Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40134

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues
[Tracklist]
01 Old Jabo: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (2:14)
02 Mule-Ridin' Blues: Big Bill Broonzy (3:46)
03 Joggie Boogie: Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon (3:28)
04 Black Woman: Vera Hall (1:27)
05 Mercury Blues: K. C. Douglas (2:21)
06 Ran the Blues Out of My Window: Roosevelt Sykes (2:57)
07 Leaving Blues: Lead Belly (2:23)
08 One Dime Blues: Etta Baker (3:46)
09 County Farm Blues: Son House (2:11)
10 Clog Dance (Stomping Blues): Champion Jack Dupree (2:02)
11 Boll Weevil: Pink Anderson (3:06)
12 Nickel's Worth of Liver: Edith North Johnson and Henry Brown (2:43)
13 Don't Leave Me Here: Big Joe Williams (2:43)
14 Jimmy Bell: Cat Iron (2:20)
15 Candy Man: Rev. Gary Davis (2:35)
16 Beer Drinking Woman: Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon (2:32)
17 Come Go Home with Me: Lightnin' Hopkins (3:55)
18 Careless Love: Josh White (3:23)
19 I Asked Her If She Loved Me: Henry Townsend (2:55)
20 Rising Sun: Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry (2:43)
21 Pony Blues: David "Honeyboy" Edwards (3:28)
22 Vicksburg Blues: Little Brother Montgomery (4:02)
23 Vastapol: Elizabeth Cotten (2:11)
24 Drifting Along Blues: Lonnie Johnson (2:59)
25 Oh Baby, You Don't Have to Go: The Chambers Brothers (2:49)
26 Don't Lie Buddy: Lead Belly and Josh White (2:20)
[Credits]
Producer and Liner Notes: Barry Lee Pearson, Photographers: Marion Post Wolcott and Russell Lee, Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
A living and dynamic tradition, blues is forged in hard times but powerful enough to bring on the good times. Legends such as Lead Belly, Memphis Slim, Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Cotten, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee, among others formed the "blues backbone" of Folkways Records. This compilation from the Smithsonian Folkways collection spans half a century and features Delta, St. Louis, Southwest, and Chicago styles performed by some of the best-known figures in blues history. From boogies to ballads, full of innuendo and irony, this classic collection is a jukebox in a jewel case.

Etta Baker & Cora Phillips: Carolina Breakdown

Music Maker Relief Foundation – MMCD-56

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2006
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Appalachian Music, Piedmont Blues, Country Blues
[Tracklist]
01 John Henry (03:36)
02 Crow Jane (02:21)
03 Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (01:59) 04 Railroad Bill (01:33)
05 Baby I'll Be True (01:36)
06 On The Other Hand Baby (04:02)
07 Never Let Your Deal Go Down (02:07)
08 MIssissippi Blues (03:46)
09 Broken Hearted Blues (05:10)
10 Police Dog Blues (03:32)
11 Marching Jaybird (02:59)
12 Carolina Breakdown (02:56)
13 John Henry (02:01)
14 Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (03:38)
15 On The Other Hand Baby (03:07)
16 Broken Hearted Blues (03:45)
[Credits]
Etta Baker (banjo/guitar/vocals) Cora Phillips (guitar)
Producer: Wayne Martin, Liner Notes: Taj Mahaland and Wayne Martin, Photographer: Timothy Duffy, Designer: Jaimey Easler, Engineer: Wes Lachot and Lesley Williams
[Notes]
Etta Baker is the premier Piedmont blues guitarist. This incredible set was recorded in the 1980s at the height of her instrumental prowess! Features rare recordings of Baker dueting with her elder sister Cora Phillips. Etta Baker is a National Folk Heritage Award Winner and was featured on NPR's Morning Edition in March 2005. She was born in 1913 and has been playing guitar since the age of three. She plays the guitar everyday, and is constantly working on new arrangements.

Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians

Tradition Everest – TLP 1007

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Appalachian Music
[Tracklist]
A01 Cripple Creek: Hobart Smith (01:50)
A02 Pateroller Song: Hobart Smith (01:44)
A03 One Dime Blues: Etta Baker (03:02)
A04 Sourwood Mountain: Mr. Boone Reid (01:52)
A05 Going Down the Road Feeling Bad: Etta Baker (01:26)
A06 Amazing Grace: Mrs. Edd Presnell (01:46)
A07 The Girl I Left Behind Me: Richard Chase (01:28)
A08 Marching Jaybird: Mr. Lacey Phillips (01:22)
A09 John Brown's Dream: Hobart Smith (01:34)
A10 Sally Goodin': Mrs. Edd Presnell (01:03)
B01 Railroad Bill: Etta Baker (02:41)
B02 Soldier's Joy: Mr. Lacey Phillips (02:01)
B03 Molly Brooks: Richard Chase (01:22)
B04 Pretty Polly: Hobart Smith (01:30)
B05 Johnson Boys: Mr. Boone Reid (01:31)
B06 John Henry: Etta Baker (02:40)
B07 Drunken Hiccups: Hobart Smith (01:13)
B08 Shady Grove: Mrs. Edd Presnell (01:11)
B09 Bully of the Town: Etta Baker (02:59)
B10 Skip to My Lou: Richard Chase (01:07)
[Credits]
Boone Reid (banjo) Hobart Smith (fiddle) Mrs. Edd Presnell (dulcimer) Lacey Phillips (banjo) Richard Chase (harmonica) Etta Baker (guitar)
Recorder: Diane Hamilton and Liam Clancy, Liner Notes: Paul Clayton
[Notes]
A group of 20 field recordings of various dances ("Cripple Creek," "Pateroller Song"), folk songs ("Sally Goodin," "The Girl I Left Behind Me," unexpectedly haunting and affecting on harmonica), blues, children's songs ("Skip to My Lou"), and hymns ("Amazing Grace," in an astonishingly beautiful rendition for solo dulcimer), made by Liam Clancy, Paul Clayton, and Diane Hamilton in Virginia and North Carolina during the summer of 1956. They confined themselves to recording local instrumentalists (no singers), including blues guitarist Etta Baker, who was one of Taj Mahal's early mentors. The recordings, as one would expect, have a raw spontaneity that comes from impromptu performance, and the quality of the digital transfer is excellent, with no distortion and surprisingly little background noise. Other players include Boone Reid (banjo), Hobart Smith (fiddle), Mrs. Edd Presnell (dulcimer), Lacey Phillips (banjo), and Richard Chase (harmonica). The raw nature of the recordings is emphasized by little touches, like the foot-stomping one hears in the background of Phillips' rendition of "John Brown's Dream." - AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder

Women Folk: Iconic Women of American Folk

Sunswept Music 063033

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: August 7, 2007
Recorded: 1955 - 1961
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklis]
01 Sail Away Ladies: Odetta (2:23)
02 Railroad Bill: Etta Baker (2:39)
03 When I Was a Young Girl: Barbara Dane (3:42)
04 The Bashful Courtship: Jean Ritchie (2:05)
05 Go 'Way from My Window: Carolyn Hester (2:48)
06 Midnight Special: Odetta (2:37)
07 Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad: Etta Baker (1:24)
08 Nine Hundred Miles: Barbara Dane (2:21)
09 The Old Grey Goose Is Dead: Jean Ritchie (1:27)
10 The Water Is Wide: Carolyn Hester (3:42)
11 He's Got the Whole World in His Hands: Odetta (1:54)
12 John Henry: Etta Baker (2:40)
13 The Danville Girl: Barbara Dane (3:05)
14 The Blackest Crow: Jean Ritchie (1:30)
15 House of the Rising Sun: Carolyn Hester (2:21)
16 Take This Hammer: Odetta (3:27)
17 One Dime Blues: Etta Baker (3:00)
18 Ramblin': Barbara Dane (2:57)
19 Wondrous Love: Jean Ritchie (2:46)
20 Summertime: Carolyn Hester (2:20)
[Credits]
Odetta (guitar/vocals) Etta Baker (guitar/vocals) Barbara Dane (guitar/vocals) Jean Ritchie (dulcimer/vocals) Carolyn Hester (guitar/vocals) Tom Paley (banjo/guitar)
Producer: Rama Barwick, Liner Notes: Oscar Brand and Paul Clayton, Editor: Roger Kash, Designer: Michael Lauzardo, Engineers: Liam Clancy and George Pickow
[Notes]
From Odetta considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century to Jean Ritchie the mother of Appalachian folk music, responsible for exposing us to a treasure trove of material passed down from her ancestors that have since become staples of the world-wide folk scene. Carolyn Hester invited Bob Dylan to play harmonica on her first Columbia record which led to him signing with the label while Barbara Dane raised the bar for all singers when she burst onto the scene in the early 1950’s and a little lady from the Southern Appalachians named Etta Baker set the standard for folk guitarists everywhere