Jim McGrath produced the City Sounds radio program on WXXI AM Rochester, NY. He also compiled blues radio play lists for Living Blues magazine for many years. City Sounds was a one hour program that aired on WXXI AM Rochester, NY for approximately 10 years. It was mostly a two man operation, with Jim McGrath as producer and Dave Sluberski as engineer. All the acts were chosen by McGrath usually by availability in the Rochester area. Jim then contacted them to explain the "deal" (contracts). After accepting the terms of the contract, Dave & Jim would go to the venue to do an on-site recording for broadcast later. Clubs, schools, theatres, outdoor festivals were all within the realm of recording. They recorded national, regional & local acts for broadcast. They had a working relationship with the National Public Radio program Blues Stage and many of the recordings were aired on that national show. One of these recordings ended up being the Eddie Burks CD "This Old Road." -- Description modified from Jim McGrath's own comments

The collection, housed in one letter-size box, contains permission forms signed by various musicians who performed on Jim McGrath's City Sounds radio program on WXXI AM Rochester, NY. There are several miscellaneous items in the collection, such as a set of Robert Crumb's Heroes of the Blues trading cards.

The permissions forms are arranged chronologically.

Open.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

---

Source of Collection

Processing Information

---

Folder 1:
Hank Crawford - Jimmy McGriff Quartet, May 14, 1987;
Taj Mahal & Henry Butter, July 25, 1987;
[?], October 8, 1987;
Clarence " Gatemouth" Brown, October 27, 1987

Folder 2:
Johnny Copeland [?], March 4, 1988;
Johnny Copeland [?], March 21, 1988;
The Cheathams, May 25, 1988;
Marcia Ball, June 13, 1988;
Little Milton Campbell, July 23, 1988;
Jimmy McGriff, July 28, 1988;
Otis Rush, August 6, 1988

Folder 3:
C.J. Chenier, January 7, 1989;
Kenny Neal, March 23, 1989;
[?], May 31, 1989;
Terrance Simien & the Mallet Playboys, June 12, 1989;
Marcia Ball, June 14, 1989;
Katie Webster, August 4, 1989;
Taj Mahal, August 4, 1989

Folder 4:
Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets with Sam Meyers, February 28, 1990;
Eddie Shaw, June 21, 1990;
Charles [Spencer], July 15, 1990;
Jesse Butler, July 15, 1990;
Little Milton, July 15, 1990;
Joe Beard, July 15, 1990;
John Hammond, July 19, 1990 (4 copies with revisions) + Correspondence (4 items);
Koko Taylor, July 26, 1990;
Lonnnie Brooks, July 26, 1990;
Irene Reed, July 31, 1990;
Li'l Ed & the Blues Imperials, December 17, 1990

Folder 5:
Sonny Rhodes, March 10, 1991;
Chick Willis, June 8, 1991;
Sparky & Rhonda Rucker, June 21, 1991;
Taj Mahal, July 6, 1991;
Tyrone Davis, October 5, 1991;
Li'l Ed and the Blues Imperials, October 11, 1991;
Eddie Burks, November 8, 1991;
Darrell Nulisch & Texas Heat, December 12, 1991

Folder 6:
George "Wild Child" Butler, July 11, 1992;
Blues in the Night, July 14, 1992

Folder 7:
Lynn August, January 27, 1993;
Duke Robillard, March 1, 1993;
John Mooney, March 30, 1993;
Bill Wharton, April 17, 1993;
Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women, April 20, 1993 (2 different copies + letter);
Clarence " Gatemouth" Brown, April 20, 1993 (6 separate forms - one for each band member);
Duke Robillard Band, June 25, 1993;
Skeeter Brandon & Highway 61, December 16, 1993 (2 pages);
Junior Wells, December 22, 1993 (2 pages)

Folder 8:
Smokin' Joe Kubek Band, February 21, 1994;
Bill Doggett, February 28, 1994;
John Ellison, March 11, 1994;
Skeeter Brandon & Highway 61, March 24, 1994 (3 pages);
Robert Cray, March 2, 1994 + information packet and follow-up letter (July 27, 1994);
Mitch Woods & the Rocket 88's, June 15, 1994;
" Guitar Shorty" David Kearney, June 22, 1994;
Skeeter Brandon & Highway 61, July 12, 1994;
Queen Bee & the Blue Hornet Band, August 25, 1994;
Luther Allison, September 1, 1994;
Lazy Lester, September 1, 1994 (3 pages);
Eddie Kirkland, September 15, 1994

Folder 9:
Lonnie Shields, January 6, 1995;
Satan & Adam, January 20, 1995;
Eddie C. Campbell, March 10, 1995;
Tab Benoit, March 29, 1995;
Sherman Robertson, March 24, 1995 (2 pages);
L'il Georgie & the Shuffling Hungarians, April 12, 1995;
Michelle Willson, July 8, 1995;
LaVelle White (Miss LaVelle), July 24, 1995 (2 pages);
John Hammond, November 21, 1995 + Correspondence (8 pages)

Folder 10:
Keb Mo, March 11, 1996;
Rory Block, July 1, 1996;
Ernie Williams & The Wildcats, October 4, 1996;
C.J. Chenier, October 17, 1996

Folder 11:
Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, January 21, 1997 + Correspondence (3 pages);
Michelle Willson, February 27, 1997;
Savoy Brown, August 4, 1997;
C.J. Chenier, September 9, 1997;
Moose & the Bulletproof Blues Band, October 18, 1997;
Guy Davis, December 6, 1997

