What Was the Anthology of American Folk Music’s Apex?

What was the Anthology of American Folk Music’s apex? This is a question that has long been debated by music historians. Some say that it was the release of the influential folk music compilation in 1952, while others argue that its impact was felt more keenly in the 1960s.

The Anthology of American Folk Music

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records. The anthology was compiled by Harry Smith and originally released as a set of three double albums. It is one of the most influential releases in the history of American folk music.

The Collection

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records, edited by Harry Smith. The album, including 84 songs, was intended to represent a cross-section of music from the United States in the early twentieth century. Many of the recordings were made in the 1920s and 1930s, and were previously released on 78 rpm records.

TheAnthology was issued in 1952 as a set of six 10-inch LP discs, packaged in a folio box with an extensive booklet containing song lyrics, illustrations, and background notes on the performers and recordings. It was reissued as a box set in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways. The 1997 reissue was Coordinated by Robert Gordon and included a revised booklet and three additional CDs of material not included in the original release.

The Compilation

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records (catalog FP 251, FP 252, and FP 253), edited by Harry Smith. The album is famous for having launched the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s and served as a direct inspiration for Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, Eric Clapton and many other musicians.

The Anthology was compiled from commercial 78 rpm recordings from the 1920s and 1930s that were originally issued by 52 different record labels. It included material by such artists as Blind Lemon Jefferson, The Carter Family, Charley Patton, Doc Watson, Dock Boggs, The Holy Modal Rounders, The Mississippi Sheiks, Roscoe Holcomb and Skip James.

In 1946–47, Harry Smith compiled a collection of 84 songs – many of them blues or old-timey music from the tall grass prairies or Appalachian Mountains – on Edison diamond discs for his own use. These he transferred to acetate discs; appending comments beside some selections in his own hand.

The Apex of the Anthology of American Folk Music

The Anthology of American Folk Music was released in 1952 and quickly became one of the most influential records ever made. The three-album set compiled by Harry Smith featured field recordings of everything from Appalachian ballads to Cajun music to work songs and more. It was an instant classic and has had a profound impact on the course of American music.

The Influence

The Anthology of American Folk Music was a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records, comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country performers recorded between 1927 and 1932.

Influenced by the scholarly interests of editor Harry Smith and the popular appeal of commercial country music, the Anthology compiled songs that were otherwise unissued and largely forgotten. It went on to have a profound impact on the development of both the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s and the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

The Legacy

The Anthology of American Folk Music was released in 1952 by Folkways Records, compiler Harry Smith’s groundbreaking six-album compilation of early commercial recordings of folk, blues, country, Cajun, and gospel music. Influenced by the world music collecting of Alan Lomax, Smith’s anthology remains one of the most influential releases in the history of American folk music, helping to spark the folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The anthology’s liner notes, written by Smith himself, are also highly regarded for their insights into early American music.