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American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings: A Selected List 1989
Jennifer Cutting
Project Coordinator
American Folklife Center
Library of Congress Washington 1990
SELECTION PANEL FOR 1989
Charlotte J. Frisbie Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University
Past President, Society for Ethnomusicology
- Barry Lee Pearson Department of English, University of Maryland
- Neil V. Rosenberg Department of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Mark Slobin Department of Music, Wesleyan University President, Society
for Ethnomusicology
- Joe Wilson National Council for the Traditional Arts
ISSN 0748-5905
This publication was funded partially by a grant from the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc.
Available free of charge from the American Folklife Center, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540
INTRODUCTION
Since 1928 the Library of Congress has been preserving America's folk
cultural heritage by collecting sound recordings, manuscripts, motion pictures,
and photographs; and for the last fifty years the Library has published
a series of phonograph records and audiocassettes that provide highlights
from the collections in the Archive of Folk Culture. In keeping with this
effort, since 1983 the Library's American Folklife Center has published
_American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings: A Selected List_ to help
promote the best recordings of American folk music and folklore issued
by various companies and organizations the previous year.
Small companies and organizations produce the greatest number of traditional
music recordings. Many recordings result from field research projects that
have received support from state arts councils, state humanities committees,
and the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although
these folk music and folklore recordings elude mainstream distribution
networks and seldom appear in record shops and catalogs, they have been
instrumental in preserving America's heritage and encouraging performers
in local communities. The recordings are also valuable resources for students,
teachers, and libraries. We hope that the publication of the selected list
will foster an increased awareness of such recordings and of the forms
of expression they present.
Each year a panel of specialists in American traditional music meets
to select a group of outstanding recordings from the approximately two
hundred phonograph records, audiocassettes, and compact discs submitted
by producers and manufacturers or suggested by various interested parties.
The resulting list is not comprehensive but is intended to make known to
libraries, educators, and others important recent sound recordings. To
be eligible for consideration for the 1990 list, a recording must:
1. have been released in 1990 (or 1989 if not previously submitted);
2. feature cultural traditions found within the United States;
3. emphasize "root traditions" over popular adaptations of traditional
materials;
4. be conveniently available to purchasers in the United States;
5. include well-annotated liner notes or accompanying booklets relating
the recordings to the performers, their communities, genres, styles, or
other pertinent information.
The American Folklife Center hopes that this list will encourage the
continuing production of documentary folk recordings, which in turn will
help conserve our country's rich folk heritage. We also hope that the list
will stimulate record companies to include sufficient documentation with
each recording to make it an efficient tool for education.
The recordings in the following annotated listings are produced by the
companies and organizations listed at the end of the booklet. None of the
recordings listed is manufactured or distributed by the Library of Congress.
The booklet also lists other publications that review folk music and folklore
recordings, and major mail-order distributors of folk recordings. We have
included Library of Congress control numbers for the convenience of librarians;
they need not be used when ordering these recordings from the particular
company.
This edition of the list inaugurates a change in format. Instead of recordings
being grouped by a single category (i.e. regional, Anglo-American, African-American,
other ethnic, and anthology), they are now alphabetized by title, with
multiple categories at the end of each annotation. We hope this change
will encourage a broader perception and provide a less rigid mechanism
for describing artists and genres that do not fit neatly into one category.
