The Floy Case Collection @ UNT Receives Archival Additions

On March 23, 2022, my wife Kitty and I delivered substantial additional materials to the music library of the University of North Texas in Denton. We were greeted by Susannah Cleveland (Head Music Librarian) and were soon joined by Dr. Donna Arnold (Music Reference Librarian) and Maristella Feustle (Music Special Collections Librarian). These are among the very best professionals in preserving and organizing archival music memorabilia.

My initial donation of my mother's papers was in 2007. The UNT staff graciously welcomed all the writings, photos and correspondence relating to her activities in early country music. Included in this new installment, items are labeled The Floy Case Collection and The Johnny Case Collection.

Floy Case items: original letters from Ernest Tubb and other country music personalities; picture postcards of hillbilly singers and western bands, mostly from the 1940s; photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings of Floy Case articles and news items; Floy Case awards and other country music memorabilia. Note: A future installment will include the home disc recorder my parents had bought in 1940. This is the machine with which Ernest Tubb made an acetate record of his recently composed song, "I'm Walking the Floor Over You". On the record label, Ernest inscribed the recording to his friends, J.C. and Floy Case.

Johnny Case items: 10 loose-leaf binders, one each for Maurice Anderson, Doug Bragg, Roy Lee Brown, Chuck Caldwell, Floy Case, Jerry Case/Johnny Case, Curly Chalker, Tom Morrell, Pee Wee Reid, Jimmy Wyble; assembled materials on Bud Carter, Leon Chambers, Denny Mathis, Louise Rowe; Correspondence with musicians and music personalities (disc jockeys, publishers, writers, promoters, scholars); photos, archival audio and video recordings; masters for albums that feature western swing musicians, often in a modern jazz context; various writings by Johnny Case on his career and music influences in his formative years (1963 - 1966) playing in western dance bands.

All materials donated on March 23 now have the utmost professional care. Once these additions have been absorbed into the organized holdings of the music library, they will be accessible to students, scholars, and to the general public by appointment. UNT has already demonstrated a commitment to accessibility with the recent digitization of The Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder, a 1940's publication and a primary component of The Floy Case Collection. That vintage periodical, for which she wrote a regular column and frequent feature articles, can now be viewed in its entirety online. 

Johnny Case, April 2022