Close to Home: Old Time Music from Mike Seeger's Collection 1952-1967

Smithsonian Folkways – SF CD 40097

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1997
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Old Time
[Tracklist]
01 In the Sweet Bye and Bye: Elizabeth Cotten (1:24)
02 Tie Your Dog, Sally Gal: Will Adam (2:41)
03 Banjo Instrumental: J.C. "Cleve" Sutphin (2:01)
04 Lost Train Blues: V.L. Sutphin (1:16)
05 Shortening Bread: V.L. And Cleve Sutphin (1:45)
06 The Train That Carried My Girl from Town: V.L. And Cleve Sutphin (1:30)
07 Old Gambling Man: J.J. Neece (3:24)
08 John Henry: J.J. Neece, Cleve and V.L. Sutphin (2:16)
09 Shout Little Lulu: Louise Foreacre (0:51)
10 He Will Set Your Fields on Fire: Kilby Snow (2:19)
11 Gather in the Golden Grain: Ernest V. and Hattie Stoneman (0:53)
12 Going to Lay Down My Burdens: Elizabeth White and Gideon Craig (1:42)
13 John Henry: Lesley Riddle (2:26)
14 Pretty Fair Damsel: Clarence Ashley (2:29)
15 It's These Hard Times: Pearly "Grandma" Davis (1:23)
16 Old Time Reel: Pearly "Grandma" Davis and Oliver Davis (2:13)
17 Jackson Schottische: A.L. Hall (2:12)
18 Lone Prairie: Wade Ward (1:36)
19 Molly Put the Kettle On: Wade Ward (1:23)
20 Last Gold Dollar: Edsel Martin and Bill McElreath (1:43)
21 John Henry: Bill and Jean Davis (1:11)
22 Three Nights Drunk (Our Goodman): The Blue Ridge Buddies with E.C. and Orna Ball (2:36)
23 Jimmie Sutton: The Blue Ridge Buddies with E.C. and Orna Ball (1:44)
24 Going to Lay Down My Old Guitar: Snuffy Jenkins and Ira Dimmery (0:59)
25 Black Mountain Rag: The McGee Brothers and Arthur Smith (2:21)
26 A Talk on the World: Clyde Lewis (4:52)
27 Red Wing: Lost John Ray and Walt Koken (0:53)
28 Leather Britches: Eck Robertson and the New Lost City Ramblers (3:02)
29 Blackberry Blossom: Sherman Lawson (2:01)
30 Alabama Gals: Emmett Cole (0:59)
31 Old Joe Clark: George Landers (0:50)
32 Sugar Baby: Dock Boggs (2:41)
33 Queen Sally: Archie Sturgill (1:47)
34 Poor Orphan: Kate Peters Sturgill (3:09)
35 My Virginia Rose: Scott Boatright (2:19)
36 I'm Leaving You: Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter (2:38)
37 He Said If You Love Me, Feed My Sheep: The Stancer Quartet (2:56)
38 I Would Not Live Always: Clarence Ferrill (1:32)
[Credits]
Producer, Recorder, Liner Notes & Photographer: Mike Seeger, Photographer (Cover): Alice Gerrard, Mastering Engineer: Dave Glasser
[Notes]
In the 1950's and sixties musician-collector Mike Seeger, inspired by the great folksong collectors of the 1930's, visited traditional musicians of the rural South. This is his handpicked selection of the recordings made during those visits. Included in the 38 selections are previously unreleased recordings by the well-known Sara & Maybelle Carter, Arthur Smith, Elizabeth Cotten, and Dock Boggs, as well as treasures by lesser-known artists. The enclosed booklet contains photographs and notes on the performance, which include virtuoso fiddle, banjo, and guitar music, unaccompanied ballad singing, and a story-teller entertaining his buddies in a fiddler's convention parking lot.

