The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music

The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records. The collection includes eighty-four songs by sixty-seven artists recorded between 1927 and 1932.

Introduction

Folkways Records was founded in 1948 by Moe Asch with the mission to document and preserve the sounds of the world. He believed that all music was worthy of study and had value, whether it was the music of sophisticated composers or the songs of unknown laborers. Over the next four decades, Folkways released over two thousand albums of diverse music from around the globe, as well as launching an international mail-order business and a successful children’s record label, Folkways Kids.

In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution recognized Asch’s global impact by acquiring Folkways Recordings and its parent company, Moses Asch Productions. The bequest stipulated that Folkways’ extensive catalog remain intact and accessible to the public, ensuring that these important recordings would continue to inspire new generations of music lovers.

The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-volume set originally released on 78 RPM discs in 1952 by Folkways Records. The brainchild of American musicologist Harry Smith, it is one half of what Smith termed his “Ethnographic Series” (the other half being The Anthology of Mexican-American Vocalizations, Songs, and Dances). The set is subtitled “A Documentary History of the American Primitive (Vol. 1), Social Music (Vol. 2), Songs (Vol. 3), Rituals, Ceremonies & Worksongs (Vol 4), Ballads & Dance Tunes (Vol 5) Spirituals & Work Songs (Vol 6),”

The anthology is significant for several reasons: its wide breadth of material, spanningesleyan University

The Folkways Years: 1952-1964

The Folkways Years: 1952-1964 is a mostly chronological reissue of the seminal seven-album set The Anthology of American Folk Music, originally issued by Folkways Records in 1952. The original set was compiled by Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. It was issued on LP in 1952, with a second pressing in 1957. It was later reissued on CD by Smithsonian Folkways in 1997.

The Anthology of American Folk Music

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. Compiled and edited by Harry Smith, it is considered one of the most influential releases in the history of recorded sound.

The Anthology was assembled by Harry Smith from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. It encompassed ninety tracks recorded from 1927 to 1932 by fifty Blues and Country musicians, representative of urban and rural traditions from all across America. The liner notes accompanying the three double-LP record sets were written by Elijah Wald, who would go on to write extensively about the performers featured on the Anthology in his book Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues.

The album has been reissued several times since 1952, most recently in 1997 as a box set with additional liner notes and extended essays on each track.

The Folkways Years: 1952-1964

Folkways Records was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch with the mission of “preserving and presenting folk, jazz, and world music from all over the globe.”

In 1952, Asch licensed the Anthology of American Folk Music from its previous owner, Folkways co-founder Charles Seeger. The six-album set, which included songs dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, was an instant success, and is now considered one of the most influential folk music collections ever released.

Asch continued to release significant folk recordings throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including works by Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Josh White, Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul & Mary), and many others. These recordings played an important role in introducing American folk music to a wider audience and helping to revive traditional songs that might have otherwise been forgotten.

The Folkways Years: 1952-1964 collects some of the most essential recordings from this period in Folkways’ history, showcasing the diversity and power of America’s musical traditions.

The Legacy of Folkways

Folkways was a record label founded by Moses Asch that specialized in American folk music. The label was active from 1948 to 1987 and released over two thousand albums. Asch was dedicated to preserving and promoting folk music, and he helped to introduce the music of Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Pete Seeger to new audiences. The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music, released in 1952, was a six-album set that compiled eighty-four songs from the Folkways catalogue. The Anthology helped to secure Folkways’ place in the history of American folk music, and it remains an essential document of the genre.

The Folkways Legacy

Folkways Records was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch with the mission of “preserving and presenting the world’s folk music.” Asch was a passionate advocate for folk music and its importance to American culture. He believed that folk music was an essential part of the human experience and should be preserved for future generations.

Folkways released thousands of recordings of folk, jazz, blues, world music, and more. The label was also home to some of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century, including Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Folkways Records was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and continues to be an important part of the American musical landscape.

The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music is a comprehensive collection of songs that were recorded by Folkways Records between 1948 and 1987. This 4-disc set features over 200 songs that span the entire history of Folkways Records. The anthology includes iconic tracks like “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie, “Goodnight Irene” by Lead Belly, and “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan.

The Folkways Years: 1964-1986

When Moses Asch founded Folkways Records in 1948, he had a mission: to document and preserve America’s musical heritage. Folkways was initially conceived as a vehicle for reissuing historic recordings, but Asch soon began recording new music as well. In the 1950s, he released seminal recordings by artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly, as well as field recordings of American folk music from around the country.

In the 1960s, Folkways expanded its mission to include world music, releasing significant recordings from Senegal, Ghana, Cuba, India, and beyond. The label also became known for its children’s music, issuing classic albums by Ella Jenkins and Woody Guthrie back-to-back in 1964.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Folkways continued to document traditional music from around the world while also branching out into new genres like punk rock (with the influential “No New York” compilation) and hip hop (with early releases by Doug E. Fresh and Mantronix). In 1986, Asch sold Folkways to the Smithsonian Institution, ensuring that his legacy would be preserved for future generations.

The Smithsonian Folkways Years: 1986-present

The Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music, a compilation album released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in 1986, was an important milestone in the history of American folk music. The album, which was compiled and edited by Harry Smith, was a massive undertaking that involved the painstaking transfer of more than 800 hours of music from 78 rpm discs to tape.

The Smithsonian Folkways Years: 1986-present

In 1986, the American Folklife Center became part of the Smithsonian Institution, and Folkways Records was renamed Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The Smithsonian Institution is dedicated to the “increase and diffusion of knowledge” and has a long tradition of collecting and preserving the world’s heritage. The American Folklife Center was established by Congress in 1976 “to preserve and present American folklife” through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibition, publication, and media presentation.

The addition of Folkways Recordings to the Smithsonian Institution represented a commitment to continue Moses Asch’s work of documenting the world’s musical traditions and making them available to the public. It also ensured that the recordings would be preserved for future generations. In 2007, the Library of Congress honored Asch by adding his entire Folkways catalogue – more than two thousand recordings – to its National Recording Registry.

The first release on Smithsonian Folkways after it became part of the Smithsonian Institution was ”Contemporary Hispanic Music from Sunnyside,” by Cuban musicians Arsenio Rodriguez and Celia Cruz (SF 40003).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music is an important and influential compilation of folk music. It is essential listening for anyone interested in American folk music, and its influence can be heard in many subsequent recordings.