Kahn, Ed

Scholar and folklorist, Ed Kahn was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on 5 July 1938. He attended Oberlin College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California Los Angeles. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from UCLA in 1970. While Kahn was pursuing his doctorate, he also taught courses in folklore and folksong in UCLA's evening school program. An edited version of his dissertation, The Carter Family: A Reflection of Changes in Society, focusing on the chapters related to Mexican border radio, was later published in JEMF Quarterly #30 as: International Relations, Dr. Brinkley, and Hillbilly Music.

Ed Kahn devoted much of his life to the study of American folk songs, radio broadcasting, and early country music and recording history. He conducted extensive field research and wrote at length about both Merle Travis and the Carter Family. Kahn was was involved in the creation of the John Edwards Memorial Foundation (JEMF), along with Archie Green, D. K. Wilgus, Fred Hoeptner, and Eugene Earle. He was initially appointed Executive Secretary of the JEMF and was instrumental in starting the JEMF Quarterly newsletter.

While carrying out his field work, Ed Kahn became the only folklorist to interview all three members of the original Carter Family. In addition, he frequently traveled throughout the United States interviewing and recording the music of numerous other country musicians, including Clarence Green, Dorsey Dixon, Ernest V. Stoneman, Charlie Bowman, Mose Rager, the Pickard Family, and many others. Archie Green and Mike Seeger were also involved in many of these field recordings. Kahn also interviewed key players in the history of country music recording, such as Polk Brockman and Steve Sholes. Additional field work carried out by Kahn includes extensive recordings in the communities surrounding Coal Creek, Tenn., chiefly focusing on the miners and their music.

Ed Kahn also contributed to the study of American folk music by his numerous writings, including articles and record reviews for the journals Western Folklore and JEMF Quarterly ; an academic paper focusing on a discographer and discography, Will Roy Hearne: Peripheral Folksong Scholar ; and liner notes for RCA, Capitol, and Bear Family labels. Other work included an article about folklorist Alan Lomax, and significant contributions to the Meade/Spottswood discography, Country Music Sources (2002). Ed Kahn died in Pinole, Calif., on 24 March 2002.

From the guide to the Ed Kahn Collection, 1930-1999, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.)