Pete Seeger: Frontier Ballads

Folkways Records FA 2175

Format: Vinyl, 10", LP
Country: US
Released: 1959
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Fare You Well Polly (2:12)
A2 No Irish Need Apply (1:55)
A3 Johnny Gray (1:55)
A4 Greer County Bachelor (2:36)
A5 Cowboy Yodel (0:51)
A6 The Trail To Mexico (2:49)
A7 Joe Bowers (3:00)
B1 Wake Up, Jacob (0:19)
B2 Cumberland Gap (1:22)
B3 Erie Canal (3:21)
B4 Blow The Man Down (2:04)
B5 Ox Driver's Song (1:55)
B6 The Tex-I-An Boys (1:30)
B7 Sioux Indians (3:42)
[Credits]
Pete Seeger (banjo/vocals)
[Notes]
Adventurers, nonconformists, naturalists, and anyone seeking a new life traveled to America's far reaches, singing their old music even as they created new songs to describe life on the frontier. Through Pete Seeger's performance, Frontier Ballads presents the musical expressions of these immigrants, settlers, and workers as they moved westward.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Capitol Records 7243-5-35148-2-2

Format: 2×CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2002
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
1-01 Grand Ole Opry Song (3:10)
1-02 Keep On The Sunny Side (4:26)
1-03 Nashville Blues (3:15)
1-04 You Are My Flower (3:39)
1-05 The Precious Jewel (4:09)
1-06 Dark As A Dungeon (2:47)
1-07 Tennessee Stud (4:50)
1-08 Black Mountain Rag (2:40)
1-09 Wreck On The Highway (3:25)
1-10 The End Of The World (3:54)
1-11 I Saw The Light (4:21)
1-12 Sunny Side Of The Mountain (2:50)
1-13 Nine Pound Hammer (2:53)
1-14 Losin' You (Might Be The Best Thing Yet) (2:49)
1-15 Honky Tonkin' (2:32)
1-16 You Don't Know My Mind (2:47)
1-17 My Walkin' Shoes (2:52)
2-01 Lonesome Fiddle Blues (2:43)
2-02 Cannonball Rag (1:16)
2-03 Avalanche (2:52)
2-04 Flint Hill Special (2:13)
2-05 Togary Mountain (2:28)
2-06 Earl's Breakdown (2:37)
2-07 Orange Blossom Special (2:12)
2-08 Wabash Cannonball (2:03)
2-09 Lost Highway (3:48)
2-10 Doc Watson & Merle Travis: First Meeting (Dialogue) (1:52)
2-11 Way Downtown (3:35)
2-12 Down Yonder (3:45)
2-13 Pins And Needles (In My Heart) (2:54)
2-14 Honky Tonk Blues (2:23)
2-15 Sailin' On To Hawaii (2:09)
2-16 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (4:26)
2-17 I Am A Pilgrim (3:54)
2-18 Wildwood Flower (3:33)
2-19 Soldier's Joy (3:33)
2-20 Will The Circle Be Unbroken (4:48)
2-21 Both Sides Now (2:25)
[Previously Unreleased Tracks]
2-22 Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2:39)
2-23 Warming Up For "The Opry" (Talk) (2:43)
2-24 Sunny Side (Talk) (4:06)
2-25 Remember Me (1:39)
[Credits]
Roy Acuff (vocals) Maybelle Carter (autoharp/guitar/vocals) Doc Watson, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis (guitar/vocals) Earl Scruggs (banjo/guitar) Vassar Clements (fiddle) Bashful Brother Oswald, Norman Blake (dobro) Randy Scruggs (autoharp/guitar) Junior Husky, Ellis Padgett (bass) Chet Flippo, Martha Flippo, Ray Martin, Tim Martin, Alice McEuen, Larry Murray, Gary Scruggs, Louise Scruggs, Steve Scruggs, Betty Travis (background vocals) Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, Roger McGuinn (guest artists) NGDB: Bob Carpenter (accordion/piano/vocals) Jimmie Fadden (drums/harmonica) Jeff Hanna (guitar/mandolin/vocals) Jimmy Ibbotson (mandolin/accordion/vocals) John McEuen (banjo)
[Notes]
Will the Circle be Unbroken is a 1972 album by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with collaboration from many famous bluegrass and country-western players, including Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience.

