Folksongs: Old Time Country Music 1926-1944

by Folksongs / Various

Overview

The French label Fremeaux & Associes certainly has taken it upon themselves to issue unique collections of early recorded music, and Folksongs: Old Time Country Music 1926-1944 is no exception. While the American labels Yazoo and Smithsonian/Folkways approach similar music -- sometimes the very same recordings -- it's the clever concepts that yield the bizarre inclusion of unexpected tracks which always keeps Fremeaux & Associes' compilations from being redundant. The clincher for Folksongs: Old Time Country Music 1926-1944 is the inclusion of the sophisticated performance of "Greensleeves" by the Twentieth Century Minstrel (how vague can a moniker get?). This performance stands out because of the very trained voice of the vocalist sits side by side with backwoods performances by the likes of Clarence Ashley and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. After reading the liner notes, the reason becomes somewhat clear why this was included: the label wished to compile some of the earliest recordings of some of the most famous American folk classics and apparently mistook "Greensleeves" as a classic American folktale. Still, Fremeaux & Associes have put together another wonderful collection of early recordings which treads both sides of fame from the most celebrated (Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Dock Boggs) to the completely forgotten (Ernest V. Stoneman, Noach & Spark, Will Bennett), making this an excellent two-disc set for collectors and historians alike. ~ Gregory McIntosh

Product Details

Release Date:	07/09/2002
Label:	Fr?Meaux & Associ?S
UPC:	3448960204729
Rank:	216499

Tracks

Disc 1

1. The Coo Coo Bird  - Clarence Ashley  -  Traditional
2. Nine Pound Hammer  -  Monroe Brothers  - Merle Travis
3. John Henry  -  The Two Poor Boys  -  Traditional
4. East Virgina  - Buell Kazee
5. Two White Horses  -  The Two Poor Boys
6. The Mountaineer's Courtship  - Ernest V. Stoneman
7. I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground  - Bascom Lamar Lunsford  -  Traditional
8. Greensleeves
9. My Long Journey Home  -  Monroe Brothers
10. Salty Dog  -  Morris Brothers
11. Train Carry My Girl Back Home
12. Brown's Ferry Blues  - Kirk McGee  - Sam McGee  -  Traditional
13. Rambling Boy  -  Carter Family  - A.P. Carter  -  Traditional
14. Keep on the Sunny Side  -  Carter Family  - A.P. Carter  - Gary Garett
15. Railroad Bill  - Will Bennett  -  Traditional
16. Alabama Bound  - Papa Harvey Hull  -  Traditional
17. In the Pines  -  Darby & Tarlton
18. Birmingham Jail (On a Monday)  -  Darby & Tarlton

Disc 2

19. Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms  -  Monroe Brothers
20. Poor Boy  - Gus Cannon
21. Pretty Polly  - Dock Boggs
22. Midnight Special  -  Lead Belly
23. 900 Miles  - Woody Guthrie
24. Stackalee  - Frank Hutchison
25. Henry Lee  - Dick Justice
26. The Wagoner's Lad  - Buell Kazee  -  Traditional
27. Willie Moore  -  Burnett & Rutherford
28. Greenback Dollar
29. Little Red Shoes (Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot?)  -  Monroe Brothers
30. Frankie and Johnny  - Jimmie Rodgers  -  Traditional
31. St. James Infirmary  - Joe Primrose  - Jimmie F. Rodgers  -  Traditional
32. White House Blues  - Charlie Poole  -  Traditional
33. Down South Blues  - Dock Boggs
34. Careless Love  -  Delmore Brothers  - W.C. Handy  - Martha E. Koenig  - Spencer Williams
35. Raining on the Mountain  -  Delmore Brothers
36. Hesitation Blues (Curley Headed Woman)  -  Burnett & Rutherford

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Papa Harvey Hull   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Carter Family   Primary Artist
Charlie Poole   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Kirk McGee   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Lead Belly   Primary Artist
Clarence Ashley   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Woody Guthrie   Primary Artist
Burnett & Rutherford   Primary Artist
The Morris Brothers   Primary Artist
Jimmie F. Rodgers   Primary Artist
Bascom Lamar Lunsford   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Dock Boggs   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Frank Hutchison   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica
The Delmore Brothers   Primary Artist
Ernest V. Stoneman   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica
Sam McGee   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Jimmie Rodgers   Primary Artist
The Monroe Brothers   Primary Artist
Darby & Tarlton   Primary Artist
Dick Justice   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Will Bennett   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Gus Cannon   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
The Two Poor Boys   Primary Artist
Buell Kazee   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Long "Cleve" Reed   Guitar,Vocals
Richard Dyer-Bennett   Guitar,Vocals
Norman Woodlief   Guitar
Posey Rorer   Fiddle
Leonard Rutherford   Fiddle
Slim Bryant   Guitar
Richard Burnett   Banjo,Vocals
Joe Evans & Arthur McClain   Guitar,Vocals
Cecil "Gig" Sparks   Vocals,Guitar (Steel)
Hub Mahaffey   Guitar
Gerard Herzhaft   Musical Direction
Cisco Houston   Guitar
Clayton McMichen   Fiddle
Tom Darby   Guitar,Vocals
Wiley Morris   Guitar,Vocals
Zeke Morris   Guitar,Vocals
Blind Blake   Guitar
Jimmy Rogers   Guitar,Vocals
Charlie Monroe   Guitar,Vocals
Eddie Noack   Guitar,Vocals
Alton Delmore   Guitar,Vocals
Huddie Ledbetter   Guitar,Vocals
Sara Carter   Guitar,Vocals
Rabon Delmore   Guitar,Vocals
Mother Maybelle Carter   Guitar,Vocals
A.P. Carter   Vocals
Arthur McClain   Vocals,Mandolin
Wade Mainer   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Martha E. Koenig   Composer
Patrick Fremeaux   Concept
Don Waterhouse   English Translations
The Two Poor Boys   Performer
Gary Garett   Composer
Claude Colombini   Concept
Gerard Herzhaft   Text,Liner Notes
W.C. Handy   Composer
Spencer Williams   Composer
Traditional   Composer
The Carter Family   Performer
Lead Belly   Composer,Performer
Burnett & Rutherford   Performer
The Morris Brothers   Performer
Dock Boggs   Composer
Joe Primrose   Composer
Frank Hutchison   Composer
The Delmore Brothers   Performer
Merle Travis   Composer
The Monroe Brothers   Composer,Performer
A.P. Carter   Composer
Darby & Tarlton   Performer
Woody Guthrie   Composer,Performer