July 24, 1998 session with Hugh McGraw at the Library of Congress

[Kevin Isaac from Baltimore]

I'm trying to identify singers that were at the July 24, 1998 session with Hugh McGraw at the Library of Congress, and I'd love your help. About 20 have "strong" confirmations, sometimes by the individuals themselves!

If you want to play "squint at the screen" with others, there is a video and photos here:

https://www.singloud.org/projects/hugh-mcgraw-at-the-library-of-congress-july-24-1998/

and a google doc here for writing out people's names:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1knthZcTF1iWXWF0cAOvoLjRcwQOz_uYfQDfrvSajbvQ/edit?usp=sharing 

I'm editing the actual video itself now, which will be posted online, but I want to write up an article to go with it and to try to identify as many singers as I can to include in the article.

Kevin

[Kevin Isaac from Baltimore]

I appreciate the feedback I have received. The passing of Buell Cobb, one of the core group of presenters/singers, made me consider adding a memorial note at the end, as it appears that most of the core group has passed on.
But there are two names I'm not sure of: 

Alan Jabbour (1942–2017)
Hugh McGraw (1931–2017)
Richard DeLong (1963–2020)
Charlene Wallace (1929–2019)
Carolyn Huckeba ( ?  –2006?)
Amanda Denson Brady (1941–2008)
Buell E. Cobb (1944–2025)
Lewis/Louis Hughes ( ? - )
Raymond C. Hamrick (1915–2014)

I don't know anything about "Carolyn Huckeba". I believe this is Carolyn McGraw Huckeba of Carrollton, Ga., wife of Jerry D. Huckeba, her mother was Gladys McGraw of Mt. Zion, Ga.
I found an obituary from 2006, and I assume that's her, but I'd be awful embarrassed to announce that someone had passed when they hadn't.
The person I first named "Lewis Hughes" is probably "Louis Hughes" but was it "Sr." or "Jr."?

Here is a Jr. in 1998 singing alongside Buell: https://home.olemiss.edu/~mudws/1998/national.html
Here is a Sr. who was chairman of a convention in 2001: https://fasola.org/minutes/search/?n=1270
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Kevin Isaac

[Kevin Isaac from Baltimore]

Hi everyone,

I’m so pleased to finally share this project with you all. I’ve just finished a blog post and published the video premiere of the 1998 Sacred Harp concert at the Library of Congress. You can find it all here: https://www.singloud.org/projects/hugh-mcgraw-at-the-library-of-congress-july-24-1998/

The video by itself is here: https://youtu.be/_fT0xbWHCYA?si=tN_I52bbwmwGrfNM

I wanted to send a sincere thank you to the members of this list who helped me track down the context and history behind this specific event. Your insights were so helpful in framing the importance of this day, especially seeing the convergence of Hugh McGraw and the Sacred Harp Publishing Company with the Denson family and Raymond Hamrick.

Alan Jabbour’s opening remarks really capture what we all feel about this tradition—he was so adamant that while Sacred Harp has deep roots in "early America," it is very much "alive and well" and shouldn't be treated as something "lost and forgotten". It’s a wonderful bit of history that shows the bridge between the traditional singers from Georgia and Alabama and the active D.C. community that has been singing since the 60s.

I hope you enjoy the footage and the write-up. Thanks again for all the help!

[Will Fitzgerald]

Kevin,

This is fantastic. Thank you for putting this up. I’m looking forward to watching it from start to finish. 

--

Will

On Feb 1, 2026, at 4:40 PM, Kevin Isaac from Baltimore <baltimore...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Baltimore Shape Note Singing]

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