Skip to main content

Angola Prisoners' Blues

Various Artists
Angola Prisoners' Blues

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is one of the largest maximum security prisons in the country. In the 1950s, LSU English professor Dr. Harry Oster recorded a series of music performances by African American prisoners at the infamous facility. The performances, many by prisoners serving life sentences, are full of despair and raw emotion. Included in this collection are a cappella selections by three female prisoners (Angola housed both male and female prisoners until 1961). Part of the royalties from this collection go to the Inmate Welfare Fund at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

*Content Advisory: Smithsonian Folkways has updated our descriptions of albums recorded in prisons to avoid frameworks that wholly attach artists’ identities to their experience in prison. This album is a historical document of not only the stories of its performers, but of the racism of the prison system and the music industry at that moment.
For our policy on controversial recordings, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
Robert Pete Williams
05:12
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Hogman Maxey
03:42
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Guitar Welch
05:12
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Hogman Maxey
04:32
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Robert Pete Williams
03:46
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
Guitar Welch
02:50
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
107
Robert Pete Williams
04:01
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
108
Group of male prisoners
05:50
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
109
Hogman Maxey
04:16
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
110
Guitar Welch
05:12
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
111
Clara Young
02:47
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
112
Odea Mathews
01:59
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
113
Thelma Mae Joseph
01:44
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
114
Group of male prisoners
03:31
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
115
Butterbeans
00:59
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
116
Hogman Maxey
04:07
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
117
Otis Webster
02:32
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
118
Roosevelt Charles and Otis Webster
02:38
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
119
Guitar Welch
04:25
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
120
Roosevelt Charles
09:31