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Folk Heritage; John Cunningham

Part of Folk Heritage with Dick Pleasants.

05/21/1983


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Series
Folk Heritage
Program
John Cunningham
Series Description

Folk Heritage premiered Sunday, October 1, 1978 with Dick Pleasants and Marie Rhines as co-hosts. In September 1979 Rhines left and Pleasants became the solo host of the series, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2004.

Folk Heritage was a broadminded series that explored the traditional and the contemporary, bluegrass and American folk to ethnic instruments. Pleasants was involved in the local and regional folk music community. This personal commitment led to the program featuring live, in-studio performances by musicians from all around the New England area and beyond. By stressing quality and diversity in the music, Pleasants was broadening the audience: "..there is a whole new class of folk instruments popular today ..so listeners who may only think of themselves as 'classical' lovers, for instance, are learning that folk music can really be very complex and intricate. And accessible," Pleasants noted.

Although the series switched from Sunday evenings to Saturday afternoons, it consistently featured a wide range of songwriters and musicians in live performances and interviews, including Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Odetta, Patty Larkin and BeauSoleil. For his farewell program on March 13, 2004, Pleasants welcomed Sparky and Rhonda Rucker into the studio for conversation and music.

Source: Prime Time WGBH Program Guide (October 1978); On Air WGBH Radio Program Guide (September 1979) GBH Members Guide (May 2004)

Program Description

Radio

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Audio

Citation
Chicago: “Folk Heritage; John Cunningham,” 05/21/1983, WGBH Media Library & Archives, accessed January 22, 2019, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_0A002F6C0F954E06B66566B2F0AC8661.
MLA: “Folk Heritage; John Cunningham.” 05/21/1983. WGBH Media Library & Archives. Web. January 22, 2019. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_0A002F6C0F954E06B66566B2F0AC8661>.
APA: Folk Heritage; John Cunningham. Boston, MA: WGBH Media Library & Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_0A002F6C0F954E06B66566B2F0AC8661
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