This collection (1980s-2010s) contains material related to the life of Michael J. Hamer, an English professor at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, from 1986 through 2013, and a prolific songwriter, singer, and band leader who died in 2017. Included are notebooks containing his handwritten lyrics, poems, photographs, reel to reel tapes, clippings, and other material pertaining to his musical career.
Mike Hamer (1948-2017) was born in Newport, Vermont and grew up on a dairy farm with his parents and sister. He graduated from the Sacred Heart High School in Newport in 1966 and studied for the brotherhood at Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Essex, NY. Hamer later joined the VISTA anti-poverty program that relocated him to Greenville, NC where he became active in the local music scene. His first band was formed in 1976 and was called the Mel Bay Trio. Hamer was a part of several bands throughout the 70s and 80s including Benefit Blues Ban, Lightnin' Wells Blues Band, Gillespie-Hamer Band, the Lemon Sisters and Rutabaga Brothers, and Mike Hamer and the Rhinoceroses. In 1985 Hamer was in a diving accident that left him quadriplegic. After rehab, he joined the English faculty at East Carolina University and taught English composition and song writing classes until 2004. While at ECU he continued to write music and poetry, produce CDs, and help produced a 15 minute video "Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Wheelchair Dancing" in 1989.
This collection is broken up into eight series: 1. Songs, Lyrics & Sheet Music, 2. Poetry, 3. Journals & Spiral Bound Notebooks, 4. Postcards, Clippings, Posters, Art, Ephemera, 5. Photographs & Negatives, 6. Miscellaneous, 7. Articles, Writings, and Interviews about people with disabilities, and 8. Audio materials.
Much of this collection is scrap papers with song lyrics and poetry and journals full of notes, set lists, interviews, and song lyrics written by Mike Hamer. Other components of this collection include audio reels, clippings, art covers, and posters about Mike Hamer's bands. A small portion of the collection is dedicated to his work and interviews with other people who have disabilities and his work at ECU.
June 28, 2019, 2.25 cubic feet; This collection (1980s-2010s) contains material related to the life of Michael J. Hamer, an English professor at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, from 1986 through 2013, and a prolific songwriter, singer, and band leader who died in 2017. Included are notebooks containing his handwritten lyrics, poems, photographs, reel to reel tapes, clippings, and other material pertaining to his musical career. Donated by Joan Hamer.
July 29, 2020, (addition 1), 1.5 cubic feet; Addition consists of six 10.5-inch reel AMPEX 456 Studio Mastering audio tapes with dates of 1988, 1996 and 1997; six 7-inch reel audio tapes (undated) of which three may be tapes of other performances but three are listed as Hamer #5 (We can work it out, Mango Man), Hamer #6 (Mango Man) and Hamer #7 (Demo); and a 7-inch wide record (and cover) recorded in Spring 1983 at 33 1/3 rpm of The Lemon Sisters and The Rutabaga Brothers. Also included are a notebook of Mike Hamer's handwritten songs, loose pages of song lyrics and set lists, a list of interview answers from 1997 concerning someone who was hit by a car and had become quadriplegic, and postcards (ca. 1998-2007) sent to Mike. Donated by Joan Hamer.
November 20, 2020, (addition 2), 0.25 cubic feet; Addition consists of seven chapbooks of poetry by Marty Silverthorne (1988-2009), two by Hal J. Daniel III (1985, 1987), and two by Sam Silva (1989, 1990); eulogy summarizing Hamer's life; four Christmas postcards sent out by Hamer; advertising broadsides and cards for Tthe Lemon Sisters and The Rutabaga Brothers, and other bands playing at the Attic, the Rat, Peasant's Cafe, and Platinum Gallery in Greenville, N.C.; and newspaper clippings (1985, 1989, 1993). Also included are thirteen CDs of mostly central and eastern North Carolina folk/bluegrass/rootsy/rock groups like Duke Street Dogs, The Liberty Circus, and Honey Holler which may be transferred to the Music Library at ECU. Donated by Joan Hamer.
Gift of Joan Hamer
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.