Why the Anthology of American Folk Music is Important

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records. The Anthology popularized a number of artists and recordings, and helped to revive interest in American folk music.

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records (catalogue FP 251, FP 252, and FP 253), edited by Harry Smith. It is one of the most influential releases in the history of American folk music. The Anthology was compiled from commercial 78 rpm recordings made by fifty-four different record companies during the years 1927–1932 and was originally issued as a box set of three double albums in 1952.

The Anthology was conceived and edited by Harry Smith, an eccentric visionary who was part folklorist, part record collector, and part avant-garde filmmaker. He began collecting 78 rpm records in the late 1920s and continued through the 1930s, eventually accumulating several thousand discs. In 1948, Folkways founder Moses Asch asked Smith to compile a representative selection of his collection for release on LP; the result was not released until four years later.

The original 78 rpm recordings were transferred to tape and then to disc for pressing, resulting in some sound degradation; nevertheless, the Anthology is highly regarded for its selections and historical value. The set includes eighty-two songs representing various genres of American folk music—including ballads, blues, country music, gospel music, Cajun music, and old-time music—and artists such as Aunt Molly Jackson, Buell Kazee, Bukka White, Clarence Ashley, Dock Boggs, Furry Lewis, Josh White Jr., Lead Belly, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Uncle Dave Macon ,and Woody Guthrie.

The Anthology was compiled by musicologist Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by folk label Folkways Records. Compiled by musicologist Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records, the Anthology is one of the most influential releases in the history of American folk music.

The Anthology was released at a time when the American folk music revival was just beginning to gain traction, and it played a significant role in shaping the course of that movement. The collection brought many obscure and forgotten artists to light, and helped to spark new interest in traditional music.

In recent years, the Anthology has been cited as an influence by numerous musicians across genres, including Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, and Sonic Youth. In 2000, the Library of Congress honored the album with a place in the National Recording Registry.

The Anthology is an important document of American folk music

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records, subtitled “Original Soundtrack Recording of the American Folklore from the 1920s and 1930s”. The Anthology was compiled by Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. The collection itself was originally assembled between 1946 and 1948. It is widely regarded as one of the most important documents of American folk music, serving as a major influence on Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Jack White and many other musicians who emerged in the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Anthology has been influential in the development of American folk, blues, and country music

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records, edited by Harry Smith. The Anthology was influential in the development of many musical genres, including folk, blues, country, and rock n’ roll. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential folk music collections ever assembled.

The Anthology was compiled fromLibrary of Congress field recordings made between 1927 and 1932 by American musicologist and folklorist Alan Lomax. Lomax was commissioned by the Library of Congress to collect these recordings, which were originally intended to be used for research purposes only.

The Anthology albums were released at a time when interest in American folk music was growing rapidly. The release of the albums coincide with the rise of the American folk music revival movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The Anthology played an important role in introducing many traditional folk songs to a wider audience, and it has been cited as an influence by countless musicians over the past 60 years.

Today, the Anthology remains one of the most significant documents of early 20th century American folk music. It continues to be an important source of inspiration for musicians from all genres.

The Anthology has been reissued several times and is available on CD and vinyl

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records (catalog FP251, FP252, and FP253), comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued by nineteen record companies during the seven-year period 1927–1932.

The Anthology was compiled by Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. It was released in 1952 as a 3-LP set, and later reissued in 1967 as a six-LP set. In 1998, it was reissued again in a limited edition of 5 CDs by Smithsonian Folkways (SFW CD 40141), with one extra disc consisting of previously unissued recordings from the same era. A fourth CD, containing a selection of songs from the Anthology performed by contemporary artists, was added to later pressings of the reissue.

In 2011, Smithsonian Folkways released The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, 1917–1927, an eight-CD box set also compiled from Harry Smith’s 78s by Dixon, Gaede and Ward. Like the Anthology it contains material that had been out of print for many years.