Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40224

Series: African American Legacy Recordings
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Mar 23, 2018
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
01 Black Woman (1:41)
02 Texas Easy Street (3:52)
03 One Dollar Bill (3:42)
04 Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad (2:38)
05 Tyin' Knots in the Devil's Tail (2:50)
06 Home on the Range (4:32)
07 Ol' Proc (3:16)
08 John Henry y los vaqueros (1:59)
09 Po' Howard / Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In (5:15)
10 Knox County Stomp (2:06)
11 He's a Lone Ranger (3:41)
12 Steel Pony Blues (4:34)
13 Little Joe the Wrangler (3:40)
14 Charmin' Betsy (3:58)
15 Goodbye Old Paint (5:32)
16 Lonesome Old River Blues (2:42)
17 The March of Red River Valley (1:57)
18 Old Chisholm Trail (2:06)
[Credits]
Dom Flemons (guitar/dobro/bones/banjo/vocals) Dante Pope (bones/vocals) Brian Farrow (fiddle/vocals) Jimbo Mathus (mandolin/kazoo) Alvin Youngblood Hart (guitar) Dan Sheehy (guitarrón) Stuart Cole (bass)
Producer and Liner Notes: Dom Flemons, Producer: Daniel E. Sheehy, Liner Notes: Jim Griffith and Vania Kinard, Artwork: William Matthews, Photographer: Timothy Duffy, Engineer: Pete Reiniger, Bronson Tew and Charlie Pilzer
[Notes]
Dom Flemons presents Black Cowboys pays tribute to the music, culture, and the complex history of the golden era of the Wild West. In this single volume of music, the first of its kind, Flemons explores and re-analyzes this important part of our American identity. The songs and poems featured on the album take the listener on an illuminating journey from the trails to the rails of the Old West. This century-old story follows the footsteps of the thousands of African American pioneers who helped build the United States of America. 60 minutes, 40-page booklet with extensive notes and photos.

Tim O'Brien: Traveler

Howdy Skies Records – SUG-CD-3978

Format: CD, HDCD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Kelly Joe's Shoes (03:33)
02 I've Endured (03:29)
03 Turn the Page Again (03:43)
04 Let Love Take You Back Again (04:21)
05 Restless Spirit Wandering (05:03)
06 Another Day (04:20)
07 On the Outside Looking In (04:07)
08 Forty-Nine Keep on Talkin' (03:27)
09 Family History (04:29)
10 Fell into Her Deep Blue Eyes (05:05)
11 Travelers (04:39)
12 Less & Less (03:25)
[Credits]
Tim O'Brien (mandolin/guitar/bouzouki/vocals) Dirk Powell (accordion/banjo/bass) John Doyle (guitar/bouzouki) Ray Bonneville (harmonica/vocals) Jerry Douglas (dobro) Béla Fleck (banjo) Casey Driessen (fiddle) Kenny Malone (percussion) Dennis Crouch (bass) Edgar Meyer (bass) Darrell Scott (vocals) Jon Randall Stewart (vocals) Jonell Mosser (vocals)
[Notes]
Traveler arrives like some horseman from the dusty past. His news is blunt, if not apocalyptic, with warnings that the future promises only "rotting flesh and broken bone." His chaps are stained with blood shed during the Civil War, and the trail he's followed from then until now runs alongside the Mississippi before melting into "a road without end" that winds back toward where our memories began. O'Brien lays all this out with help from some impressive players, but even the often incendiary Béla Fleck joins with them in toning down the fireworks and creating evocative settings through the most minimal gestures -- a slow-motion guitar arpeggio, a keening fiddle, a note here or there to complement O'Brien's relaxed delivery. It's significant, perhaps, that the album opens with "Kelly Joe's Shoes," an ode to a pair of beat-up sneakers that gave O'Brien some pretty good mileage, and ends with "Less & Less," which celebrates the joys of moving through life with as little baggage as possible. From music through message, Traveler just about gets it right.-- AllMusic Review by Robert L. Doerschuk

