Sidney Stripling

Who is Sidney Stripling?

Sidney Stripling was an African American folk musician from Kathleen, Georgia. He is believed to have been born in the 19th Century, and died some time between 1941 and 1945.

At the request of Alan Lomax, in charge of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, John Wesley Work III of Fisk University recorded ten of Stripling's songs at the Fort Valley State College Folk Festival in Fort Valley, Georgia in March 1941. These are the only known recordings of the artist, and include ballads, spirituals, blues, dance tunes and children's songs. Stripling sings and plays what may be a four-string banjo in a style typical of the period around 1900.