Arwhoolie (Corn Field Holler) As we have discussed many times at PD Productions, Field hollers undoubtedly have a long history among African Americans, they first began to be noticed by others during and after the Civil War, when those same African Americans began farming their own land and working as sharecroppers. Field hollers were a practical way of communicating over long distances in competition with other noises. labourers working on individual tasks almost always sang hollers solo, so they differ from work songs that were sung by a group to keep time to rhythmic work like rowing or hammering.

Field hollers were one of the many components that make up the blues. Solo performance after a long tiring day in the field led naturally into the first blues songs that originated in this era.

Yodeling is similar to hollering. It originated in Switzerland to communicate through the Alps and was used later in the southern Appalachians in America. Cowboys yodeled to compete with the noise of wind and cattle across distances on the prairies.

Thomas J. Marshall, the caller on the recording we’ve added in this article, believed the term Arwhoolie was the original name of the cornfield holler or Howlie. Available recording: Arwhoolie performed by Thomas J. Marshall on Negro Work Songs and Calls, Washington D.C.: Library of Congress Recording Labs [AAFSL8], Library of Congress This holler was originally recorded in the 1940s as a 78 and later transferred to LP. The "caller" on this song is Thomas J. Marshall, who at the time was a student at the Southern Christian Institute of Mount Beulah College in Edwards, Mississippi. The simple holler is spontaneous and full of emotion—two characteristics that eventually found a home in the blues. 

Negro work songs and calls

Library of Congress

DSB Arwhoolie Cornfield Holler