Frank Proffitt

Folk-Legacy Records – FSA-1

Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Old Time
[Tracklist]
A1 Trifling Woman (2:18)
A2 Cluck Old Hen (2:23)
A3 Morning Fair (2:50)
A4 Bonnie James Campbell (1:27)
A5 Lord Randall (3:29)
A6 Handsome Molly (1:45)
A7 Reuben Train (2:57)
A8 Tom Dooley (2:44)
A9 I'm Going Back To North Carolina (1:54)
B1 Moonshine (1:41)
B2 Rye Whiskey (2:31)
B3 I'll Never Get Drunk No More (2:35)
B4 Wild Bill Jones (3:27)
B5 Gyps Of David (2:57)
B6 Song Of A Lost Hunter (4:24)
B7 Sourwood Mountain (2:31)
B8 Going Across The Mountain (2:16)
[Credits]
Frank Proffitt (banjo/vocals)
Recorder, Editor and Liner Notes: Sandy Paton
[Notes]
Frank Proffitt was a musician, luthier, farmer, and carpenter whose source of traditional Appalachian music reached far past the borders of his home of North Carolina. Proffitt is best known for his singing and self-accompanying homemade fretless banjo playing. On this record Frank Proffitt sings "Tom Dooley", a once obscure murder ballad that went on to sell over six million copies after it was recorded and popularized by the Kingston Trio in 1958. These field recordings taken by Sandy Paton make up this impactful first release on Folk-Legacy Records and followed the release of Frank Proffitt Sings Folk Songs, a Folkways release also recorded by Sandy Paton prior to founding Folk-Legacy Records. In the years that followed, Proffitt would become an inspiration to performers of mountain music, playing his homemade banjos and dulcimers at the Newport and Chicago folk festivals, and the 1964 New York World's Fair.

American Skiffle Bands

Folkways Records – FA 2610

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1957
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Jug Band
[Tracklist]
A1 Raise a Ruckus Tonight: The Mobile Strugglers (3:11)
A2 Rock Me, Baby: The Mobile Strugglers (2:56)
A3 My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean: The Mobile Strugglers (3:40)
A4 Trouble, Trouble Followed Me All of My Days: The Mobile Strugglers (3:40)
A5 Interview with Virgil Perkins: Virgil Perkins (1:42)
A6 Goin Around the Mountain, Darlin' Bessie: Virgil Perkins and Jack Sims (3:55)
A7 John Henry: Virgil Perkins and Jack Sims (4:30)
B1 Harmonica and Guitar Blues: The Memphis Jug Band (3:16)
B2 Tippin' Round: The Memphis Jug Band (4:44)
B3 Interview and Solos: a. Old John Booker, You Call That Gone: Gus Cannon (4:13)
B4 What You Gonna Do, Baby, When Your Troubles Get Like Mine: The Memphis Jug Band (2:41)
B5 Interview with Will Shade and Charlie Burse: Will Shade and Charlie Burse (2:51)
B6 Take Your Fingers Off It (2:57)
[Notes]
The skiffle band—a kind of ensemble that nearly disappeared after the 1920s—uses homemade or inexpensive instruments, including washboards, harmonicas, jugs, washtub basses, kazoos, tin flutes, woodblocks, and slide whistles to play a variety of songs. The recordings featured here were made between 1954 and 1957, and the musicians are mostly older men.

Bluegrass Class of 1990: A Rounder Records Sampler

Rounder Records – CD AN 07

Format: CD, Sampler
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 Lost and I'll Never Find the Way: Ricky Skaggs (02:07)
02 I'll Love Nobody But You: Jim & Jesse (02:18)
03 Let the Whole World Talk: The Johnson Mountain Boys (02:41)
04 Love You in Vain: Alison Krauss (02:23)
05 Bitter Green: Tony Rice (02:44)
06 Feast Here Tonight: David Grisman (02:33)
07 Old Devil's Dream: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:32)
08 What Was I Supposed to Do?: Lynn Morris (02:49)
09 Leather Britches: Sam Bush (03:43)
10 Old Home Place: J.D. Crowe (02:49)
11 Devil, Take the Farmer: Dry Branch Fire Squad (03:53)
12 Mansion on the Hill: Whistein Brothers (02:23)
13 Medley: Fiddler's Dream / Whiskey Before Breakfast: Norman Blake / Tony Rice (04:40)
14 This Old House: The Rice Brothers (04:56)
15 Foolish Heart: Alison Krauss (03:27)
16 Whitewater: Béla Fleck (03:10)
17 Preachin', Prayin', Singin': The Bluegrass Album Band (02:33)
18 Don't Worry: The Johnson Mountain Boys (03:00)
19 John Henry: Tony Furtado (02:43)
20 I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent): David Grisman (01:58)
21 Greenlight on the Southern: Tony Rice (03:23)
22 No Hiding Place: The Nashville Bluegrass Band (02:49)
[Notes]
This compilation album reads like a who's-who of the progressive bluegrass/new acoustic music movement: pros like mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, dobro player Jerry Douglas and a pre-Flecktones Bela Fleck are all represented, as well as the (very) young Alison Krauss and many, many others. -- AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson

