For this interim week (no class on October 23) I want you to use the time to get acquainted with Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, published by Folkways Records in 1952. These three volumes, issued as a set of lps, were the source for a good part of the American folk music revival of the later 1950s and early 1960s. Harry Smith (among many other things) was an avid record collector--and the Anthology draws on his archive. The material included--mostly recordings from the 1920s and 30s--were ones some people had found again as individual records, but it was Smith's Anthology that brought the full range of them into view. It became "the folkies' bible." Note also that the Anthology was the source for two of Mississippi John Hurt's early recordings: Frankie and Spike Driver Blues, which lead to his "rediscovery" in the 1960s. We explored some of this last week. The key song was Avalon Blues--not on the Anthology, but the Anthology led to its rediscovery as well.
The Smithsonian (which acquired the Folkways records archive) reissued the Anthology as a 6-CD boxed set in 1997, with a reprint of Harry Smith's original booklet (see out Reader, pps. 269-96) and collateral essays. The original songs are all included.
It's in three sections, as devised by Smith in the original:
Volume 1: Ballads
Volume 2: Social Music
Volume 3: Songs
Note that the final song on the Anthology was Henry Thomas' Fishin' Blues. That's the version that so many people learned during the folk revival--incuding Taj Mahal, who made it a central part of his early repertory. Here's his 1968 recording (now of course a classic in its own right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQC2_NJj2iA
There's also an earlier version by The Lovin'Spoonful (1965). Both of these recordings will give you as glimpse of how the Anthology influenced the soon-to-follow folk revival movement.
Some have argued that there's an over-all narrative to the material (see Robert Cantwell's book, When We Were Good, a ruminative history of the Folk Revival which (as I recall) includes a very good chapter on the Harry Smith Anthology.)
I'd have you access the entire Anthology online through the Music Library resources, but apparently because of licensing issues, the full set is not available in one go. So, instead, I've put together a Sampler, posted on box, with a number of the songs. It seems most of the others are available individually on YouTube. (Or, you could purchase the box set from the Smithsonial online, about $78). So, listen to the Sampler, and spend some time with Harry Smith's booklet (it's the last section in our reader). His mini descriptions of the songs are worthwhile in themselves, and you'll pick up a lot of other details--record labels, bibliographic notes, collage fragments--all part of Smith's eccentric genius.)
Follow your own path through this material, see what you find interesting, intriguing--do some exploring.
DOWNLOAD on BOX:
https://berkeley.box.com/s/3k1phwj91zjk0ng4d5gb
Note that you have some of these songs in other downloads I've prepared for the class. The source for all of them was Harry Smith's Anthology. That's why they're included here again. I wanted to chose representative samples--which means some repeats. Be sure to download the .xml file for track info.
For starts, listen to "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room," recorded by Rev. F.W.McGee.
 |
| Harry Smith, David Gahr photo |
PROJECT: As announced, there's no class on the 23rd, but maybe make your own "Harry Smith" pamphlet entry (giving it a current, personal twist) for a couple of the songs--and post on your Digital Notebooks.
For the following week: LEADBELLY. See blog post for Week 9. We'll look at where Leadbelly takes you during our next regular class session, Thursday October 27.