To nominate recordings for the 1990 list or to receive additional copies
of this booklet, please write to: Folk Recordings List, American Folklife
Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Altamont: Black Stringband Music from the Library of Congress. Rounder
Records 0238. LP/cassette/CD. Field recordings of rural black stringband
music from the collections in the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library
of Congress. One of very few recordings documenting the black stringband
repertoire and style, this collection includes African American versions
of widely known tunes as well as some that appear to be unique to the black
stringband tradition. Side A contains recordings made in Nashville, Tennessee,
in 1942 of fiddler Frank Patterson and banjoist/vocalist Nathan Frazier;
the recordings of Fiddler John Lusk's band on side B were made in Rocky
Island, Tennessee, mostly in 1946. Notes by Charles Wolfe. LCCN 90-753742
(LP). Historical / African-American
Michael Doucet: Beau Solo. Arhoolie 321. Cassette/CD. Songs and solo fiddle
and accordion music from Louisiana musician Michael Doucet, usually heard
as a member of Cajun band Beausoleil. Mostly waltzes, blues, and two-steps
(some original) plus an unaccompanied ballad. Guitar accompaniment to fiddle
tunes by David Doucet. Booklet has notes by Michael Doucet, with French/English
transcriptions and translations by Sharon Arms Doucet. LCCN 90-753744 (CD).
Contemporary / Cajun (Acadian)
Bill Monroe: Bluegrass 1950-1958. Bear Family Records BCD 15423. CD. Four-CD
set documenting the "father of bluegrass" music's first decade of recordings
on the Decca label. These thirty-two recording sessions represent a creative
peak in Monroe's career, during which he crystallized his sound and established
his core repertoire. Accompanying sixty-five-page book includes biographical
sketch, historical overview, and chronological and numerical discographies
by Neil V. Rosenberg; song notes by Charles K. Wolfe; photos. LCCN 90-753746.
Historical / Bluegrass
Calypso Pioneers 1912-1937. Rounder Records 1039. LP/cassette/CD. An anthology
of early recordings of the West Indian African-Creole carnival music that
became known as calypso, beginning with the earliest Trinidadian music
on record. Most of the recordings were made in New York City by resident
expatriate musicians and islanders who visited on special "recording trips";
a few examples were recorded by U.S. companies in Trinidad. Carnival and
dance tunes are interspersed with songs, some accompanied only by guitar
or piano and others by larger ensembles that typically include the cuatro
(small guitar with four or five sets of double strings), and sometimes
guitar, piano, violin, clarinet, string bass, and trumpet or saxophone.
Notes on the evolution and history of calypso by Dick Spottswood and Don
Hill. LCCN 90-753748 (LP). Historical / Caribbean / Calypso
Dave Tarras: Volume One. Global Village C 105. Cassette. Historic recordings,
1929 to 1939, of one of the United State's leading clarinetists in the
klezmer (Eastern European Jewish instrumental music) tradition. Originally
from the southern Ukraine, Tarras absorbed American influences, expanding
the boundaries of traditional klezmer style. His eight-decade career encompassed
contributions in the recording studio (as soloist and bandleader), and
in Yiddish theater and radio. Includes dance tunes such as hora, sirba,
sher, and bulgar as well as free-rhythm improvisational forms such as doina
and kale bazetsn. Notes by Michael Schlesinger, Michael Alpert, and Joel
Rubin. LCCN 90-753750. Historical / Jewish-American / Klezmer
Down Around Bowmantown . . . Then and Now. Center for Appalachian Studies
and Services/Tennessee Folklore Society, Now and Then Records N&T 1001.
LP and cassette. Portrait of a musical community in northeast Tennessee,
a region known for its vigorous old-time string band tradition. Side one
contains remastered home disc recordings made between the late 1930s and
early 1950s of banjo player Clyde Dykes, fiddler Gilbert Broyles, guitarist
and singer Tom Slagle and others; recent recordings of informal music-making
sessions on side 2 include some of the same musicians featured on the home
disc recordings. Twenty-page booklet with extensive notes by Tim Stafford
and Richard Blaustein gives regional history, biographical information
on the musicians, song notes, and a history of home disc recording. Maps;
photos; illustrations. LCCN 90-753751 (LP). Contemporary and Historical
/ Appalachian / Tennessee
Dusty Miller. June Appal Recordings JA 0057. LP/cassette. Debut album
from Dusty Miller, a nationally acclaimed group of young bluegrass musicians
from East Tennessee. This album is a mix of originals, gospel, Bob Wills
songs, and some material not usually heard in a bluegrass context. The
band includes Adam Steffey (mandolin, lead and harmony vocal), Tim Stafford
(guitar, lead and harmony vocal), Tammy Steffey (fiddle, lead and harmony
vocal), Barry Bales (bass, harmony vocal) and Brian Fesler (banjo). Jacket
notes by Jack Tottle. LCCN 90-753752 (LP). Contemporary / Bluegrass
Early Mandolin Classics, Volume 1. Rounder Records 1050. LP/cassette/CD.
