The Jimmy Driftwood Story

A Biography with Songs, Photos and Tributes, by Richard Kent Streeter

This book chronicles the life of Jimmy Driftwood — Arkansas folk musician, songwriter (famous for "The Battle of New Orleans"), teacher, and cultural preservationist in the Ozarks. It combines biography, discography, genealogy, and Ozark folklore.

This "100th Birthday Edition" tells the story of Jimmy's family history, his recordings, awards, and official appointments — and, at last in one place, the story of the historic Rackensack Folklore Society, the Arkansas Folk Festival, the Ozark Folk Center, Blanchard Springs Caverns, the Buffalo National River, and the Jimmy Driftwood Barn.

Author Streeter visiting with Jimmy at the Driftwood Barn, Mountain View, Arkansas — September 1995

About the Author

Richard Kent Streeter spent years documenting Jimmy Driftwood's life firsthand — visiting him at the Barn in Mountain View, gathering photographs, songs, and family history that might otherwise have been lost. The Jimmy Driftwood Story is the result: a close, personal account written by someone who knew him, not a secondhand retelling.