Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music

Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records. The anthology is one of the most influential releases of recorded folk music.

Introduction

Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music is one of the most influential and important music releases of the 20th century. Comprised of 84 songs on six double-sided vinyl discs, the Anthology was released in 1952 by Folkways Records. It was compiled by Harry Smith, a painter, filmmaker, bohemian, and eccentric folklorist who was passionate about American vernacular music.

The Anthology drew from commercial recordings of folk, country, blues, and gospel music that were popular in the first half of the 20th century. Many of the artists featured on the Anthology were relatively unknown at the time, but their recordings would go on to have a profound influence on subsequent generations of musicians. These include Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Patti Smith, and many others.

In addition to its significance as a musical document, the Anthology is also highly regarded for its innovative design. Smith created original artwork for each song, which was then printed on the record sleeves. The artwork included images of American folkloric figures such as Paul Bunyan and John Henry, as well as photographs and illustrations from a variety of sources.

The Anthology was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and included in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005. It continues to be a vital source of inspiration for musicians and scholars alike.

The Collection

The Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music was released in 1952 by Folkways Records, containing 84 songs on six LP records. The music was compiled by folklorist Harry Smith from his own personal collection of 78 rpm records. The Anthology was published with an accompanying 400-page book containing liner notes with song lyrics and Smith’s commentary on the music.

The songs

The songs on The Anthology are primarily those of American singer-songwriters from the 1920s and 1930s. However, the selection also includes material from previous decades, including a few songs dating back to the 1870s, as well as a few emigré performers, such as Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Jeannie Robertson. In total, the collection comprises 84 songs, covering a wide range of genres including folk ballads, work songs, fiddle tunes, religious music, blues, and children’s songs.

The performers

The performers on The Anthology recordings were, for the most part, everyday people, many of whom were unaware that their music was being recorded, let alone that it would one day be anthologized and hailed as influential. This was especially true of the artists who recorded for the library of Depression-era field recordings known as the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress (from which Harry Smith compiled his anthology), as these recordings were not originally intended for commercial release. In fact, many of the performers on The Anthology were not professional musicians at all, but rather members of lower-income families who played music as a form of entertainment or as part of religious ceremonies in their rural communities.

The Legacy

Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music is one of the most influential recordings of the twentieth century. First released in 1952, the Anthology brought to light many previously unknown artists and genres of music, and had a profound impact on the American folk music revival of the 1960s. The Anthology has been released in several different formats over the years, and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Harry Smith Connection

In 1952, Folkways Records released the six-album Anthology of American Folk Music, edited by visionary musicologist Harry Smith. The set drew on commercial 78 rpm recordings issued in the 1920s and early 1930s by major record companies and small local labels. It brought together songs by both famous and obscure performers from a wide range of styles ★ country blues, string band music, Cajun music, Western swing, old-time religion, and more ★ that had been scattered across the country and were in danger of being lost. The Anthology had a profound influence on the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s: Bob Dylan once said that it “changed my life forever.”

The Anthology in Popular Culture

In addition to its critical and popular acclaim, the Anthology has also had a significant impact on American popular culture. Numerous musicians have cited the Anthology as a major influence, including Bob Dylan, who called it “the greatest collection of American music ever assembled” and said that it was “the place where I found the music that influenced me the most.” The Anthology has also been credited with helping to start the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

Conclusion

In 1952, Folkways Records released Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, a six-album collection of folk, country, blues, and gospel recordings that Smith had compiled from his personal record collection. The Anthology was later reissued by Smithsonian Folkways in 1997 in a deluxe box set edition that included a hardcover book with extensive liner notes and essays by leading folk scholars.

The Anthology is widely regarded as one of the most influential albums in the history of American music, helping to spark the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2003, the Library of Congress honored the Anthology with a National Recording Registry award, recognizing it as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”