Fast Folk Musical Magazine Vol.1 No.1

Fast Folk Musical Magazine – FF 101

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Drummer Boy: David Indian and Mark Dann (6:26)
A2 Don't Ever Call Your Sweetheart by His Name: Christine Lavin and Mark Dann (2:21)
A3 The Girls of Denmark: Eric Andersen (5:08)
A4 Ottomanelli: Germana Pucci, Jill Burkee, Peter Lewy, and Mark Dann (4:26)
A5 Indiana: Tom McGhee and Mark Dann (3:34)
A6 Tom's Diner: Suzanne Vega (2:15)
B1 So Long to Love: Brian Rose, Mark Dann, Christine Lavin, and Jack Hardy (3:22)
B2 I Saw a Stranger with Your Hair: John Gorka and Mark Dann (3:36)
B3 Big Mistake, As performed by Left Field: Left Field (2:31)
B4 Rain: Jim Glover, Ned Treanor, M.G. Ivice, and Mark Dann (2:42)
B5 Don't Play No Andrews Sisters: Baby Gramps (2:36)
B6 Don't Slip Away: Cyrus Clarke (4:05)
[Credits]
Producer: Jack Hardy, Recorder: Mark Dann
[Notes]
Fast Folk Musical Magazine debuted in January 1984 as the successor to The CooP folk music magazine. The editorial goal of Fast Folk was to promote the performance of "noncommercial artistic music," also known as American folk music. This collection of includes performances by veteran folk singer Eric Anderson ("The Girls of Denmark") and emerging singer-songwriters Christine Lavin (the witty "Don’t Ever Call Your Sweetheart By His Name") and Suzanne Vega ("Tom's Diner"). Itinerant street performer Baby Gramps contributes "Don't Play No Andrews Sisters," longtime folk singer Jim Glover performs "Rain," and Left Field, formed during the 1981 baseball strike, adds their political song "A Big Mistake" to the mix. A 20-page copy of the magazine accompanies the music.

Sing Me Back Home: The Music Of Merle Haggard

Blackbird Presents – 8914027545

Format: 2 x CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2020
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
01 What Am I Gonna Do (With The Rest Of My Life): Ben Haggard (4:54)
02 Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine: Ben Haggard & Aaron Lewis (4:04)
03 The Farmer's Daughter: Tanya Tucker (2:55)
04 I'm A Lonesome Fugitive: Bobby Bare (3:30)
05 0That's The Way Love Goes: Connie Smith (3:00)
06 Big City: John Anderson (3:05)
07 Carolyn/Daddy Frank: Toby Keith (4:10)
08 Don't Give Up On Me: Buddy Miller (3:10)
09 Footlights: Jake Owen & Chris Janson (4:26)
10 Going Where The Lonely Go: Lucinda Williams (3:39)
11 Kern River: Jamey Johnson (4:46)
12 Silver Wings: Alabama (1:52)
13 I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink: Hank Williams, Jr. (2:18)
14 Today I Started Loving You Again: Loretta Lynn (2:32)
15 Honky Tonk Night Time Man: Lynyrd Skynyrd (4:18)
16 Mama Tried: The Avett Brothers (3:02)
17 White Line Fever: John Mellencamp (4:53)
18 Rainbow Stew: Kacey Musgraves (2:28)
19 It's All In The Movies: Ronnie Dunn (3:19)
20 The Bottle Let Me Down: Billy F Gibbons (2:50)
21 Workin' Man Blues: Billy F Gibbons & Warren Haynes (6:04)
22 If We Make It Through December: Dierks Bentley (2:35)
23 Natural High: Sheryl Crow (3:32)
24 Misery And Gin: Miranda Lambert (3:01)
25 Pancho And Lefty: Willie Nelson & Kenny Chesney (4:38)
26 Sing Me Back Home: Keith Richards (5:14)
27 Reasons To Quit: Keith Richards & Willie Nelson (3:45)
28 Ramblin' Fever: Willie Nelson & Toby Keith (2:57)
29 Okie From Muskogee: Various (1:35)
[Credits]
Executive-Producer: Keith Wortman, Mark Rothbaum, Theresa Haggard, Music Director: Ben Haggard, Buddy Cannon, Don Was
[Notes]
Recorded Live On April 6th, 2017 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The lineup for the Merle Haggard tribute concert—dubbed Sing Me Back Home. The Music of Merle Haggard—just got a little bigger with the addition of Sheryl Crow and Rolling Stones guitarist/vocalist Keith Richards. "Stuff happens, but you just have to be your own man, and have something to say," said Keith in a statement.

Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand and David Sear: A Folk Concert in Town Hall, New York

Folkways Records – FA 2428

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: US
Released: 1959
Genre:Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Shortnin' Bread
A2 Ha Ha This-A-Way
A3 Shady Grove
A4 The Rolling Of The Stones
A5 Pretty Polly
A6 The Admiral
A7 Dhrinnin Dhu Dhrinnin
A8 My Boy Willy
A9 Jenny Jenkins
B1 Poor Howard
B2 Lord Randall
B3 Ennery My Son
B4 The Inniskillin Dragoon
B5 Trip Trap Robbers In The Sea
B6 The Talking Atom
B7 Aiken Drum
B8 Fair And Tender Ladies
B9 Black-Eyed Susie [Credits]
Jean Ritchie (vocals) Oscar Brand (guitar/vocals) David Sea(guitar/vocals)
Designer: Ronald Clyne, Photographer: George Pickow
[Notes]
This live recording of three very different singers presents Jean Ritchie's southern ballads, Oscar Brand's sea songs and "atomic blues," and Dave Sear's repertoire of Scottish songs. The three enjoy working together, and their enthusiasm is audible in both the music and the spoken introductions to several tracks.

The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW 40085

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Gospel, Blues, Cajun, Country, & Jug
[Tracklist]
01 East Virginia Blues: Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, and Jay Bennett (2:45)
02 I'm on the Battlefield for My Lord: Ethel Caffie-Austin (2:36)
03 John Henry: John Jackson (3:21)
04 A Lazy Farmer Boy: Greg Hooven String Band (3:17)
05 Old Dog Blue: Lonnie Pitchford (3:03)
06 Home Sweet Home: The New Lost City Ramblers (3:13)
07 The Butcher Boy: Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz (4:12)
08 John the Revelator: Ethel Caffie-Austin (2:36)
09 His Tapes Roll On: Peter Stampfel (4:43)
10 Minglewood Blues: John Sebastian and the J Band with Geoff Muldaur (3:42)
11 The Coo Coo Bird: Ella Jenkins (2:49)
12 Frankie and Johnny: John Jackson (2:51)
13 Sugar Baby: Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, and Jay Bennett (2:59)
14 Le Vieux Soulard et sa Femme (bon vieux mari): Balfa Toujours (2:37)
15 Spike Driver Blues: Dave Van Ronk (4:25)
16 Darling Corey: Greg Hooven String Band (2:31)
17 The Coo Coo Bird: Toshi Reagon (3:29)
18 James Alley Blues: Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, and Jay Bennett (3:23)
19 Nothing: The Fugs (3:01)
[Credits]
Recorder & Producer: Pete Reiniger, Producer & Liner Notes: Robert Santelli and Jeff Place
[Notes]
Powerful new interpretations of Southern musical traditions, recorded live in October, 1997, at the Barns of Wolf Trap. These contemporary versions of songs that either appeared on the Grammy-Award winning Anthology of American Folk Music or are associated with its compiler, Harry Smith (tracks 9 and 19), are a wild mix of styles from "gangsta folk" to gospel, blues, Cajun, country rock, jug band, and more. A stellar group of musicians pays tribute to the past and dramatically demonstrates the enduring vitality of America’s traditional music. Extensive notes, discographies, and photographs. Produced by Pete Reiniger, Jeff Place and Bob Santelli, and annotated by Jeff Place and Bob Santelli.

