuine spirituals from Negroes themselves 1939 Southern Recording Trip Fieldnotes
