Music Equatorial Africa / Various

This 1950 compilation utilizes recordings made in former French Equatorial Africa, a territory out of which the countries Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Cameroon were formed. Performers include members of the N'Goundi, Bongili, Babinga and other tribes. Ethnic Folkways Library editor Harold Courlander provides an essay explaining the ways in which African music has influenced many styles of American music, including cowboy and Latin-American songs. Song selections emphasize how music in Africa is connected to the activities of daily living, such as a song in which N'Goundi girls "scoff at a young boy who has bragged too much about his own capabilities."