Down Home Saturday Night

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40182

Format: CD, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Cajun, Hillbilly, Hill Country Blues, Texas Blues
[Tracklist]
01 Minglewood Blues: John Sebastian and the J Band with Geoff Muldaur (3:41)
02 White House Blues: Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys (1:58)
03 Le Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme: Balfa Toujours (2:37)
04 El Sinaloense: Mingo Saldívar y y sus Tremendos Cuatro Espadas (4:07)
05 It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day): Erbie Bowser, T.D. Bell, and the Blues Specialists (4:09)
06 Big Ball’s in Cowtown: The Texas Playboys (3:06)
07 Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie: Memphis Slim (4:10)
08 Bill Morgan and His Gal: The New Lost City Ramblers (2:55)
09 You Keep On Doggin’ Me: Sonny Terry, J.C. Burris, Sticks McGhee (2:41)
10 Bosco Stomp: Nonc Allie Young, Bessyl Duhon, Rodney Balfa (3:01)
11 Walking Blues: Arbee Stidham, Memphis Slim, and Jump Jackson (3:10)
12 Hey Bartender, There’s A Bug In My Beer: Warner Williams and Eddie Pennington (2:43)
13 Oh Baby, You Don’t Have to Go: The Chambers Brothers (2:45)
14 Chiquitos Pero Picos: Los Polkeros de Ben Tavera King (2:00)
15 Uncle Bud: Boozoo Chavis and the Magic Sounds (2:56)
[Credits]
Compilers: Mark Gustafson, Brian Scott and Jeff Place, Mastering Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
On any Saturday night, rollicking down-home music can be heard throughout the USA, be it bluegrass, blues, boogie woogie, country, Cajun, zydeco, Texas swing, or Texas Mexican conjunto. Down Home Saturday Night has them all. Smithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place compiled these 15 tracks of American regional and ethnic roots music with one idea in mind: to bring people together and have fun with music and musicians from across the land.

American Folk Songs Sung by the Seegers

Folkways Records – FA 2005

Format: Vinyl, LP, 10"
Country: US
Released: 1957
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Old Molly Hare (2:32)
A2 When I First Came To This Land (2:33)
A3 Jane, Jane (1:35)
A4 The Rich Irish Lady (3:32)
A5 My Home Across The Smoky Mountain (2:35)
A6 Freight Train BLues (2:48)
B1 The Wedding Dress Song (2:11)
B2 Fair Ellender (3:57)
B3 Five Times Five (2:06)
B4 The Kicking Mule (2:39)
B5 Dance To Your Daddy (1:16)
B6 Goodbye, Little Bonnie (2:51)
[Credits]
Mike Seeger (autoharp/banjo/fiddle/guitar/mandolin/vocals) Peggy Seeger (banjo/guitar/vocals) Barbara Seeger (autoharp/vocals) Penny Seeger (guitar/vocals) Ralph Rinzler (guitar/mandolin/autoharp)
Liner Notes: Charles Seeger Sr.
[Notes]
Mike, Peggy, Barbara, and Penny Seeger join forces on this album of folk songs, which includes ballads, lullabies, and ring games. Particularly interesting is the accompanying essay by musicologist Charles Seeger, who writes about the communication between urban and rural musical forms.

