# Troubles Is Hard"

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress challenged musical artists to interpret material from its unparalleled archive of ethnographic recordings of traditional folk music. Artists were asked to put their own spin on these archival treasures, and to perform them at a special showcase during the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, Missouri in 2023. The showcase was recorded for this webcast. This video features Chicago singer and songwriter Joe Jencks singing "Troubles Is Hard" from a field recording of singers Gussie Slater and Clifford Reed, recorded by John and Ruby Lomax at the Women's Dormitory at Florida State Prison Farm in Raiford, Florida, on June 4, 1939. From the John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip collection, AFC 1939/001: AFS 2716 B1.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2023
- By: American Folklife Center
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2025661210/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2025661210?play=1)