Mountain Melody Boys No.2: Printed Material and Photographs

The Curley Collins collection documents the musician's career with news clippings, radio station program listings, and advertisements; photographs; periodical articles and book excerpts; correspondence; legal documents; and writings.

Listen To Curley Collins On WWVA 1946

Included in correspondence with music historian Wayne Daniel is a questionnaire Collins completed along with copies of several published pieces by Daniel that discuss Collins and the musicians with whom he worked. Also included are a family produced disc recording of banjo tunes by Curley's father Neal; an audio cassette of 1946 era radio programs on WWVA in Whelling, West Virginia on which Collins performed; and a 1980s era commercial CD of the singing and playing of Curley Collins and Benny Kessinger. The material dates 1928-1956, 1964-1969, and 1975-2002.

All non-audio items in the collection are in photocopied form. In addition to information about Collins, this collection is particularly useful for its provision of details regarding the commercialization of traditional music in northeastern Kentucky during the early to mid-1900s.