The Village Out West: The Lost Tapes of Alan Oakes

Field Recordings of the 1960s California Folk Music Scene

Smithsonian Folkways - SFW40245

Format: 2 x CD, Album
Released: 2021
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Old Time
[Disk One]
01 Beaumont Rag: Hank Bradley and Rick Shubb (3:13)
02 Oh, Had I A Golden Thread: Larry Hanks and Roger Perkins (3:58)
03 Westphalia Waltz: Ron Hughey, Frank Hicks, and Pete Everwine (2:52)
04 Raggedy Pat: LaWanda Ultan (1:37)
05 8th of January: The Sweet's Mill Mountain Boys with Kenny Hall (2:23)
06 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms: Merritt Herring (2:33)
07 The Billboard Song: Doc Watson (2:12)
08 Write Me a Few of Yo Lines: Mississippi Fred McDowell (4:22)
09 Milwaukee Blues: Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band (2:49)
10 Swallow Song: Kathy & Carol (1:34)
11 Charlie's Neat and Charlie's Sweet / Weevilly Wheat: Jerry Houck, Larry Hanks, and Tom Ninkovich (2:04)
12 Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee: Jim Ringer, Ron Tinkler, and the Sweets Mill Mountain Boys (2:08)
13 Gimme That Old Time Religion: Rev. Gary Davis (4:09)
14 Talking Union: Gene Bluestein (2:42)
15 All My Friends Gonna Be Strangers: Kilby Snow (1:54)
16 Texas Quickstep: The Sweet’s Mill Mountain Boys with Kenny Hall (1:15)
17 Long Time a-Growing: Caroline Paton (4:00)
18 Mardi Gras Dance: Jerry Houck (3:30)
19 Lady of Carlisle: Don Rollins (aka Abel Fortune) (3:59)
20 White Winged Dove: Mark Spoelstra (4:28)
21 Sardines and Pork and Beans: Sandy and Caroline Paton (1:22)
22 Hoop-e-Kack: Dad Crockett and Frank Hicks (2:29)
23 Down, Down, Derry Down: Merritt Herring (2:55)
24 Walking Down That Railroad Line: Larry Hanks and Mark Spoelstra (4:16)
25 Duna: Ed Trickett (2:11)
26 Orange Blossom Special: Hank Bradley, Rick Shubb, and Doc Watson (4:18)
[Disk Two]
01 Fire on the Mountain: The Sweet's Mill Mountain Boys with Kenny Hall (1:28)
02 When the Curfew Blows: Sandy and Jeanie Darlington (1:48)
03 Ragtime Annie: Hank Bradley and Rick Shubb featuring Doc Watson (2:58)
04 The Hounds are Out (The Innocent Hare): Allan MacLeod (3:15)
05 Bachelor Blues: The New Lost City Ramblers (1:13)
06 Jimmy Whelan: Roger Renwick (3:41)
07 Paddy, Won't You Drink Some Cider?: The Sweet's Mill Mountain Boys with Kenny Hall (1:17)
08 Good Night Waltz: Ron Hughey and Frank Hicks (2:08)
09 Searchin': Kathy & Carol with Will Scarlett (2:30)
10 The Clouds Gwine Roll Away: Doc Watson (2:41)
11 Northfield: Larry Hanks, Roger Perkins, Kathy Larisch, and Carol McComb (2:02)
12 Baby, Let Me Lay It on You: Rev. Gary Davis (2:56)
13 Talking Fishing Blues: Larry Hanks (5:01)
14 Sweet Sunny South: Jerry Houck (2:27)
15 Play Run Run: Mark Spoelstra (2:29)
16 Cherokee Shuffle: Hank Bradley and Sandy Rothman featuring Doc Watson (3:21)
17 Bringing Mary Home: Kilby Snow (2:34)
18 The Lost Trapper: The Sweet’s Mill Mountain Boys with Kenny Hall (1:38)
19 Don't Mistreat Nobody (Cause You Got a Few Dimes): Mississippi Fred McDowell (4:19)
20 Billy in the Lowground: Hank Bradley and Rick Shubb featuring Doc Watson (3:31)
21 The Curlew's Song: Merritt Herring (3:55)
22 Jamie Raeburn's Farewell: Will Spires (4:02)
23 Hesitation Blues: Rev. Gary Davis (4:06)
24 I'm a Rover and Seldom Sober: Sandy and Caroline Paton (2:54)
25 O, Them Golden Slippers: Hank Bradley and Rick Shubb (2:06)
[Credits]
Recorder: Alan Oakes, Producer and Liner Notes: Deborah Robins, Jeff Place and Henry H. Sapoznik, Liner Notes: Hank Bradley and James Deutsch, Designer: Cooley Design Lab, Engineers: Jordan Cunningham and Ronnie Simpkins
[Notes]
The Village Out West celebrates the underappreciated bastion of the Folk Revival that emerged in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s, a counterpoint to the seminal New York City scene that has dominated the historical narrative. Compiled from a vast array of recordings by autodidact recording engineer Alan Oakes, the two-CD set features legendary names like Hank Bradley, Rev. Gary Davis, Larry Hanks, Mississippi Fred McDowell, New Lost City Ramblers, and Doc Watson, as well as unsung heroes of the local California communities that turned the region into fertile ground for American music. This music triumphantly transcends the passage of the decades with its luminous and passionate presence, making the case for California as a crucial hotbed for some of the most impressive and diverse folk music of the 20th century.