A cross-cultural anthology of recordings documenting bands that featured
the mandolin in the pre-bluegrass 1920s and 1930s. Examples of Puerto Rican,
African-, Anglo-, Italian-, and Ukrainian-American styles performed primarily
on the flatback mandolin, with a few banjo-mandolin selections. Remastered
from 78 rpm records, most of which have never been reissued in collections.
Jacket notes by Terry Zwigoff. LCCN 90-753753 (LP). Historical / Multi-ethnic
/ Mandolin
Eight-Hand Sets and Holy Steps: Early Dance Tunes and Songs of Praise
from North Carolina's Black Tradition. Folklife Section, North Carolina
Arts Council/North Carolina Museum of History, Longleaf Records LL001RE.
LP. A sampler of African-American traditions that flourished in North Carolina
from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, recorded in the late 1970s
as part of the North Carolina Museum of History exhibit "The Black Presence
in North Carolina." Side 1 presents the secular music of dance parties
and social gatherings--dance tunes such as rags and reels, and ballads
accompanied on fiddle, banjo, harmonica, guitar, and bones. Side 2 contains
spirituals and songs of praise performed by congregations, sacred singing
groups, and individuals with guitar or harmonica accompaniment. Twenty-four-page
booklet with extensive notes by Glenn Hinson gives descriptions of the
traditions, biographies of musicians, and photographs. LCCN 88-743072.
Contemporary / African-American / North Carolina
Ethnic Dance Music in Northern Indiana: Greek, Macedonian, Serbian and
Croatian. Archives of Traditional Music, no catalog number. Cassette. Social
dance music of four culturally overlapping ethnic communities in northern
Indiana from the collections of Indiana University's Archives of Traditional
Music. Mostly current field recordings from church dances, festivals, and
restaurants, with two historic recordings of the first Macedonian band
formed in the United States. Recordings show the coexistence of old- and
new-world pieces in current repertoires, and, with the exception of the
tamburitza groups, the use of modern Western instruments. Notes by Paul
Tyler. LCCN 90-753756. Contemporary and Historical / Greek-American, Macedonian-American,
Serbian-American, Croatian-American / Indiana
John Check and the Wisconsin Dutchmen: Everybody's Favorites. North Star
Appli NSA 153. LP/cassette. Polka music from one of the upper Midwest's
leading exponents of the Dutchman style, characterized by its hard-driving
rhythm, staccato execution of the melody, three- and four-part harmonies,
and a typical instrumentation that includes tuba, concertina, trumpets,
saxophones, clarinets, and drum set. This nineteenth album from the Wisconsin
Dutchmen is a representative cross-section of their repertoire, including
polkas, waltzes, laendlers, schottisches, and several "Big Band Modern" tunes.
Jacket and insert notes by John Check. LCCN 90-753760 (LP). Contemporary
/ Polka: Wisconsin
Santiago Jimenez, Jr.: Familia y Tradicion. Rounder Records 6033. LP/cassette/CD.