Folder 12:
Paul Geremia, January 3, 1998;
Campbell Brothers, January 3, 1998;
Roy Book Binder, January 19, 1998 (2 pages);
Dave Van Ronk, January 19, 1998 (2 pages);
Danny Kalb, January 20, 1998;
Moose & the Bulletproof Blues Band, April 23, 1998;
W. C. Spencer, May 19, 1998 (3 pages)

Folder 13:
Letter from Rack House Records, Inc., October 20, 2002, re: Patty Benson is an aspiring blues singer from North Carolina

Miscellaneous Items:
Crescent City Gold. Booklet, possibly to The Ultimate Session. High Street Records, 1994.
Crumb, R. Heroes of the Blues. Set of 36 drawn trading cards.
Wilson, August. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Playbook for Geva Theatre production: Jan. 2 - Feb. 4, 1990.

Books
(these have been processed and are searchable through the online catalog):
Bayles, Martha. Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music. The Free Press. New York, NY: 1994.
Bogle, Donald. Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America 's Black Female Superstars. Harmony Books. New York, NY: 1980.
Brand, Oscar. Ballad Mongers: Rise of the Modern Folk Song. Funk & Wagnalls. New York: 1962.
Brown, Ruth and Andrew Yule. Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm & Blues Legend. Donald I Fine Books. New York: 1996.
Brown, Sterling A. Southern Road. Beacon. Boston, MA: 1974.
Busnar, Gene. It's Rock ‘ n' Roll: A Musical History of the Fabulous Fifties. Wanderer Books. New York: 1979.
Christian, Charles M. Black Saga: The African American Experience. Houghton Mifflin. Boston, MA: 1995.
Du Bois, Eugene E. The City of Frederick Douglass: Rochester's African-American People and Places. The Landmark Society of Western New York. Rochester, NY: 1994. Inscribed by the author.
Ewen, David. Men of Popular Music. Ziff-Davis. Chicago, IL: 1944.
George, Nelson. The Death of Rhythm & Blues. E.P. Dutton. New York: 1988.
Harris, Sheldon. Blues Who's Who: A Biographical Dictionary of Blues Singers. Arlington House. New Rochelle, New York: 1979. Inscribed with several hundred signatures of various blues personalities.
Harrison, David. The World of Blues. Chartwell Books. Secausus, NJ: 1993.
Hentoff, Nat. Jazz Country. Dell Publishing. NY: 1965.
Hildebrand, Lee. Stars of Soul and Rhythm & Blues. Billboard Books. New York, NY: 1994.
Holiday, Billie and William Dufty. Lady Sings the Blues. Lancer. NY: 1956. Humanities Resource Center, Prince George's Community College. The Blues Project. Edited by Isa N. Engleberg and Lyle E. Linville. Humanities Resource Center. Largo, Maryland: 1993.
Kukla, Barbara J. Swing City: Newark Nightlife, 1925-50. Temple University Press. Philadelphia, PA: 1991.
LaVere, Stephen. The Blues: A Book of Postcards. Pomegranate Artbooks. San Francisco, CA: 1989.
Lichtenstein, Grace and Laura Dankner. Musical Gumbo: The Music of New Orleans. W.W. Norton & Co. New York: 1993.
McCarthy, Kevin M. Black Florida. Hippocrene Books. New York, NY: 1995.
Marsh, Dave and Steve Propes. Merry Christmas, Baby: Holiday Music from Bing to Sting. Little, Brown and Company. Boston, MA: 1993.
Merlis, Bob and Davin Seay. Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Black Music Style in America 1930-1975. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. New York, NY: 1997.
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Edited by Leland Rucker. Visible Ink Press. Detroit, MI: 1998. Includes CD.
Nicholson, Robert. Mississippi the Blues Today! Blandford. London: 1998. Scott, Frank and Al Ennis. The Roots & Rhythm Guide to Rock. A Cappella Books. Chicago, IL: 1993.
Palmer, Robert. Deep Blues. Penguin Books. Middlesex, England : 1981. The Rolling Stone Interviews Vol. 2. Ed. by Ben Fong-Torres. Warner Paperback Library. New York, NY: 1973.
Sewell, George Alexander and Margaret L. Dwight. Mississippi Black History Makers. Revised and Enlarged Edition. University of Mississippi Press. Jackson, MS: 1984.
St. Pierre, Roger. The Best of the Blues: The Essential CD Guide. Collins Publishers. San Francisco, CA: 1993.
Stewart-Baxter, Derrick. Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers. Ed. by Paul Oliver. Stein and Day. New York, NY: 1970.
Thomas, James " Son" . James " Son" Thomas. Exhibition catalog of clay sculptures. University Art Gallery, New Mexico State University. Las Cruces, NM: January 17 - February 22, 1985.
Turner, Frederick. Remembering Song: Encounters with the New Orleans Jazz Tradition. Viking Press. New York: 1982.
Vignes, Michelle and Lee Hildebrand. Bay Area Blues. Pomegranate Artbooks. San Francisco, CA: 1993.
Warner, Jay. The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups: A History 1940-1990. Billboard Books. New York, NY: 1992.
White, George R. Bo Diddley Living Legend. Castle Communications. Surrey, UK : 1995.
Woliver, Robbie. Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene St. Martin's Press. New York, NY: 1984.