This final program in the series revisits some of the great music and oral tradition of the Folkways collection and incorporates interviews with a variety of artists, biographers and music historians to place the Folkways collection in its prop

The Anthology of American Folk Music (Part III)

Jul 25th, 2006 55m 20s

This is the third of three programs which take an in-depth look at this award-winning collection compiled by eccentric record collector and folk historian Harry Smith. This episode examines the enduring legacy of the Anthology of American Folk

Pete Seeger

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 30s

Born of a renowned musical family, Pete Seeger's name is synonymous with the post-War American folk music revival. A contemporary of and collaborator with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger casts his own long shadow over the folk music genre. This prog

Moses Asch: Man and Myth

Jul 25th, 2006 55m 46s

This program examines Moses Asch, the founder of Folkways Records, and the influences which guided his choices in building the Folkways Collection. Among those interviewed for this program are Asch's son, Michael Asch Professor Emeritus of the

Huddie Leadbetter (Lead Belly)

Jul 25th, 2006 55m 20s

Huddie William Leadbetter was a convicted murderer who overcame adversity to establish himself as a music legend.In addition to his own compositions, Lead Belly was a living library of old European ballads, black work songs, southern ballads, b

Jazz

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 20s

The Folkways collection is primarily regarded as a repository of folk music, but Moses Asch's appetite was eclectic if nothing else, and he was an early recorder of jazz music. A number of notable jazz recordings found their way into the collec

Woody Guthrie

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 50s

An original folk hero, Woody Guthrie transformed the folk ballad into a vehicle for social protest. Guthrie wrote literally hundreds of songs, many of them now revered classics, including the unofficial anthem "This Land Is Your Land." He was a

The Poets

Jul 25th, 2006 53m 32s

Poetry held a special place in Moses Asch's heart, and the Folkways collection includes original recordings of some of the most influential poets of our time, such as Allen Ginsberg, Langston Hughes and Leonard Cohen. This program reviews these

Music of the World II

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 27s

This is the second of two programs dedicated to exploring Moses Asch's field recordings of ethnic music from around the world, incorporating both original recordings from the Folkways collection and more contemporary examples. This episode also

Children's Music

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 24s

One of the great treasures stored within the Folkways collection is the body of children's music recorded by such artists as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Ella Jenkins. The Program takes us on a voyage of joyful rediscovery, aided by the persp

Music and the Winds of Change: Labor

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 46s

This episode is the first of three programs which look at how Folkways artists have used music as an instrument for social activism. This particular program focuses on musicians whose songs inspired those struggling for improved working conditi

The Anthology of American Folk Music (Part I)

Jul 25th, 2006 59m 13s

This is the first of three programs which take an in-depth look at the Anthology of American Folk Music, an award-winning collection edited by Harry Smith as a commissioned project by Folkways, and recently re-released on Smithsonian Folkways.

Folkways: An American Canon

Jul 25th, 2006 57m 49s

The third program in the series explores the Folkways collection in terms of its remarkable breadth and the fascinating way in which it was catalogued by Moses Asch. The program incorporates many and varied examples of the material Asch recorde

A Folkways Overture

Jul 25th, 2006 55m 36s

The opening program in the series paints a broad canvas, presenting outstanding musical samples that reflect the strength and diversity of the Folkways collection. Included is a sampling of original and archival interviews with the many persona

Subterranean Homesick Blues Part I

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 30s

It seems almost everybody who was destined to become a somebody to the Beat Generation turned up in Greenwich Village in the late 1950s, and, of course, Moses Asch and Folkways were right in the thick of it. This is the first of two programs in

Music and the Winds of Change: The Women's Movement

Jul 25th, 2006 55m 1s

Moses Asch was committed to supporting and reflecting the struggle for equality by American women through a number of the artists featured on Folkways, among them Peggy Seeger. This Program reviews the material on this subject and features inte

The Anthology of American Folk Music (Part II)

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 15s

This is the second of three programs which take an in-depth look at the Anthology of American Folk Music. This episode tells the fascinating story of the life of film-maker, record producer and entrepreneur Harry Smith and his life-long musical

Country and Bluegrass

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 20s

The Folkways collection captures the evolution of modern day country and bluegrass music through its field recordings of rural American music earlier in this century. The focus of this program is on the music and artists of the southern country

Voices of History

Jul 25th, 2006 53m 47s

A significant section of the Folkways collection is devoted to documentaries and oral history. This program gives the listener a sense of the remarkable material contained within these recordings and a sense of the foresight which Moses Asch de

Subterranean Homesick Blues Part II

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 27s

Greenwich Village in the late 1950s and early 1960s--the time and place has taken on the flavor of legend. This second of two programs focusing on the era looks at Folkways Records' documentation of the burgeoning folk music revival and the New

The Blues

Jul 25th, 2006 57m

Among its other accomplishments, the Folkways collection captures significant developments in the evolution of the Blues as a dominant genre in American roots music. This program looks at key blues artists in the collection, including Lead Bell

Music and the Winds of Change: The Civil Rights Movement

Jul 25th, 2006 54m 18s

The second of three programs on music as an instrument of social activism, this episode pays particular attention to material in the Folkways collection which documents and reflects the civil rights struggle, especially through the ten year per

Phil Ochs

Jul 25th, 2006 56m 19s

For a time, Phil Ochs was considered Bob Dylan's greatest rival for the crown atop the politicized folk music movement of the 1960s. His life ended in tragedy; his downward spiral as an individual and as an artist coinciding with the increasing

Music of the World I

Jul 19th, 2006 54m 23s

The phenomenal diversity of the Folkways collection becomes immediately apparent when one examines the field recordings of ethnic music which Moses Asch collected from around the world. In many respects, this body of work set the stage for the

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