Conjunto (a Mexican-American dance music tradition from south Texas) played
and sung by button accordionist Santiago Jimenez, member of a respected
San Antonio musical family. Jimenez, who specializes in the older conjunto
style played by his father Santiago, Sr., stresses family ties in this
album. Among the typical mix of rancheras, corridos, polkas, and schottisches
are three originals written for family members, five written by Jimenez's
father, a version of a recent hit by his brother Flaco, and a bilingual
version of "You Are My Sunshine." Other band members are Toby Torres on
bajo sexto (a type of twelve-string guitar) Juan Viesca on tololoche (acoustic
bass) and Cookie Martinez on drums. Jacket notes by John Morthland; insert
has song notes by Dr. Jose Reyna and Spanish/English lyric transcriptions
and translations by Yleana Martinez. LCCN 90-753762 (LP). Contemporary
/ Mexican-American / Conjunto Narciso Martinez: The Father of Tex-Mex Conjunto:
El Huracan del Valle, Volume Two. Arhoolie/Folklyric 9055. LP/cassette.
Button accordionist Narciso Martinez, born in 1911, set the standard for
instrumental conjunto (a Mexican-American dance music tradition from south
Texas) in the 1930s and 1940s. This collection, reissued from 1948-60 recordings
made during the zenith of Martinez's career, contains instrumental dance
tunes as well as accompaniments for popular solo and duet singers such
as Lydia Mendoza and the Mendoza sisters. Jacket notes by Chris Strachwitz.
LCCN 90-753795 (LP). Historical / Mexican-American / Conjunto
John Cephas and Phil Wiggins: Guitar Man. Flying Fish 470. LP/cassette/CD.
Southeastern, or "Piedmont," blues from Washington, D.C., musicians "Bowling
Green" John Cephas and "Harmonica" Phil Wiggins. Guitarist/singer Cephas
and harmonica player Wiggins, who have been playing acoustic blues together
for fifteen years, present in this album a mix of traditional Piedmont
and contemporary urban blues stylings. Jacket notes by Barry Lee Pearson
include a brief bibliography. LCCN 90-753763 (CD). Contemporary / African-American
/ Blues: Piedmont
Hawaiian Drum Chants: Sounds of Power in Time. Smithsonian/Folkways Records
SF 40015. LP/cassette/CD. Documents the traditions of hula pahu (Hawaiian
drum dances and drumming) with 1989 recordings of a family of contemporary
masters; and historic recordings, beginning from 1923, of the earliest
generation of masters known to have established the hula pahu traditions
perpetuated today. Insert notes by Elizabeth Tatar have a discography and
transcriptions and translations of the chants. The recording was prepared
in conjunction with the publication Hula Pahu, An Exploration of Movement
and Sound of a Hawaiian Performing Genre, by Adrienne L. Kaeppler and Elizabeth
Tatar (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1989). LCCN 90-753765 (CD). Historical
and Contemporary / Hawaiian
Honkers and Bar Walkers, Volume One. Delmark DL-438. LP/cassette/CD. Anthology
of some of the lesser known, but important tenor sax players who helped
to shape early 1950s rhythm and blues. Mostly reissues of recordings made
between 1949 and 1953, including Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train" and Cozy
Eggleston's "Big Heavy," with some previously unissued titles and alternate
takes. Jacket notes by Bob Porter. LCCN 90-753767 (LP). Historical / African-American
/ Rhythm & Blues: Saxophone
Carl Perkins: Honky Tonk Gal: Rare and Unissued Sun Masters. Rounder Records
SS-27. LP/cassette/CD. Singer, guitarist, and composer of "Blue Suede Shoes," Carl
Perkins was a pioneer of the country/blues hybrid now known as rockabilly.
These potential singles, experiments, and alternate takes, most of them
previously unissued, were made in Memphis for the Sun label from 1954 to
1957 and include an alternate version of Perkins's hit "Dixie Fried." Jacket
notes by Colin Escott. LCCN 90-753774 (LP). Historical / Rockabilly: Memphis
The Tau Moe Family with Bob Brozman: Ho'omana'o I Na Mele O Ka Wa U'i
(Remembering the Songs of Our Youth). Rounder Records 6028. LP/cassette/CD.
