Toward a Bibliography of Revival-Era Four-Shape Tunebooks (1960–1989)

The following list presents known four-shape shape-note tunebooks published during what I define as the Revival Period (1960–1989) of four-shape shape-note tunebook publishing, a phase of rediscovery and preservation. This era coincided with the peaking of the broader American folk music revival, which brought traditional musical forms into academic, festival, and popular music settings. Though no entirely new four-shape tunebooks are known to have been created during this time, several important facsimiles and reprints were issued, reintroducing 19th-century shape-note traditions to new audiences and helping to spark renewed interest in Sacred Harp style singing. The Revival Period of tunebook publishing was characterized by academic engagement, increased documentation, and the spread of singings beyond the American South. It also saw the rise of figures like Hugh McGraw, who played a pivotal role in sustaining and promoting the tradition.

What follows is a stripped-down version of this list, shared here in blog format because it remains a work in progress and retains a degree of speculation. Although it draws from several reliable sources and reflects ongoing research, I do not yet consider it definitive. I welcome input from those with knowledge of additional tunebooks or tunebooklets from this period. My goal is to eventually assemble a comprehensive and accurate bibliography of four-shape shape-note tunebooks, but my approach is to tackle it in manageable sections—focusing on one era at a time.

In this bibliography, the “Original Year of Publication” for The Sacred Harp refers not to the first edition of the 1844 work by B.F. White and E.J. King, but to the first appearance of each major editorial branch. Because The Sacred Harp has developed through distinct and independent revision traditions—such as the Cooper (1902), and Denson (1936) editions—it is more useful and historically accurate to assign the origin year based on the beginning of each of these branches. This approach highlights the editorial lineage and contextual differences between versions, rather than collapsing them all under the shared title and original 1844 publication.

In this bibliography, the “pagination” field varies in precision depending on the availability of source material. When possible, full pagination is given in bibliographic form, including unnumbered front or back matter indicated in square brackets—such as [1]–[9], 12–573, [574]–[578]—to reflect the actual structure of the book. This level of detail is important for identifying paratextual material such as prefaces, indices, and appendices that may not be accounted for by a simple page count. This example, for 1966 edition of the “Denson Book”, reveals there are not eleven pages preceding the page paginated as “12,” but only nine. In cases where the complete book was not accessible, or only the final page number was known, a single number is listed to indicate the last numbered page. This provides at least a basic sense of length, while distinguishing clearly between confirmed pagination and estimated or partial data.

The bibliographic detail below focuses on editions rather than individual printings within the editions. Especially in the case of The Sacred Harp, many editions have gone through multiple printings, sometimes with variations in binding, paper, cover design, or minor mechanical changes to the interior. While these differences can be significant for bibliographic or historical analysis, they fall outside the scope of this narrow stage of the work. The aim here is to document the major editorial versions and their content, though a more detailed study of printing history is integral to the larger bibliographic work.

To clarify, this bibliography is limited in scope to four-shape shape-note works. While significant publications such as the Facsimile Edition of William B. Warren’s Minstrel of the Mount (1984, Athens: Ohio University Press) appeared during the Revival Period, they fall outside the bounds of this list due to their use of seven-shape notation.

• 1960 – 1960 Supplement “Original Sacred Harp” (Denson Revision) (1936) – Revision of 1936 Denson Book; B.F. White & E.J. King, compilers; A.M. Cagle et al.; Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc.; Cullman, AL; [1]–[11], 12–578, [579–582]; Hardback
• 1960 – The B.F. White Sacred Harp (Cooper Book) (1902) – (6th?); W.M. Cooper; The Sacred Harp Book Co., Inc.; Troy, AL; [pagination unknown]; Hardback
• 1964 – Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second (1813) – Facsimile of 2nd edition; Irving Lowens, ed.; Da Capo Press; New York; 132 pp.; Hardback, with Dustjacket
• 1964 – The Sacred Harp (1911) – Facsimile of the 1911 edition; J.S. Janes; Denson Music Publishing Company; [place unknown]; [pagination unknown]; Hardback
• 1966 – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1835) – Facsimile of 1854 edition; William Walker, compiler; Glenn C. Wilcox, ed.; Pro Musicaamericana; Los Angeles, CA; [pagination unknown]; Hardback
• 1966 – “Original Sacred Harp” (Denson Revision) (1936) – Revision of 1936 Denson Book; Hugh McGraw, Chairman of the Music Committee; Sacred Harp Publishing Company, Inc.; Cullman, AL; [1]–[9], 12–573, [574]–[578]; Hardback
• 1968 – The Sacred Harp (1844) – Facsimile of 3rd edition; B.F. White & E.J. King, compilers; new material by Davis C. Wooley and George Pullen Jackson; Broadman Press; Nashville, TN; iii–xxxii, 3–432; Hardback
• 1971 – “Original Sacred Harp” (Denson Revision) (1936) – [no edition noted]; Hugh McGraw, Chairman of the Music Committee; Sacred Harp Publishing Co., Inc.; Cullman, AL; [1]–[13], 12–573, [574]–[585]; Hardback
• 1973 – The Social Harp (1855) – Facsimile reprint; John G. McCurry, compiler; Daniel W. Patterson & John F. Garst, editors; University of Georgia Press; Athens, GA; 268 pp.; Hardback
• 1973 – The Colored Sacred Harp (1934) – Revised edition; Judge Jackson and Revision Committee; J. Jackson; Ozark, AL; 96 pp.; Hardback
• 1976 – Kentucky Harmony (1816) – Facsimile of 1st edition; Ananias Davisson, compiler; Irving Lowens, new introduction; Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis, MN; 160 pp.; Hardback, with Dustjacket
• 1977 – “Original Sacred Harp” (Denson Revision) (1936) – Fourth Denson edition; Hugh McGraw, Chairman of the Music Committee; Sacred Harp Publishing Co., Inc.; Cullman, AL; [1]–[13], 12–573, [574]–[585]; Hardback
• 1980 – Northern Harmony (1980) – 1st edition tunebooklet; A. Barrand and C. Moody; Privately published; [place unknown]; 56 pp.; Comb binding
• 1983 – The Colored Sacred Harp (1934) – Second Revised edition; Judge Jackson and Revision Committee; J. Jackson; Ozark, AL; 96 pp.; Hardback
• 1987 – The Sacred Harp (1936) – 1987 edition; [possibly Hugh McGraw]; Sacred Harp Publishing Co., Inc.; Bremen, GA; [1]–[19], 12–573, [574]–[585]; Hardback
• 1987 – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1835) – Facsimile of 1854 edition, based on 1966 edition; William Walker, compiler; Glenn C. Wilcox, ed.; University Press of Kentucky; Lexington, KY; 343 pp.; Hardback
• 1988 – Northern Harmony (1980) – Preview tunebooklet; Tony Barrand, Larry Gordon, and Carole Crompton Moody; Northern Harmony Publishing; [place unknown]; [pagination unknown]; Side-stapled