W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews

Object Details

Scope and Contents

This collection was formed by W. Royal Stokes in the course of his professional work as a music and arts critic. It is composed primarily of publicity portraits of musical performers, both single acts and groups. The emphasis is on jazz musicians and singers, although many rock stars and groups, and other popular musical performers are included. Even a few classical musicians are represented. The pictures are primarily mass-produced black and white publicity photographs distributed to newspapers, writers, etc., by agents for entertainment personalities. Some prints were made from the original negatives, while others clearly were made from copy negatives after typography was stripped together with a print and re-photographed. However, there are some rarer original photographs included in the collection, such as personal color snapshots, higher quality prints by art photographers, etc. Nearly all the prints are unmounted, and are 8 x 10 inches or smaller in size. The bulk of the photographs date from circa 1970 to 2000, however, a number of the earlier photographs are included as well as slightly later examples.

Summary

Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.

Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Accruals

Interview tapes, transcripts and additional photographs were donated by Mr. Stokes to the Archives Center in 2007 and 2008.

Provenance

Donated by W. Royal Stokes to the Archives Center in 2001.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into nine series. Series 1, Photographs of Musicians and Ensembles, circa 1970-2000; undated Subseries 1.1, Musicians and Ensembles Subseries 1.2, Recording Company Photographs Subseries 1.3, Unidentified Musicians Series 2, Photographs of Performances, 1987-2002; undated Subseries 2.1, Music Festivals, 1987-2002; undated Subseries 2.2, Concerts, Music Clubs and Other Venues, 1920s-1940s and circa 1980s-1990s; undated Series 3, Formal and Informal Groups, circa 1980s-2000; undated Series 4, Photographs of Musicians in Films, Radio, Television and Theater, 1940s-2000; undated Series 5, Photographs of Subjects and Products related to Musicians and Music, 1970-2000; undated Series 6, Photographs of Non-Musicians, circa 1980s-2000; undated Series 7, Interviews with Musicians, 1970-2003 Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1970-2003 Subseries 8.1, Audio Recordings - Audiocassettes Subseries 8.2, Audio Recordings-Audiotapes Series 9, Posters, 1976-1990; undated

Biographical / Historical

Born in Washington, D.C., W. Royal Stokes served in the Army and then embarked on an academic career, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Tufts University, Brock University and the University of Colorado. He left the academic profession in 1969 and become a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, journalist, and critic and authority on jazz music. A follower of jazz since his teens in the 1940s, Stokes has written about music for such publications as Down Beat, Jazz Times, and the Washington Post, and hosted the public radio shows "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say . . ." and "Since Minton's". Today he is the editor of the quarterly Jazz Notes, and is the author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990 and Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson.. He is also the author of Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Dr. Stokes lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Interviewee

Sun Ra

Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-

Taylor, Billy

Collector

Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-

Interviewee

Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987

Wells, Ronnie

Whiting, Margaret

Towers, Jack

Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978

Pullen, Don, 1941-

Roney, Wallace

Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-

Pizzarelli, John, 1960-

Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004

Shepp, Archie, 1937-

Sanders, Pharaoh

Grant, Felix, 1918-1993

Scott, Jimmy

McPhail, Jimmy

McPartland, Marian

McFerrin, Bobby

Krall, Diana

O'Connell, Helen

Mulligan, Gerry

Metheny, Pat

McShann, Jay

Horn, Shirley, 1934-

Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000

Hill, Andrew, 1937-

Hendricks, Jon, 1921-

Keane, Helen

Kaminsky, Max, 1908-

Jordan, Sheila, 1928-

Humes, Helen, 1913-1981

Hampton, Lionel

Harris, Eddie, 1934-

Heath, Jimmy, 1926-

Frishberg, Dave

Ennis, Ethel

Farmer, Art, 1928-

Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-

Hampton, Slide

D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-

Daniels, Billy

Davison, Bill

Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-

Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020

Conyers, John, 1929-

Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003

Byard, Jaki

Brown, Ruth

Carter, Betty, 1930-

Byron, Don

Betts, Keter, 1928-

Bellson, Louis

Bowie, Lester, 1941-

Blakey, Art, 1919-1990

Allen, Steve, 1921-2000

Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000

Bailey, Benny, 1925-

Archival Repository

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Genre/Form

Audiotapes

Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000

Publicity photographs

Identifier

NMAH.AC.0766

Interviewee

Sun Ra

Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-

Taylor, Billy

Collector

Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-

Interviewee

Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987

Wells, Ronnie

Whiting, Margaret

Towers, Jack

Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978

Pullen, Don, 1941-

Roney, Wallace

Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-

Pizzarelli, John, 1960-

Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004

Shepp, Archie, 1937-

Sanders, Pharaoh

Grant, Felix, 1918-1993

Scott, Jimmy

McPhail, Jimmy

McPartland, Marian

McFerrin, Bobby

Krall, Diana

O'Connell, Helen

Mulligan, Gerry

Metheny, Pat

McShann, Jay

Horn, Shirley, 1934-

Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000

Hill, Andrew, 1937-

Hendricks, Jon, 1921-

Keane, Helen

Kaminsky, Max, 1908-

Jordan, Sheila, 1928-

Humes, Helen, 1913-1981

Hampton, Lionel

Harris, Eddie, 1934-

Heath, Jimmy, 1926-

Frishberg, Dave

Ennis, Ethel

Farmer, Art, 1928-

Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-

Hampton, Slide

D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-

Daniels, Billy

Davison, Bill

Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-

Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020

Conyers, John, 1929-

Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003

Byard, Jaki

Brown, Ruth

Carter, Betty, 1930-

Byron, Don

Betts, Keter, 1928-

Bellson, Louis

Bowie, Lester, 1941-

Blakey, Art, 1919-1990

Allen, Steve, 1921-2000

Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000

Bailey, Benny, 1925-

Names

Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971

Davis, Miles

Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974

Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiotapes

Black-and-white photographic prints

Publicity photographs

Extent

10 Cubic feet (39 boxes)

Citation

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Processing Information

Processed by David Haberstich archivist, April 2002, Vanessa Broussard Simmons archivist, November 2011, Anne Jones, (volunteer), July 2012 and Ramona Williamson (volunteer), July 2012; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of Ameican History

Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301) Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993 Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copyprints], 1923-1972 Jazz Oral History Collection, 1988-1990 Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, 1910s-1970s (mostly 1930s-1960s) Jeffrey Kliman Photographs Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs, 1984-1987, 2005 Chico O'Farrill Papers Paquito D'Rivera Papers, 1989-2000. Louis Armstrong Music Manuscripts, undated Tito Puente Papers, 1962-1965. Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz Radio Series, 1981-1982 Mongo Santamaria Papers, 1965-2001 Ramsey Lewis Collection, 1950-2007 Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters, 1963-2009 James Arkatov Collection of Jazz Photographs, 1995-2003 Francis Wolff Jazz Photoprints, 1953-1966 Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, circa 1920s-2006 Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2009 Leslie Schinella Collection of Gene Krupa Materials

See more items in

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews

Topic

Jazz musicians -- 1950-2000 -- United States

Musicians

Publicity

Portraits -- Musicians

Popular music -- 20th century -- United States

Entertainers

Rock music

Date

1940s-2005

Rights

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.