Bluegrass at Carnegie Hall: John Duffey & Charlie Waller and The Country Gentlemen

Starday Records SLP-174

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 I Know I've Lost You (3:00)
A2 Nobody's Business (2:06)
A3 Down Where The Still Waters Flow (3:50)
A4 Country Concert (2:20)
A5 A Letter To Tom (2:58)
A6 Two Little Boys (3:10)
A7 These Men Of God (2:15)
B1 Red Rockin' Chair (2:03)
B2 I'll Never Marry (2:50)
B3 Willie Roy - The Crippled Boy (3:55)
B4 Sunrise (3:12)
B5 Silence Or Tears (2:37)
B6 New Freedom Bell (2:26)
B7 The Church Back Home (2:30)
[Credits]
Charlie Waller (guitar/vocals) John Duffey (mandolin/vocals) Eddie Adcock (banjo/vocals) Tom Gray (bass/vocals)
[Notes]
Originally released on Starday in 1962, Bluegrass at Carnegie Hall isn't a live album, even though the title suggests that it is. Instead, it is a collection of excellent studio recordings made around the same time as their 1961 appearance at Carnegie Hall, that rank among their finest early recordings. -- AllMusic Review by Thom Owens

Can The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music's First Family

Legacy – CK 65707

Series: The American Milestones Series
Format: CD, Compilation, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2000
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Country
[Tracklist]
01 Can The Circle Be Unbroken (3:06)
02 Lulu Wallis (2:52)
03 My Clinch Mountain Home (2:52)
04 Wildwood Flower (3:15)
05 Worried Man Blues (2:59)
06 Keep On The Sunny Side (2:49)
07 Gospel Ship (2:55)
08 My Texas Girl (3:04)
09 Sinking In The Lonesome Sea (3:14)
10 Cannon Ball Blues (2:53)
11 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (2:52)
12 River Of Jordan (2:43)
13 The Storms Are On The Ocean (3:05)
14 On The Rock Where Moses Stood (3:02)
15 The Little Black Train (2:52)
16 Single Girl, Married Girl (3:03)
17 Kissing Is A Crime (2:33)
18 Blackie's Gunman (2:41)
19 My Home Among The Hills (2:38)
20 Black Jack David (2:39)
[Credits]
Sara Carter (autoharp/guitar/vocals) Maybelle Carter (guitar/vocals) A.P. Carter (vocals)
Producer: Lawrence Cohn, Engineers: David Mitson and Stephan Mars
[Notes]
The second half of the Carter Family's recorded output largely rests with the contents of this CD. It's their output for Columbia's OKeh and Conqueror labels, 17 of the 20 recorded over five days in May 1935 and the final three from an October 1940 session. In typical Carter Family fashion, the material is wide ranging and eclectic, running from British folk music ("Black Jack David," "Sinking in the Lonesome Sea") to gospel ("On the Rock Where Moses Stood," "River of Jordan") to blues ("Worried Man Blues") and beyond. Along the way we're treated to re-cuts of notable Carter "hits" like "Can the Circle Be Unbroken," "Wildwood Flower," and "Keep on the Sunny Side." After you collect all of their Victor recordings from the 1920s, here's your next stop, an indispensable addition to any basic country collection. -- AllMusic Review by Cub Koda

Pete Seeger: Rainbow Quest

Folkways Records – FA 2454

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1960
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1a Colorado Trail
A1b Spanish Is The Loving Tongue
A1c From Here On Up
A1d Texas Girls
A1e Swarthmore Girls
A1f We Pity Our Bosses Five
A1g The Scabs Crawl In
A2a Open The Door, Softly
A2b Road To Athay
A2c Why Do Scotsmen?
A2d Hold Up Your Petticoat
A2e Oh, There's Two On My Back
A3a Seek And You Shall Find
A3b Fare Well, Little Fishes
A3c Where Have All The Flowers Gone
A3d Never Again Shall We Allow Another Atom Bomb To Fall
A3e Step By Step
A3f Joe Hill's Last Will
A3g Seek And You Shall Find
B01 Oh, Had I A Golden Thread
B02 There's Better Things To Do
B03 The Dove
B04 Five Fingers
B05 To Everyone In All The World
B06 We Are Moving On To Victory (From Montgomery Bus Boycott)
B07 Don't You Weep After Me
[Credits]
Producer: Moses Asch, Designer: Designers Collaborative, Photographer: Raeburn Flerlage
[Notes]
"To everyone in all the world / I reach my hand, I shake their hand," sings Pete Seeger. The material performed on this album—from a Japanese song, "Never Again Shall We Allow Another Atom Bomb to Fall（原爆許すまじ）" to a refrain sung during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955—expresses the theme "To Everyone In the World."

Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall

Columbia – CS 8845

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1963
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Salty Dog Blues (1:57)
A2 Durham's Reel (1:04)
A3 Hot Corn, Cold Corn (2:21)
A4 Footprints In The Snow (2:37)
A5 Flint Hill Special (2:23)
A6 Dig A Hole In The Meadow (2:00)
B1 The Martha White Theme (1:13)
B2 I Wonder Where You Are Tonight (1:39)
B3 Mama Blues (1:25)
B4 Take This Hammer (2:06)
B5 Fiddle And Banjo (1:26)
B6 Yonder Stands Little Maggie (1:48)
B7 Let The Church Roll On (2:01)
[Credits]
Lester Flatt (guitar/vocals) Earl Scruggs (banjo/guitar/vocals) Josh Graves (dobro) Paul Warren (fiddle) Billy Powers (guitar) Cousin Jake (bass)
[Notes]
Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York on December 8, 1962. Originally released on Columbia (8845). Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were big news at the height of the late '50s/early '60s folk revival. New York City was essentially ground zero for a mania that extended to all things musical and Southern. So something of a love-fest occurred when Flatt and Scruggs and their polished bluegrass band rolled into town on one December night in 1962 to play no less a venue than Carnegie Hall. There are screams from the crowd for "Martha White" (the theme song from the band's radio sponsor), and Scruggs has no choice but to encore the banjo showpiece "Flint Hill Special." To know what the Foggy Mountain Boys sounded like in their natural habitat, you'd have to go to transcripts of the band playing a school auditorium or radio hour somewhere south of the Jersey Turnpike. CARNEGIE HALL still gives you a taste of how Flatt and Scruggs put together a show before their original band disintegrated under the weight of the revival itself. As you might expect from a live recording of this era, the sound favors the top end. Vocals, fiddle, and banjo breaks come through best, especially as the band performs with only two microphones among its six performers.

Bluegrass Blast: A Mixed Bag of Ol' Timey Music

Folkways Records – FTS 31038

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1974
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Comin' Round The Mountain (4:00)
A2 Cider Mill (1:15)
A3 Mountain Dew (2:52)
A4 Cousin Sally Brown (1:38)
A5 June Apple (1:45)
A6 Auld Lang Syne (4:07)
B1 John Hardy (2:06)
B2 Johnny Booker (1:45)
B3 Simple Gifts (3:15)
B4 Little Rabbit (2:30)
B5 Leaving Of Liverpool (3:30)
B6 Fortune (1:15)
B7 Grandfather's Clock (3:35)
[Credits]
Roger Sprung (banjo/autoharp) Hal Wylie (guitar) Arnie Feldman (banjo) Ken Kosek (fiddle) Richard Smith (mandolin) Corky Ballard (bass)
Liner Notes: Roger Sprung and Ron Norman, Photographer: Ron Norman
[Notes]
Banjo virtuoso Roger Sprung joins with guitarist Hal Wylie and the Progressive Bluegrassers quintet in the instrumental performance of a baker's dozen of old time mountain and bluegrass music. Although born in New York City, Sprung learned to play in the bluegrass style by listening to Earl Scruggs, Pete Seeger and Tom Paley. He is sometimes referred to as being "the father of New England bluegrass." An added note: his 1927 Gibson banjo was built from the parts of two other banjos.

Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs

Collector Records 1918

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 We Shall Not Be Moved (2:26)
A2 Hold The Fort (1:55)
A3 That's All (1:41)
A4 Joe Hill (2:35)
A5 Union Maid (2:06)
A6 Casey Jones (2:05)
A7 Which Side Are You On (2:54)
A8 The Mill Was Made Of Marble (3:56)
B1 Solidarity Forever (2:30)
B2 Automation (2:36)
B3 Hard Times In The Mill (2:16)
B4 Look For The Union Lable (2:44)
B5 John Henry (4:04)
B6 Too Old To Work (2:54)
B7 Union Buster (2:45)
[Credits]
Joe Glazer (guitar/vocals)
[Notes]
The first album in Collector Records’ series on industrial folklore and folksong, Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs was recorded live in 1967 during a training program for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees held in Washington, DC. Including songs such as "We Shall Not be Moved," "We Are Building a Strong Union," "John Henry" and Glazer’s own "Too Old to Work." Listeners are guaranteed to be inspired to continue the "battle for social justice."

