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Cash Gospel Quartet Collection

 Collection — Container: 1
Identifier: BCA 0109 SAA 109

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the radio performing career of the Cash Quartet from Rockcastle County, Kentucky during the 1950-1960s. The collection consists of radio program and interview sound recordings, an interview transcript, written program song lists, published song books, photographs, and printed personal appearance programs.

Listen to Recordings and / or Read Play Lists and Interview Transcript

Dates

  • Other: Majority of material found in 1959-1961
  • Other: Date acquired: 08/31/2007

Conditions Governing Access

Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College. Listen to the recordings by following the links in the Collection box list.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on the collection other than federal copyright regulations.

Extent

3.00 ms_boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection documents the radio performing career of the Cash Quartet from Rockcastle County, Kentucky during the 1950-1960s. The collection consists of radio program sound recordings, written program song lists, published song books, photographs, and printed personal appearance programs. The Cash Quartet was formed by Walter Cash (1929- ) around 1956 in the Ottawa community of southern Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Other members were his wife Reba (1937- ); sister, Joanne (1936- ); and R.H. Hamm (1919-1986). They were all members of the Ottawa Baptist church—currently the Ottawa Missionary Baptist Church. They were one of the many amateur gospel groups that were an integral part of Kentucky’s local music culture and thriving gospel scene during the twentieth century who were not interested in commercial recording. They began performing over Renfro Valley’s WRVK shortly after it went on the air in 1957 as part of a program called the Sinclair Sunday Serenade sponsored by the local Sinclair Oil distributor. They were heard regularly on WRVK through the late-1960s. They also performed occasionally on John Lair’s Renfro Valley Gatherin’ that was carried by Louisville’s WHAS and other stations. They also sang frequently at local and regional monthly sings and singing conventions in Kentucky, especially those in Pulaski and Laurel Counties, and continued such work after they stopped radio performing.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged in series as follows: Series 1: Original Reel-to-Reel Audio Recordings and CD Listening Copies; Series 2: Biographical Material and Photographs; Series 3: Song Books and Lists

Source of Acquisition

The collection was given to Berea College by Audrey Hamm and the surviving quartet members august 31, 2007.  There are no restrictions on the collection other than federal copyright regulations.

Title
Archon Finding Aid Title
Author
Harry Rice
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Berea College Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Hutchins Library
100 Campus Drive
Berea Kentucky 40404 US
859.985.3262