What We’re Doing
The Board of Directors proudly continues the work Glenn Allen Howard started when he was 10 years old and strapping milk crates of 78rpm discs from The Goodwill onto the back of his bike in search of his favorite “cartoon music” from the 1920s:
Acquisitions:
The American Musical Heritage Foundation (AMHF) continues to collect records!
In the last two years, two important collections were donated to the archive. Leigh Hill’s estate enerously donated Leigh’s carefully curated early country, bluegrass, jazz and international folk collection of 78s, 45s and LPs which were the backbone of his decades long radio show on KUSP (Down on the Pataphysical Farm). The AMHF also acquired The Santa Cruz Music Archive, a significant collection of sound board tapes from Santa Cruz venues, reel to reel tapes from local studios, vintage posters and 1000s of original music recordings from bands large and small on cassette, CD, LP and 45.
Past donations from collectors include: Stanley “Mr. Americana” Killar, Bing Crosby, Jerry Colonna, Charles Lindbergh, Shirley Temple, Phil Elwood, William Saroyan, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, “Our Gang” star Joe Cobb, and AMHF founder Glenn Howard.
Education:
—Laura DeFreyne 1998, curator AMHF
“We ask not only ‘who is your favorite musician?’, but ‘Who was your favorite musician’s favorite musician?’” —Glenn Howard 2000, founder AMHF
The AMHF archive provides an endless well of inspiration for musicians at any level of their career. We understand that when musicians play the same sets 200-300 nights a year, they come to need new “ear candy” to stay inspired. The AMHF’s re-issue demo tapes (“the blue tapes”) were in regular circulation on tour buses, band vans, and boudoirs for decades.
Through our website database of curated YouTube links by genre, and the Glenn Talking channel on youTube, we offer a unique perspective on American musical heritage. For every artist that has made a national name or hit the charts, there are dozens of often overlooked influences and inspirations. Hank Williams, for instance, learned the song “Lovesick Blues” from a minstrel performer named Emmett Miller.
Curating & Cataloging:
The AMHF seeks to catch up with digital technology by creating a digital database of its holdings, beginning with as yet reissued discs. This will help educate a broader cross section of musicians, scholars and the general public through our website and social media. In the meantime, we continue to sort, catalog and care for the approximately 750,000 discs in our care.
Finding a New Home:
In 2003, the bulk our archive was moved to storage in WA state, provided by a generous donor. After Glenn’s death in 2023, we were asked to move the archive to a new home. The Board of Directors is eager to bring new life to the archive by relocating it in the SF Bay Area, where it was born and thrived for decades.
