Lead sheets and lyrics, 1923-1976 and undated

The Howard McGhee papers, music, and audiovisual recordings document McGhee's music and professional activities and, to a lesser degree, his personal life from the mid-1940s until his death in 1987. The bulk of the collection is comprised of music manuscripts, scores and parts from his big band; published sheet music, arrangements, song and method books, and lyric sheets; audio and videocassette tapes of McGhee's original music, and a listing of commercial recordings (which are not retained in the collection). Documenting his performing and recording career and educational programs are resumes; flyers and handbills; set lists; awards; business and financial correspondence; tax and wage statements; expense records for his big band, transportation, housing and hotels, telephone, musical instrument repair, publicity photos, bar tabs and medical care; passports, foreign work permits and identification cards; financial transactions and contracts with the American Federation of Musicians, Local #802 and jazz promoter George Wein's Festival Productions; record royalties and record company payments; memberships in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the American Guild of Authors and Composers, the National Jazz Service Organization, The Duke Ellington Society and Saint Peter's Church; telephone and address books and business cards; and grant applications for performance and educational programs; newspaper clippings, record reviews, adds and catalogs, and publications; and publicity, performance, recording session and candid photographs. Items covering McGhee's personal life include personal correspondence from family and friends, photographs, greeting cards, and materials related to McGhee's death in July 1987.