If You Ain't Got The Do-Re-Mi

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW40195

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Mar 13, 2007
Genre: Reggae, Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Country Blues, Calypso
[Tracklist]
01 Wall Street Rag: Ann Charters (3:51)
02 Empty Pocket Blues: Pete Seeger (1:29)
03 Do-Re-Mi: Woody Guthrie (2:31)
04 Bill Morgan and His Gal: The New Lost City Ramblers (2:55)
05 One Meat Ball: Josh White (3:09)
06 Jim Fisk: June Lazare (2:51)
07 Gallis Pole: Lead Belly (2:44)
08 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?: Joe Glazer (3:59)
09 Yankee Dollar: Lord Invader (2:28)
10 If I Had a Million Dollars: Speckled Red (4:25)
11 Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out: Rolf Cahn and Eric Von Schmidt (4:46)
12 If I Lose, I Don't Care: The New Lost City Ramblers (2:57)
13 Banks of Marble: Pete Seeger (3:13)
14 The Old Arm Chair: Gale Huntington (3:36)
15 The Money Rolls In: Derek Lamb (1:18)
16 Business: Pete Seeger (2:04)
17 If You Lose Your Money: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (2:40)
18 Union Maid: Almanac Singers (2:08)
19 Greenback Dollar: Kilby Snow (1:45)
20 The Miller and His Sons: Horton Barker (3:12)
21 Penny's Farm: Pete Seeger (1:47)
22 Billy Grimes the Rover: The New Lost City Ramblers (2:28)
23 Ida Mae: Joe Glazer (2:20)
24 Last Gold Dollar: Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1:15)
25 Black Dog Blues: The Stoneman Family (2:10)
26 I Don't Want Your Millions Mister: Almanac Singers (2:54)
27 Pretty Boy Floyd: Woody Guthrie (3:03)
[Credits]
Compilers: Jack Manischewitz and John Herzog, Liner Notes: Jeff Place, Designer: Joe Parisi, Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
As a subject, money has always generated great interest. If You Ain't Got the Do Re Mi celebrates the songs and singers whose words express the human side of money: hope or frustration, criticism or humor, desire or avowed disinterest. This compilation from the Smithsonian Folkways archive marks the opening of the Museum of American Finance on New York City’s Wall Street, and lets the voices of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, and other folk music legends ring out their stories of rags and riches. 24-page booklet. 74 minutes.

Masters of Old-time Country Autoharp

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40115

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2006
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
01 Stoney's Waltz: Ernest V. Stoneman (1:56)
02 Sweet Marie: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (2:00)
03 John Henry: Kilby Snow (2:07)
04 May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?: Kilby Snow (1:37)
05 She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain: Kilby Snow with Wade Ward (1:11)
06 Sweet Sunny South: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:30)
07 Bile'em Cabbage Down: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:02)
08 Marching Through Georgia: Ernest V. Stoneman (1:20)
09 Wreck of Number Nine: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:49)
10 Ella's Grave: Neriah Benfield (1:45)
11 Waltz: Neriah Benfield (1:21)
12 Old Joe Clark: Kenneth Benfield (1:25)
13 Shortening Bread: Kenneth Benfield (1:14)
14 Cindy: Kilby Snow (1:10)
15 Budded Roses: Kilby Snow (1:53)
16 Flop-eared Mule: Kilby Snow (1:50)
17 Home Sweet Home: Kilby Snow (2:31)
18 Springtime Again Little Annie: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:11)
19 Great Reaping Day: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:04)
20 Weeping Willow Tree: Kenneth & Neriah Benfield (1:56)
21 I'm Alone, All Alone: Ernest Stoneman with Mike Seeger (2:48)
22 All I Got's Gone: Ernest Stoneman (2:37)
23 Benfield Hoedown (Idaho Girl): Neriah Benfield (1:07)
24 Bonaparte's Retreat: Kenneth Benfield (1:47)
25 Chinese Breakdown: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (2:13)
26 Wildwood Flower: Kilby Snow with Mike Seeger (1:22)
27 Tragic Romance: Kilby Snow with Hazel Dickens & Mike Seeger (1:25)
28 Close By: Kilby Snow (2:03)
29 Way Down in the Country: Kenneth Benfield (1:07)
30 Golden Slippers: Kenneth Benfield (2:11)
31 Lights in the Valley: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (1:25)
32 Chicken Reel: Kilby Snow (0:47)
33 Precious Jewel: Kilby Snow (3:33)
34 Muleskinner Blues: Kilby Snow (2:18)
35 Red River Valley: Kilby and Jim Snow (2:11)
36 Hallelujah Side: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:17)
37 Jacob's Ladder: Kenneth Benfield (1:09)
38 I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow: Kilby Snow (1:52)
[Credits]
Producer, Recorder, Photographer and Liner Notes: Mike Seeger, Liner Notes: Charles Wolfe, Designer: Sonya Cohen Cramer, Editor: Carla Borden, Product Manager: Mary Monseur, Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
The autoharp, invented in the 1870s and a fad in the 1890s, became a virtuoso instrument among the artists featured here as well as other players in the early to mid 20th century. Spirited breakdowns, sentimental and gospel songs—some played as instrumentals—and even a bluegrass song are presented here in this re-release of the only documentary of traditional Southern autoharp players. Includes 14 previously unissued tracks. Recorded, edited, and annotated by Mike Seeger. Song notes by Charles Wolfe. 32-page booklet. 38 tracks; 72 minutes

