Blacklisted actor and tireless social activist Will Geer toured government work camps with Guthrie and Burl Ives long before Geer and Guthrie released this 1956 LP. They tell it like it is the songs... more

Banjo player and raconteur Rufus Crisp (1880-1955) was born, lived, and died in mountainous eastern Kentucky. This album, whose liner notes provide extensive biographical and contextual information,... more

Born in Brooklyn in 1936, Dave Van Ronk was Bob Dylan's "first New York guru," writes Dylan's biographer Robert Shelton. "Dave Van Ronk was the musical mayor of MacDougal Street," Shelton continues,... more

When he recorded this album, Mark Spoelstra was heading to the Southwest to work with American Indians instead of joining the military-but he said he felt he was getting into something rather than... more

This doyen of the Greenwich Village folk scene began his long recording career with this 1959 Folkways LP. He was just 23 (and already a local hero) when he wrapped that big rasp around these great... more

After attracting attention with his live sets in NYC (where he often played in a duo with Dylan), Spoelstra signed to Folkways and got the chance to show off his inspired takes on folk classics and... more

Jean Ritchie is a national treasure, one of America's finest and best known traditional singers. She grew up in Viper, Kentucky, and is part of a large family, the famous "Singing Ritchies of... more

The seventeen singers featured on this album hail from the valleys of eastern Tennessee around Sevierville and Maryville, where they sing songs from the famous shape note collection The Harp of... more

Shanties and foc'sle (forecastle) songs lightened the burden of work aboard ship and provided entertainment to off-duty sailors. This recording features Massachusetts singer Paul Clayton and the... more

Singer, activist, and founder of Paredon Records (now also under the stewardship of Smithsonian Folkways), Barbara Dane was born in 1929 and was still going strong last time we spoke with her. This... more

In this album's liner notes, John Cohen writes, "After seven years of performing, The New Lost City Ramblers play in a great many country styles. We have each developed our own individual... more

The mountain dulcimer is more accurately described as a fretted zither. Performing the songs of traditional mountain folk and contemporary urban musicians, as well as composing his own, Kevin Roth... more

Milton Rettenberg was the first pianist other than Gershwin himself to perform Rhapsody in blue(with Paul Whiteman's orchestra) and, with Gershwin, debuted Concerto for F on radio. In this collection... more

George Davis began working in the coal mines at thirteen. After he injured his arm in a mining accident, Davis knew he'd never be a great guitarist, so he concentrated on writing songs about the... more

The Youngbloods and Holy Modal Rounders covered songs from this 1964 Folkways LP, the debut by this Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter (whose unconventional singing and songs made him a hero in '60s... more

On this 1977 Folkways release, New Mexico cowboy Ray Reed (1917-1998) sings songs about the old West; many of them he learned from his father, and he composed some as well. He had spent some years in... more

Calling all shingle-lifters and flat-footers! This collection of music is perfect for dancers of all levels. The Schwarz fiddle band plays tunes based on traditional mountain songs such as... more

The all-male quartet X-Seamen's Institute was founded in New York City's South Street Seaport in 1968 and is dedicated to continuing the centuries-old tradition of singing songs of the sea. On... more

The songs on this 15-track album were contributed to Broadside Magazine by folk singer-songwriters during the early 1960s and are performed by The Broadside Singers. Featured in the collection are... more

This album features classic sea shanties from the 19th century, "sung in the traditional manner, accompanied on historic 19th-century instruments, and recorded aboard historic sailing ships" at the... more

Buell Kazee (1900-1976) grew up playing the five-string banjo in the traditional flailing style ("thrashing" style, as he called it). As a teenager, he began to study religion and ended up spending... more

In 1957, archivists Art Rosenbaum and Ed Kahn traveled to Hamilton, Kentucky, to look for Pete Steele, a singer and banjo player they had heard on Alan Lomax's recordings from the 1930s. In the next... more

Charismatic banjo player and singer Uncle Dave Macon was one of the early stars of the Grand Ole Opry and recorded hundreds of songs on 78rpm. His music won him fans aplenty, and this reissue of 14... more