Anthology of American Folk Music

Anthology of American Folk Music
source
Title	Anthology of American Folk Music
Artist	Various
Released	1952
Genre	Folk music, Country music, Blues
Label	Folkways Records
Compiler	Harry Smith

Anthology of American Folk Music. It is a seminal six-album compilation released in 1952, curated by the experimental filmmaker and folklorist Harry Smith. The collection assembled eighty-four commercial recordings of American folk music originally issued between 1927 and 1932, a period often termed the "golden age" of race and hillbilly records. Its release on Moses Asch's Folkways Records label provided a foundational text for the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, directly inspiring a generation of musicians including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Jerry Garcia.

Background and compilation

The project was conceived and executed by Harry Smith, a polymath artist with deep interests in anthropology, occultism, and avant-garde film. During the late 1940s, Smith drew from his extensive personal collection of 78 rpm records, primarily sourced from second-hand shops in New York City and Seattle. He focused on commercially released recordings from the era just prior to the Great Depression, a time when the American record industry actively sought regional talent. Smith's curatorial genius lay in his eclectic, non-academic approach, treating the disparate recordings as a unified mystical document of the American experience. He secured a deal with Moses Asch, founder of the influential Folkways Records, which was known for its extensive catalog of field recordings and ethnic music.

Content and musical styles

The collection is organized into three two-album volumes: Ballads, Social Music, and Songs. It features a vast array of musical traditions from the American South and beyond, including Appalachian ballads, Delta blues, Cajun music, Sacred Harp singing, and proto-country music. Iconic performers include Mississippi John Hurt, The Carter Family, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Uncle Dave Macon. The songs encompass narratives of John Henry, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great Flood of 1927, alongside gospel tunes, jug band numbers, and instrumentals. This diversity presented a radical, integrated portrait of American roots music that transcended the segregated marketing categories of "race" and "hillbilly" records used by companies like Victor Talking Machine Company.

Release history and editions

Originally issued in 1952 as a set of six 78 rpm records, it was reissued on three LPs later that decade, maintaining its status as a coveted item among folk enthusiasts. After Folkways Records was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution, a major reissue was produced in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways. This celebrated re-release, overseen by a team including John Fahey and Greil Marcus, won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album and included an extensive booklet with Smith's original eccentric notes. Subsequent releases have included CD and digital formats, ensuring its continued availability and influence for new audiences and scholars.

Critical reception and legacy

Upon its release, it was met with immediate fascination within the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene, though broader critical acclaim solidified over subsequent decades. It has been hailed as one of the most important releases in the history of American music, often included on lists of greatest albums of all time by publications like Rolling Stone. Scholars such as Robert Cantwell and Greil Marcus have analyzed its cultural impact, framing it as a creative act of ethnography that constructed a new national mythology. Its legacy is enshrined in its 2005 induction into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which cited its profound cultural and historical significance.

Influence on folk revival

Its most direct and powerful impact was on the American folk music revival of the late 1950s and 1960s. It served as a primary songbook and stylistic guide for key figures like Bob Dylan, who studied its lyrics and melodies, and The New Lost City Ramblers, who dedicated themselves to reviving its performance styles. The Anthology provided the core repertoire for artists at festivals like the Newport Folk Festival and inspired the formation of bands such as The Grateful Dead and Fairport Convention. By presenting a curated, artistic vision of the past, it empowered a generation to connect with and reinterpret traditional music, fundamentally shaping the sound and ideology of the modern folk music movement.

Category:American folk music albums Category:1952 compilation albums Category:Folkways Records albums