Mountain Music Played on the Autoharp

Folkways Records FA-2365

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Field Recording, Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
A01 Stoney's Waltz: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:09)
A02 Sweet Marie: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (2:04)
A03 May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?: Kilby Snow (1:41)
A04 She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain: Kilby Snow and Wade Ward (1:15)
A05 Flop-Eared Mule: Kilby Snow (2:01)
A06 Bile Them Cabbage Down: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:40)
A07 All I Got's Gone: Ernest Stoneman (2:40)
A08 Ella's Grave: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (1:50)
A09 Shortenin' Bread: Kenneth Benfield (1:18)
A10 Old Joe Clark: Kenneth Benfield (1:30)
A11 Waltz: Neriah Benfield (1:24)
A12 Precious Jewel: Kilby Snow (3:38)
A13 Ain't Going to Work Tomorrow: Kilby Snow (1:56)
B01 Muleskinner Blues: Kilby Snow (2:22)
B02 John Henry: Kilby Snow (3:35)
B03 Weeping Willow Tree: Neriah and Kenneth Benfield (2:00)
B04 Wreck of Number Nine: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:52)
B05 Red River Valley: Kilby Snow (2:15)
B06 The Great Reaping Day: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:06)
B07 I'm Alone, All Alone: Ernest V. Stoneman (2:50)
B08 Jacob's Ladder: Kenneth Benfield (1:12)
B09 Way Down in the Country: Kenneth Benfield (1:00)
B20 Benfield Hoedown (Idaho Girl): Neriah Benfield (1:12)
B21 Wildwood Flower: Kilby Snow (1:27)
B22 Tragic Romance: Kilby Snow (1:33)
[Credits]
Ernest V. Stoneman (autoharp/vocals) Kenneth Benfield (autoharp) Neriah Benfield (autoharp) Kilby Snow (autoharp) Wade Ward (banjo) Mike Seeger (banjo/guitar) Hazel Dickens (guitar)
Recorder and Producer: Mike Seeger
[Notes]
First patented in 1881 by German instrument repairman Charles Zimmerman, the autoharp first reached popularity as a novelty instrument. By 1900, while that fad had passed, the autoharp found an enduring home in the southern mountains. This compilation features a variety of performers, as well as extensive biographical notes about each contributor.

Kilby Snow: Country Songs and Tunes with Autoharp

Asch Recordings AH 3902

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Appalachian Music
[Tracklist]
A1 Molly Hare (1:48)
A2 Greenback Dollar (1:47)
A3 Wind And Rain (3:08)
A4 Budded Roses (3:29)
A5 Sourwood Mountain (1:49)
A6 The Cannonball (2:13)
A7 Mean Women (2:37)
A8 The Road That's Walked By Fools (2:07)
A9 Autoharp Special (3:46)
B1 I Will Arise (3:05)
B2 The Old Crossroads (2:18)
B3 No Tears In Heaven (2:32)
B4 Lonely Tombs (3:12)
B5 Flop Eared Mule (1:43)
B6 'Round Town Girls (1:56)
B7 Two-Timing Blues (3:17)
B8 Woodrow For President (2:07)
B9 Shady Grove (2:36)
[Credits]
Kilby Snow (autoharp/vocals)
Designer: Ronald Clyne, Recorder: Mike Seeger
[Notes]
Recorded over three days on the stage of an auditorium near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Kilby Snow sings and plays autoharp on this 1969 Folkways release. Snow began playing the autoharp at just three years old. By the time he was five, he won first prize of $20 in gold at a fiddler's convention. Liner notes include an introductory essay by Snow as well as notes on a number of the album's songs.