Current recordings (and one historic reissue) of Hawaii's Tau Moe Family,
with steel guitarist Bob Brozman, performing the now-archaic acoustic hula
style that flourished from the 1880s to the 1920s, before the introduction
of the electric steel guitar. One of the most widely traveled groups of
Hawaiian musicians, the family spent over fifty years touring Asia, Australia,
Europe, and the Middle East. Mostly hulas, with a waltz, a rag, two Samoan
songs, and a hapa-haole (half-white) song. The group includes Tau Moe,
guitar and bass vocals; Rose Moe, lead vocals; Lani Moe, ukelele and vocals;
Dorian Moe, second guitar and vocals; and Bob Brozman, Hawaiian guitar
and harp guitar. Jacket notes by Bob Brozman. LCCN 90-753775 (LP). Contemporary
/ Hawaiian
Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones: It's Our 25th Anniversary. Bel Aire 3041.
LP/cassette/CD. Silver anniversary album from six-member Chicago group
whose bandleader, Eddie Blazonczyk, Sr., is one of the most important figures
in the creation of the contemporary Polish-American polka sound. Spirited
vocals, crisp trumpet lines, reedy concertina, and powerful electric bass
characterize the Versatones' sound. Lyrics on side 1 are sung in English,
and on side 2 in Polish or Polish and English. Repertoire is a mixture
of contemporary compositions, new versions of traditional polkas, and several "country-flavored" polkas.
Jacket has photo history of the group; insert notes by Margy McClain give
background on polka music in the Polish-American community and biographical
information on Eddie Blazonczyk, Sr. LCCN 90-753776 (LP). Contemporary
/ Polish-American / Polka: Chicago
Ray Hicks: Jack Alive June Appal Mountain Masters Series JA 0052. Cassette/CD.
Master storyteller Ray Hicks of Beech Mountain, North Carolina, usually
known for his "Jack" tales, mixes songs and "just talk" with stories from
his own life on this album, recorded at the Hicks home. Among others there
are stories of hard times faced during the Depression ("The Vision of the
Automobile Engine"), of humorous events ("The Sign was In the Knees"),
and the supernatural ("The Witch on Stone Mountain"). Cassette comes with
insert notes by Doug Dorschug and Gurney Norman; CD comes with a sixteen-page
booklet containing a Hicks family history by Doug Dorschug and an essay
by Gurney Norman. LCCN 90-741052 (CD). Contemporary / Appalachian / Storytelling
Flory Jagoda: Kantikas Di Mi Nona (Songs of My Grandmother). Global Village
C 139. Cassette. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia (now Yugoslavia), Flory Jagoda
sings in Ladino, the language of Sephardic Jews who settled in other Mediterranean
countries following their expulsion from Spain after 1492. Mostly songs
passed down in Jagoda's family, with four originals recalling memories
of family holidays, all performed in a 1930s Bosnian style. Guitar, mandolin,
and tambourine accompaniment. Song transcriptions and notes by Flory Jagoda.
LCCN 90-753777. Contemporary / Sephardic Jewish-American
Live Again WCYB Bristol Farm and Fun Time. Rebel 854. LP/cassette. Selected
performances from legendary live radio show "Farm and Fun Time," a noontime
musical variety show aimed at rural listeners that was broadcast by Bristol,
Tennessee, radio station WCYB in the late 1940s and 1950s. This album features
early bluegrass and post-war hillbilly music from the program's most popular
musicians Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Curly King, Carl and J.P. Sauceman,
Mac Wiseman, and Carter and Ralph Stanley (companion album Rebel 855, The
Stanley Brothers, presents their broadcasts from two years earlier). Jacket
notes by Jack Tottle. LCCN 90-753778 (LP). Historical / Appalachian
Liz Carroll. Green Linnett 1092. LP/cassette/CD. Jigs, hornpipes, reels,
and other dance tunes, mostly original, from Chicago Irish-American fiddler
Liz Carroll, one of the foremost instrumentalists in contemporary Irish-American
music. Includes one original tune by Daithi Sproule, who accompanies Carroll
on the guitar throughout the album. Song notes by Liz Carroll. LCCN 90-753779
(CD). Contemporary / Irish-American
Low Blows: An Anthology of Chicago Harmonica Blues. Rooster Blues R7610.