The Golden Eagle String Band: Grand Canal Ballads - History of the Erie Canal

Folkways Records – FTS 32318

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Oh! Dat Low Bridge (2:54)
A2 Paddy On The Canal (4:00)
A3 Dark-eyed Canaller (1:47)
A4 I'm Afloat On The Erie Canal (2:09)
A5 Ballad Of The Erie Canal (2:44)
A6 Boating On A Bull-head (3:48)
A7 Meeting On The Waters Of The Hudson And Erie (2:33)
B1 The Er-i-e (3:30)
B2 A Trip On The Erie (1:18)
B3 That Long Canal (3:57)
B4 Canawler, Canawler-Hoggee On The Towpath (1:54)
B5 The Raging Canal (5:33)
B6 The Aged Pilot Man (3:19)
B7 Low Bridge, Everybody Down (3:11)
[Credits]
William Hullfish (banjo/vocals) Larry Chechak (guitar/harmonica/banjo/vocals) Laurie Outermans (autoharp/vocals) Susan Clark (dulcimer/vocals) Daniel Flanigan (guitar/whistle/vocals) Mike Mumford (mandolin/vocals) Shary Sanduski (mandolin/vocals) Stephan Hullfish (bass/vocals) Jim Riley (guitar/vocals) Shows Leary (jew's harp/spoons/washboard) Lynn Pilaroscia (fiddle) Stuart Durell (guitar) Mike Ryan (banjo) Brent Bassi, Christine Fraleigh, John Rose, Kathleen Anne Kubarycz, Kim Bassi, and Matt Hullfish (vocals)
Read: John Price, Liner Notes: Jean Papalia, Engineer: Billie Michie, Fred Wagner, Lloyd Graf, and Russell Salerno
[Notes]
The Golden Eagle String Band presents stories about the Erie Canal through song. Opening in 1825 and linking Lake Erie to New York City by way of the Hudson River, the Erie Canal was a major force in the commercial life of New York State, creating many jobs as well as rich folklore. The album includes perhaps the best known and best loved canal song, "Low Bridge, Everybody Down."The Golden Eagle String Band is composed of 16 musicians (plus four children), who, in addition to singing, perform on 12 different folk instruments. For another Smithsonian Folkways recording of New York State songs performed by the Golden Eagle String Band, see Body, Boots and Britches: Folk Songs of New York State (FW32317). Liner notes detail the history of the canal (including historic photos) and provide the background and lyrics for each song.

The Country Gentlemen: On The Road (And More)

Folkways Records – FA 2411

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1963
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Folk
[Tracklist]
A1 Handsome Molly (2:59)
A2 The Sunny Side Of Life (2:33)
A3 Poor Ellen Smith (2:28)
A4 The Long Black Veil (4:10)
A5 Grandfather's Clock (3:14)
A6 Ain't Got A Home (3:48)
B1 Heartaches (2:51)
B2 Glass Of Wine (3:38)
B3 Walking In Jerusalem (2:22)
B4 I Am A Pilgrim (3:00)
B5 A Letter To Tom (3:47)
B6 Rawhide (3:00)
B7 Blue Ridge Mountain Blues (2:59)
[Credits]
Charlie Waller (guitar/vocals) John Duffey (mandolin/vocals) Eddie Adcock (banjo/vocals) Tom Gray (bass/vocals)
[Notes]
Universally acclaimed as one of the most important progressive bluegrass bands, The Country Gentlemen brilliantly encompass a unique blend of folk and bluegrass. Originally released in 1963 by Folkways Records at the height of folk and bluegrass music's popularity, On The Road is an essential example of the Country Gentlemen's definitive style. This album is comprised of excerpts from two live concerts recorded in 1962-63 and six never before released bonus tracks recorded in 1961 at the band's appearance at Carnegie Hall. This reissue offers a rare glimpse of the Country Gentlemen as they appeared on stage at the peak of their creativity. 61 minutes. 32-page booklet with extensive notes.