Label: Smithsonian Folkways.
Release Date: June 23, 2014.
Recording Time: 60 minutes.
Release Info: SFWCD 40211.
Recording Date: 1940s-2008.
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Folk Blues, Country-Folk, Ragtime.
The 2014 Smithsonian compilation, Classic African American Songsters from Smithsonian Folkways, brings together recordings culled from the museum's vast collection that showcase the stylistic diversity of artists who, though largely known for playing the blues, performed many other genres of music. These are songs that move through such wide-ranging styles as ragtime, country, Tin Pan Alley, and more. Included are songs by Big Bill Broonzy, Lead Belly, Mississippi John Hurt, Peg Leg Sam, and many others. ~ Matt Collar
from SFWCD40211:
Classic African American Songsters from Smithsonian Folkways ventures beyond the blues to show the true breadth of African American secular song. Drawing 21 classic tracks - including five previously unreleased -from the deep well of Smithsonian Folkways’ archives, this connoisseur collection spotlights songs from ragtime, country, Tin Pan Alley, pre-blues songs, blues hybrids, and old-timey string band. Marquee-name artists Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, Lead Belly, Peg Leg Sam, Mississippi John Hurt, John Cephas, and more set the record straight that there has long been much more to the African American secular song tradition than just the blues. 60 minutes, 40-page booklet with extensive notes and photos. (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2014)
Credits: Pink Anderson - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Howard Armstrong - quotation author, violin, vocals; Ted Bogan - guitar, vocals; Carla Borden - editing; Chris Bouchillon - composer; Big Bill Broonzy - arranger, guitar, primary artist, vocals; George Brown - composer; John Cephas - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Willie Cobbs - composer; Bob Cole - composer; Nat Cole - composer; Rev. Gary Davis - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; Snooks Eaglin - guitar (12 string), primary artist, vocals; Gus Edwards - composer; Edward Eliscu - composer; Anders Fahey - production assistant; Marvin Foddrell - arranger, guitar, primary artist, vocals; Porter Grainger - composer; Mississippi John Hurt - composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals; John Jackson - arranger, guitar, primary artist, quotation author, vocals; Peg Leg Sam Jackson - harmonica, vocals; William Henry Jackson - photography; J. Rosamond Johnson - composer; Lead Belly - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Huddie Ledbetter - arranger; Alan Lomax - photography; Kip Lornell - engineer; Krystyn MacGregor - design, layout; Edward Madden - composer; Martin, Bogan & the Armstrongs - primary artist; Carl Martin - mandolin, vocals; Brownie McGhee - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Coyal McMahon - maracas, vocals; Irving Mills - composer; Mary Monseur - production manager; Little Brother Montgomery - composer, piano, primary artist, vocals; Barry Lee Pearson - annotation, liner notes; Peg Leg Sam - primary artist; Jeff Place - annotation, liner notes; Frederic Ramsey, Jr. - engineer; William Raskin - composer; Andy Razaf - composer; Pete Reiniger - mastering; Everett Robbins - composer; Russell Brothers - photography; Daniel E. Sheehy - executive producer; D.A. Sonneborn - executive producer; Jay Summerour - guest artist, vocals; Sonny Terry - harmonica, vocals; Allen Tullos - engineer; Fats Waller - composer; Percy Wenrich - composer; Phil Wiggins - harmonica, primary artist; Bill Williams - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Warner Williams - guitar, primary artist, vocals; Bob Wills - composer.
Tracks: 1. Bring it On Down to My House - Warner Williams with Jay Summerour; 2. Talking Blues - Pink Anderson; 3. Nobody’s Business (If I Do) - John Jackson; 4. Alabama Bound - Little Brother Montgomery; 5. Pallet on the Floor - Brownie McGhee; 6. Chicken You Can’t Roost Too High For Me - Bill Williams; 7. My Hula Love - Lead Belly; 8. Candy Man - Reverend Gary Davis; 9. Going Down the Road Feeling Bad - John Cephas and Phil Wiggins; 10. Froggy Went-a-Courting - Peg Leg Sam; 11. Monday Morning Blues - Mississippi John Hurt; 12. The Boys of Your Uncle Sam - Pink Anderson; 13. Raise a Ruckus Tonight - Brownie McGhee; 14. Reno Factory - Marvin Foddrell; 15. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down - John Jackson; 16. Honeysuckle Rose - Warner Williams with Jay Summerour; 17. Bill Bailey - Big Bill Broonzy; 18. When the Roses Bloom Again - Bill Williams; 19. Straighten Up and Fly Right - Peg Leg Sam; 20. Careless Love - Snooks Eaglin; 21. They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree - Martin, Bogan, and Armstrong.