American Roots Publishing, Inc (ARP) is a nonprofit arts organization. Our mission is to foster and celebrate American culture through music, literature and art.
As an organization, we initiate projects with the potential for significant artistic and cultural impact. Profits generated by our projects are applied toward new initiatives and education.
American oral histories are a dying art, which is sad, for they show respect for the lives and experiences of those who have come before us. Just as important, they document memories for once those lives are over, that personal knowledge is lost forever.
America is more than Hollywood hype, DC Politics and the New York Stock Exchange. People are hungering for authenticity in the way they live their lives, in the books that they read, the music they listen to, and the products they purchase. As our society becomes more homogenous with each passing year, we believe creating and supporting unique music, literature and art is vital to celebrating the diversity of our American culture.
Telling stories of where we've been and what we've seen is the way that people care for each other. Music, art and literature are bread for the journey. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.
- The Bluegrass Elvises: Vol 1 / Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette
- The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson
- Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster
"Hard Times Come Again No More"
In March, 2004 Mavis Staples came to Nashville to record “Hard Times Come Again No More” for our first release, Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster. The day was magical. We spent the afternoon as guests of historic Sound Emporium studio who graciously donated one of their rooms for the recording session. Buddy Miller, Steve Fishell and Matt Rollings backed Mavis up while our favorite sound engineer Dave Sinko recorded the incredible performance. Mavis nailed the track on the first run-through, but we persuaded her to sing the song a few times for our own pleasure and to the delight of our special in-studio guests Emmylou Harris and Julie Miller. Video director Paul Whitfield captured the charm of the afternoon on video and you can watch it here.