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Deseret String Band collection, 1964-2008

Overview of the Collection

Title
Deseret String Band collection
Dates
1964-2008 (inclusive)
Quantity
20 boxes, 30 posters, (13 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_FOLK COLL 52
Summary
This collection contains the working files, posters, and audio/visual materials of the Deseret String Band.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to public research. To access the collection a patron must have the following information: collection number, box number and folder/reel/ number. The materials do not circulate and are available in USU's Special Collections and Archives. Patrons must sign and comply with the USU Special Collections and Archives Use Agreement and Reproduction Order form as well as any restrictions placed by the collector or informant(s).

Languages
Material in English
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Biographical Note

The Deseret String Band formed in 1972 and has performed throughout the US, Europe and Japan. The band's purpose was to explore pioneer and cowboy music of the 19th century West. It acquired a few aliases through the years, including The Bunkhouse Orchestra, The Orchestre de Bunque, The String Band of Desire and Secondhand Band. Playing fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, banjo-mandolin, banjo-cello, harmonica, various squeeze boxes and pitched fork, the band performs dozens of dance tunes, pioneer ballads, cowboy songs and old country melodies. The roots of the band are in the early 1970s in Rhode Island when Hal Cannon, Leonard Coulson, Skip Gorman and Tom Carter began playing music together. Members of the band have included: Cannon, Coulson, Groman, Carter, Mark Jardine, Stephen Jardine, Richard McClure, Ron Kane and Meghan Merker. Discography:

Utah Trail (1973)

Land Of Milk and Honey (1974) (LP Available in FOLK COLL 52)

New Beehive Songster, Volume 1 (Undated)

New Beehive Songster, Volume 2 (Undated)

Deseret String Band: 1980-1984 (1984) (Audio Cassette Available in FOLK COLL 52)

Old Cowboy Songs, Song Book and Cassette (1986)

Red Steer (1990) (Audio Cassette Available in FOLK COLL 52)

Utah: Songs of Statehood (1990)

The Round-Up (Undated)

Cluck Cluck (Undated)

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Content Description

Collection contains band files (including clippings of band promos, bios and features, correspondence, and concert ephemera), photos, posters, vinyl recordings, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, reel to reel tapes, and CDs.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Permission to publish material from the Deseret String Band collection must be obtained from the Curator of the Fife Folklore Archives and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Deseret String Band collection, 1970-1999. (FOLK COLL 52, box, folder/reel/tapes no.). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is organized by like media: band files (including correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs), reel-to-reels, cassette tapes, posters, and video tapes.

Processing Note

Processed by Mara J. Ballard, July 2012; accruals added and finding add updated by Erin Sorensen, June 2014. Robison materials added by Randy Williams, November 2012. Later Hal Cannon materials added by Joe Kinzer, 2025.

Acquisition Information

Hal Cannon contacted Randy Williams by letter on 3 May 2011 inquiring about possible deposit of the Deseret String Band Collection at USU's Special Collections and Archives Fife Folklore Archives. Randy Williams wrote back on 24 May 2011 with an enthusiastic yes. On 4 August 2011, Randy Williams and Brad Cole retrieved the collection from Hal Cannon and Leonard Coulson at Coulson's store Acoustic Music in Salt Lake City, Utah. The donation included four boxes. June 2013, Leonard Coulson donated four more boxes to the collection, including photos, posters, newspaper clippings, CDs, mini-reels, and miscellaneous materials. Brad Cole retrieved the accruals.

In Fall 2012, Brent Robison contact Randy Williams with the desire of donating thirteen slides he had taken/had of the Deseret String Band at an outdoor concert in Orem, Utah, in June 1976. The donation was arranged and added to the collection November 2012.

Custodial History

The Deseret String Band members Hal Cannon and Leonard Coulson donated the band files to Utah State University Library Special Collections and Archives.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Finding aid created by Mara J. Ballard, with additions by Isaac Ellison and Heather Housley
2012

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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