LP/cassette. Classic 1950s Chicago blues featuring harmonica and electric
guitar, mostly from players who seldom or never recorded when the style
was in its heyday. All of the tracks, recorded between 1972 and 1980, are
previously unissued. Presents better-known harpmen like Big Walter Horton
and Carey Bell, along with other players Easy Baby, Big Leon Brooks, Mojo
Buford, Good Rockin' Charles, Golden Wheeler, and Big John Wrencher. Band
members include guitarists Joe Carter and Big Guitar Red. Insert notes,
musicians' biographies, and recording session data by Jim O'Neal. LCCN
90-753780 (LP). Contemporary / African-American / Blues: Chicago: Harmonica
Magic Sam: The Magic Sam Legacy. Delmark DS 651. LP/cassette. Tribute
album for the late Chicago blues singer and guitarist Samuel "Magic Sam" Maghett,
one of the leading exponents of the complex "West Side" electric guitar
style that evolved from the economic necessity of the three-piece band.
These tracks, all previously unissued, are made up mostly of material from
1966-68 recording sessions for Magic Sam's two Delmark albums. Accompanying
musicians include Eddie Shaw (tenor saxophone), Shakey Jake (harmonica),
Mighty Joe Young (rhythm guitar), Lafayette Leake (piano), Mack Thompson
(bass), and Odie Payne, Jr. (drums). Jacket notes by Robert Koester. LCCN
90-753781 (LP). Historical / African-American / Blues: Chicago
Fred McDowell: Mississippi Delta Blues. Arhoolie 304. Cassette/CD. Delta
country blues from singer and guitarist Fred McDowell (1904?-1972), a master
of the bottleneck slide guitar style and a major influence on contemporary
artists. Includes two songs recorded with early influence and teacher Eli
Green. Notes by Chris Strachwitz. LCCN 90-753782 (CD). Historical / African-American
/ Blues: Delta Moving in the Spirit: Worship Through Music in Clear Creek,
Miss. Center for the Study of Southern Culture, Southern Culture Records
SC 1705. LP. Field recordings of music and spoken word in worship services
at Clear Creek Missionary Baptist Church, located in a small, rural black
community in northeast Mississippi. The broad range of expression documented
within this one community includes the older lined hymns (the repetition
by the congregation of lines called out one at a time by a leader), congregational
hymns, newer gospel pieces, chanted prayer, and sermonizing. Jacket notes
and photographs by Therese Smith. LCCN 90-753783. Contemporary / African-American
/ Mississippi
Norwegian-American Music from Minnesota: Old-Time and Traditional Favorites.
Minnesota Musical Traditions series (cosponsored by the Minnesota Historical
Society and the Minnesota State Arts Board) C-002. LP and cassette. Field
recordings, made in 1987 and 1988, sampling some of the musical traditions
of Norwegian-Americans whose forebears settled in Minnesota in the nineteenth
century. Selections are mostly from the current gamaldans, or "old-time
dance" music tradition, including waltzes, schottisches, and polkas, with
one vocal. Other selections are a Hardanger fiddle tune from the bygdedans
tradition of Norwegian regional dance music, and a hymn played on the psalmodikon
(single-string bowed instrument). Notes by Philip Nusbaum. LCCN 90-751417
(LP). Contemporary / Norwegian-American / Minnesota
Now That's a Good Tune: Masters of Traditional Missouri Fiddling. University
of Missouri Cultural Heritage Center, Grey Eagle Records 101. 2-LP set/2-cassette
set. Recent recordings (1984-89) of thirteen Missouri fiddlers, mostly
older men and women, documenting both regional styles and the role of women
in traditional fiddling. Accompanying sixty-four-page book has an overview
of Missouri fiddling styles and contexts by Howard Wight Marshall; musicians'
biographies by Amy E. Skillman, Charles Walden, and Julie Youmans; tune
annotations and transcriptions; extensive bibliography and discography;
photos, map, and other illustrations. LCCN 89-50679 (LP). Contemporary
/ Fiddling / Missouri
Ojibway Music from Minnesota: A Century of Song for Voice and Drum. Minnesota
Musical Traditions series (cosponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society
and the Minnesota State Arts Board) C-003. LP/cassette. One hundred years
of Ojibway music, from early wax cylinder to recent digital recordings.
