John Lomax, Jr.

However, John A. Lomax fell onto hard times, losing his teaching position and suffering from poor health that was compounded by the death of his wife.  Allmusic notes that his son John Lomax, Jr. encouraged his father to go on a lecture tour to revive his spirits.  Beginning in 1933, this led to his being commissioned by the Library of Congress – together with another son, Alan Lomax – to tour rural America with a traveling recording machine that weighed 315 pounds. 

(February 2015)