Research

Looking Back, Listening Forward — A Year-End Reflection on the Rosetta Reitz Archive Collective

by Annie Koppes

As we conclude our 2024–2025 journey with the Archives and Creative Process: Blues Women and Rosetta Records Bass Connections team, I find myself reflecting on a year marked by profound collaboration, discovery, and growth. Our collective delved into the rich archives of Rosetta Reitz, unearthing stories of blues women whose voices had… Read More »Looking Back, Listening Forward — A Year-End Reflection on the Rosetta Reitz Archive Collective

What can we learn from Sweet Petunias?

by Margaret "Lou" Brown

The Rosetta Reitz Papers at Duke University comprise 41 linear feet and 30,750 items contained in 63 acid-free cardboard boxes and in more than 45 additional digital files. The materials, spanning the years 1929-2008, include research notes, photographs, audio and visual recordings, and published writings as well as handwritten and… Read More »What can we learn from Sweet Petunias?

The Sexiest Petunia: The Significance of Mae West’s Inclusion on Sweet Petunias

by Lindsay Frankfort

When I first looked at the Sweet Petunias album cover, Mae West’s name seemed to burst off of the page. It was exciting to see a familiar name, but I soon realized she was the only White singer featured on the album. Thus, my research primarily focused on why Rosetta… Read More »The Sexiest Petunia: The Significance of Mae West’s Inclusion on Sweet Petunias

Aida Overton Walker & Sweet Petunias

by Isabelle Zhang

Sweet Petunias Produced by Rosetta Reitz Cover by Erika Weihs and White Studio Vinyl Album United States 1986 Rosetta Records The cover of the album, Sweet Petunias (Figure 1), Volume 4 of Rosetta Reitz’s Independent Women’s Blues series, collages an un-credited photograph of performer Aida Overton Walker and an illustration… Read More »Aida Overton Walker & Sweet Petunias

Five women stand close together and smile at the camera.

Sweet Petunias and Sweet Pease: A Floriographical Reading

by Trisha Santanam

While listening to the album Sweet Petunias, released by Rosetta Records in 1986, I was struck by the frequency in the references to different kinds of flowers. Indeed, the name of the album itself refers to a floral variety. Once I began digging through the material Rosetta Reitz collected regarding… Read More »Sweet Petunias and Sweet Pease: A Floriographical Reading