Barbara forged her own path, singing for peace and justice and refusing to recognize music-biz boundaries between folk, jazz and blues. The 40-page booklet and 150 minutes of music here take us... more

Six decades of bending, blowing, wailing blues beauty—20 tracks including eight unissued performances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Gillum Blues Jazz Gillum; Crow Jane Blues Sonny Terry;... more

The press release calls this "The most famous and sought-after blues & folk recordings ever made"; these 96 tracks (two unissued) have inspired American artists as diverse as Neil Young and William... more

In RICHMOND BLUES, guitarist/singer John Cephas and his harmonica-player partner Phil Wiggins personify the century-old blues sound of the Piedmonth, the Appalachian loothills running from Richmond... more

Country blues artist Johnie Lewis was born on a farm near Eufaula Alabama but spent much of his life playing at various small clubs around Chicago. His accomplished style was influenced by favorites... more

A 36-page booklet guides you through these '50s Folkways tracks, concert recordings and radio performances by this acoustic-blues giant. You get 73 minutes of Big Bill's best: Key to the Highway;... more

Lucinda Williams' take on Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor joins 21 more by these blues titans: Just a Dream Memphis Slim; Jelly Jelly Josh White; Tell Me, Baby Lightnin' Hopkins; When Things Go Wrong... more

The folk-blues icon's powerful voice and commanding 12-string-guitar playing are far clearer on these '40s cuts than on earlier ones. You'll hear him solo and with Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and... more

Recorded in '59 (before the height of the folk/blues revival), Hopkins' first acoustic session has since been recognized as an out-and-out blues classic. He's as witty and charming as he is... more

Joe recorded these 13 tracks in a Chicago studio in '61. From the whisper-quiet guitar passages to his loudest shouts, these will make the hair on your arms stand on end: Don't Leave Me; Whistling... more

Fans of this amazing guitarist/singer, a blind preacher caught between the blues and the church, will find these 1954 cuts to be a revelation; recorded at the Reverend's home with Davis, his wife and... more

The last living link to Robert Johnson had a raw Delta Blues sound all his own. This 1979 Folkways LP captures Honeyboy (who died in 2011) in relaxed, unplugged fashion, playing fantastic guitar as... more

These artists formed the blues backbone of Folkways: Big Bill Broonzy (Mule-Ridin' Blues), Leadbelly (Leaving Blues), Rev. Gary Davis (Candy Man), Big Joe Williams (Don't Leave Me Here), Lightnin'... more

Raised in a large, musical farm family in Rappahannock County, VA, John Jackson (1924 - 2002) was the most important black Appalachian musician to come to broad public attention during the mid-60s.... more

These 21 tracks span from Folkways' first recordings to riveting performances at the Folklife Festival. You'll hear Brownie McGhee (Pawn Shop Blues), Josh White (Outskirts of Town) Doc Watson... more

Rural and urban, black and white, country and coastal—it all blended together in Piedmont blues. Here's a stellar set of classics in that fascinating blues style: "Mamie" John Cephas and Paul... more

These '40s Leadbelly performances of kids' songs, work songs, spirituals and blues are essential listening for all ages. His musicianship shines, as well as his humor and humanity, on Skip to My Lou;... more

The disappearing life on the range was memorialized by these cowboy odes composed from 1905–35. Bring these into your bunkhouse: Rain on the Range; The Moonshine Steer; The Strawberry Roan; When... more