Lead Belly Sings "Goodnight Irene" 1935

https://youtu.be/xn50JSI0W-E

A folklorist, John Lomax and his son Alan Lomax, with funding from the Library of Congress recorded Huddie William Ledbetter, commonly known as Lead Belly or Leadbelly. They first meet him while he was imprisoned. They were deeply impressed by his vibrant tenor voice and huge repertoire, they recorded him on portable aluminum disc recording equipment for the Library of Congress. They returned to record with new and better equipment in July of the following year (1934), all in all recording hundreds of his songs. On August 1, Lead Belly was released (again having served almost all of his minimum sentence), this time after the Lomaxes had taken a petition to Louisiana Governor Oscar K. Allen at Ledbetter's urgent request. The petition was on the other side of a recording of his signature song, "Goodnight Irene."

Kip Lornell, a Leadbelly expert, thinks this is almost certainly footage from March/April 1935, shot in Wilton, CT. --- probably at the home of friends of the Lomaxes. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen footage from this event (Martha joining Huddie in NYC) but I have seen stills. He confirmed that, this was before he recorded for ARC, though he had previously recorded for the Library of Congress. Its also well before he recorded anything for Moe Asch, which is now Smithsonian Folkways material.

Woody Guthrie: Dust Bowl Ballads

Buddha Records 74465 99724 2

Format: CD, Club Edition, Reissue, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 07 Nov 2000
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
01 The Great Dust Storm (Dust Storm Disaster) (3:17)
02 Talking Dust Bowl Blues (2:38)
03 Pretty Boy Floyd (3:07)
04 Dusty Old Dust (So Long It's Been Good To Know Yuh) (3:05)
05 Dust Bowl Blues (3:24)
06 Blowin' Down The Road (I Ain't Gonna To Be Treated This Way) (3:01)
07 Tom Joad (Part 1) (3:23)
08 Tom Joad (Part 2) (3:26)
09 Do Re Mi (2:32)
10 Dust Bowl Refugee (3:04)
11 I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore (2:43)
12 Vigilante Man (3:20)
13 Dust Can't Kill Me (2:53)
14 Dust Pneumonia Blues (2:39)
15 Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues (Alternate Take) (2:27)
[Credits]
Woody Guthrie (guitar/harmonica/vocals)
Reissue Producers: Glenn Korman, Nora Guthrie and Rob Santos, Coordinator: Jeremy Holiday, Liner Notes: Dave Marsh, Designer: Brad Conger, Remastered: Doug Pomeroy
[Notes]
Dust Bowl Ballads is an album by Woody Guthrie, recorded for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey in 1940. It was Guthrie's first commercial recording and the most successful album he made. It is considered to be the first or one of the very first concept albums. The Dust Bowl Ballads was originally released as two three-disc collections of 78 rpm records. Twelve sides, including the double-sided "Tom Joad", were included in this release, but two of the thirteen songs, "Pretty Boy Floyd" and "Dust Bowl Blues" were left out due to length. All tracks were recorded at Victor studios in Camden, New Jersey on April 26, 1940, except "Dust Cain't Kill Me" and "Dust Pneumonia Blues" which were recorded on May 3. In 1964, during the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, a reissue including all tracks from the sessions was released in LP format by Folkways Records after RCA refused Guthrie's request to re-issue the album. The complete Dust Bowl Ballads remains available on compact disc through the Smithsonian Institution's Folkways Collection. The songs on Dust Bowl Ballads are semi-autobiographical, chronicling Guthrie's experience as a so-called "Okie" during the Dust Bowl era, where Guthrie witnessed the economic hardship that many migrant workers faced in California. Like many of Guthrie's later recordings, these songs contain an element of social activism, and would be an important influence on later musicians, including Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs and Joe Strummer. -- Wikipedia

Joan Baez: Diamonds and Rust

Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust

Label: A&M Records SP-4527
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Monarch
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk Rock
[Tracklist]
01 Diamonds & Rust (4:44)
02 Fountain Of Sorrow (4:31)
03 Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer (2:45)
04 Children And All That Jazz (3:07)
05 Simple Twist Of Fate (4:46)
06 Blue Sky (2:54)
07 Hello In There (3:04)
08 Jesse (4:28)
09 Winds Of The Old Days (3:53)
10 Dida (3:20)
11 I Dream Of Jeannie / Danny Boy (4:13)
[Notes]
Diamonds & Rust is a 1975 album by Joan Baez. Baez is often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, and on this album she covered songs by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, and Jackson Browne. But Diamonds & Rust also contained a number of her own compositions, including the acclaimed title track, a distinctive song written about Bob Dylan.