Most of side A contains secular songs typical of those performed at large
community dances, usually called powwows. The other two selections are
contrasting recordings made sixty years apart of the same "dream song." Side
B contains moccasin game [gambling] songs from 1899 and 1988; a story song;
the oldest recorded Ojibway love song paired with two more contemporary
ones; and two urban popular songs. Fifteen-page booklet by Thomas Vennum,
Jr., has photos, map, some song text transcriptions and translations. LCCN
90-753785 (LP). Contemporary and Historical / Native American: Ojibway
/ Minnesota
Puerto Rican Music in Hawai'i: Kachi-Kachi. Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40014.
LP/cassette/CD. Field recordings of kachi-kachi, the dance music tradition
of Puerto Rican immigrants who came to Hawaii as plantation laborers beginning
in 1900. These recordings of bomba, plena, seis, and other song/dance forms
were made in a variety of settings, including clubs, churches, parties,
and informal gatherings. Instruments in a typical group include the cuatro
(small guitar with four or five sets of double strings) or the sinfonia
(button accordion) as the lead instrument; the six-string Spanish guitar;
the guiro (serrated gourd played by scraping); electric bass guitar; and
other percussion instruments such as bongos, congas, and maracas. Transcriptions
and translations of song texts; notes by Ted Solis. LCCN 90-753786 (CD).
Contemporary / Puerto-Rican / Hawaii
Morgan Sexton: Rock Dust. June Appal Mountain Masters Series JA 0055.
LP/ cassette. Songs and tunes from traditional Appalachian ballad singer
and banjo player Morgan Sexton, born in 1911 in Linefork, Kentucky. Sexton
has been singing and accompanying himself with his two-finger banjo style
for seventy years. Sexton is joined on a few selections by his nephew Lee "Boy" Sexton
on the fiddle. Jacket notes contain Sexton's recollections of his life
as a coal miner, and other notes by D. Gregory White and Mike Seeger. Eight-page
insert has interview excerpts; texts, banjo tunings, and notes for each
song by D. Gregory White. LCCN 90-753788 (LP). Contemporary / Appalachian
Songs of Indian Territory: Native American Music Traditions of Oklahoma.
State Arts Council of Oklahoma/Center of the American Indian, no catalog
number. Cassette. A sampler of Oklahoma Native American musical traditions,
recorded live at the Songs of Indian Territory workshops and the Indians
For Indians Hour tribute concert in Oklahoma City in 1988. Selections include
love songs, handgame songs, lullabies, and hymns; war dance, gourd dance,
round dance, and stomp dance songs, as well as examples of Plains Indian
flute tradition. Accompanying book edited by Willie Smyth has essays describing
historical and contemporary American Indian musical practices and specific
collections documenting Oklahoma Indian music. Photos; illustrations; some
bibliographical and discographical information. LCCN 89-82566. Contemporary
/ Native American: Caddo, Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Kiowa, Pawnee/Otoe,
Ponca, Potawatomi, Seminole / Oklahoma
Viola Turpeinen: The Early Days - Finnish-American Dance Music, 1928-1938.