Bill Monroe & Doc Watson: Live Duet Recordings 1963-1980

Smithsonian Folkways SF CD 40064

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 21 Aug 2012
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Country Blues
[Tracklist]
01 Foggy Mountain Top (2:46)
02 What Would You Give In Exchange For Your Soul (4:31)
03 Watson's Blues (2:28)
04 Soldier's Joy (2:47
05 Where Is My Sailor Boy? (What Does The Depp Sea Say?) (3:31)
06 You Won't Be Satisfied That Way (2:02)
07 Kentucky Mandolin (2:00)
08 East Tennessee Blues (2:12)
09 Midnight On The Stormy Deep (4:34)
10 Lonesome Moonlight Waltz (1:35)
11 Banks Of The Ohio (3:33)
12 Fire On The Mountain (1:49)
13 Chicken Reel (1:50)
14 Turkey In The Straw (1:10)
15 Memories Of You (3:11)
16 Have A Feast Here Tonight (Rabbit In A Log) (2:31)
17 Paddy On The Turnpike (2:35)
[Credits]
Bill Monroe (mandolin/vocals) Doc Watson (guotar/vocals)
Recorder and Liner Notes: Ralph Rinzler, Photographers: Peter Feldmann and Robert Yellin
[Notes]
The essential genius of Bill Monroe and Doc Watson resides in their ability to infuse traditional American music with their distinctive musical personalities. Their unparalleled vocal and instrumental skills complement one another on these rare, previously unreleased duets." chronicles the early meetings of two instrumental geniuses." — Billboard

Osborne Brothers: Country Bluegrass

MCA Special Products MCAD-20976

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1996
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Roll Muddy River (2:27)
02 Ruby Are You Mad At Your Man (3:00)
03 The Kind Of Woman I Got (2:25)
04 Blue Heartache (2:06)
05 Don't Let Smokey Mountain Smoke Get In Your Eyes (2:12)
06 Rocky Top (2:35)
07 Lizzie Lou (2:37)
08 Up This Hill And Down (2:20)
09 Georgia Pineywoods (2:09)
10 My Old Kentucky Home (Turpentine And Dandelion Wine) (2:24)
[Credits]
Sonny Osborne (banjo/vocals) Bobby Osborne (mandolin/vocals)
Producer: Owen Bradley and Harry Silverstein, Compiler: Carl Michelakos
[Notes]
MCA Special Products' Country Bluegrass rounds up ten highlights from the Osborne Brothers' recordings for Decca in the '60s. Although these recordings don't find the Osbornes at their most traditional, they're nevertheless quite enjoyable, particularly for casual fans who aren't looking for anything more than a sampler. Among the featured songs are "Roll Muddy River," "Blue Heartache," "Don't Let Smokey Mountain Smoke Get in Your Eyes," "Lizzie Lou," and "My Old Kentucky Home". (AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Ohio Valley Ballads: Bruce Buckley

Folkways Records FA 2025

Format: Vinyl, 10"
Country: US
Released: 1955
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 The Rowan County Crew (3:34)
A2 Pearl Bryan (2:54)
A3 Sidney Allen (2:09)
A4 Sam Bass (2:26)
B1 Lula Viers (3:54)
B2 The Rarden Wreck Of 1893 (The Wreck On The CP & V) (2:12)
B3 John Henry (2:29)
B4 Molly Bonder (3:30)
[Credits]
Bruce Buckley (guitar/vocals)
Producer: Charles Edward Smith
[Notes]
These musical vignettes of historical events feature tales of outlaws, murders, feuds, and trainwrecks. In these fascinating accounts of misfortune in the Ohio River Valley, tragedy finds folk expression. Charles Edward Smith provides extensive notes about the events described in Bruce Buckley's performances.