Thimbleberry Recordings THC 1006. Cassette. Reissues of 78 rpm recordings
made for Victor by Finnish-American accordionist Viola Turpeinen (1909-1958)
of Champion, Michigan. A legendary figure to a generation of Finnish-Americans,
Turpeinen's thirty-year career included recording for several record labels
and performing at concerts and dances across the country. Three of the
fourteen selections feature Turpeinen playing solo; others are duets with
singer/violinist John Rosendahl, and trio configurations of two accordions
with violin, or accordion with trumpet and piano. Notes by Toni and Oren
Tikkanen; photos. LCCN 90-753790. Historical / Finnish-American
Zydeco: Volume One, The Early Years (1961-1962). Arhoolie 307. Cassette/CD.
Historic live recordings of zydeco, the accordion-powered dance music of
Gulf Coast Creoles that evolved from a fusion of African-Caribbean and
Acadian (Cajun) elements, with influences from blues and early rock music.
Some of the featured accordionists are Albert Chevalier, Sidney Babineaux,
Peter King, Willie Green, and Clifton Chenier, recorded mostly at taverns
and house dances in Houston, Texas and southwest Louisiana in 1961 and
1962. Groups consist of one or more accordions with either "rubboard" or
drum set; some also have piano or guitar. Some selections are reissues;
over half have never been released before. Notes by Chris Strachwitz. LCCN
90-753791 (CD). Historical / African-American Creole / Zydeco
The following recordings, though different in presentation concept from
those listed above, were considered by the panel to be excellent educational
products.
Los Mariachis An Introduction to Mexican Mariachi Music. World Music Press,
no catalog number. Cassette/booklet set designed for classroom participation
or individual study; appropriate for fifth grade and above. Available directly
from World Music Press, P.O. Box 2565, Danbury, Connecticut 06813; or from
distributor Baker &Taylor, 501 South Gladiolus Street, Momence, Illinois
60954. LCCN 90-191669
Los Tesoros del Espiritu: Familia y Fe (Treasures of the Spirit: Family
and Faith.) - A Portrait in Sound of Hispanic New Mexico. Museum of International
Folk Art, no catalog number. Three-CD set. Recording is a companion to
the museum's exhibit Familia y Fe (Family and Faith), and includes narration,
historical readings, and field recordings documenting a wide spectrum of
New Mexico's regional folklore. Introductions are in English; most of the
other material is in Spanish. Available from the Museum of International
Folk Art Gift Shop, P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504. LCCN 90-741051
Sounds of the World - Music of East Asia: Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
Traditions in the United States. Music Educators National Conference 3036.
Study guide by William M. Anderson. LCCN 90-753792. Sounds of the World
- Music of Eastern Europe: Albanian, Greek, and South Slavic Traditions
in the United States. Music Educators National Conference 3038. Study guide
by Patricia Shehan Campbell. LCCN 90-753794. Both are three-cassette sets
with study guides that feature narration, interviews, and music examples;
for use in elementary school and above. Available from Music Educators
National Conference Publication Sales, 1902 Association Drive, Reston,
Virginia 22091-1597
Publishers of Listed Recordings
Archives of Traditional Music Morrison Hall Indiana University Bloomington,
IN 47405 Arhoolie Records 10341 San Pablo Avenue El Cerrito, CA 94530
Bear Family Records, distributed by County Sales P.O. Box 191 Floyd, VA
24091
Bel-Aire Records 7208 S. Harlem Avenue Bridgeview, IL 60455 Delmark Records
4243 N. Lincoln Chicago, IL 60618
Flying Fish Records 1304 W. Schubert Chicago, IL 60614
Global Village Music Box 2051 Cathedral Station New York, NY 10025
Green Linnet Records 43 Beaver Brook Road Danbury, CT 06810
Grey Eagle Records Extension Publications 115 South Fifth Street Columbia,
MO 65211
June Appal Recordings 306 Madison Street Whitesburg, KY 41858
Longleaf Records c/o Folklife Section North Carolina Arts Council Department
of Cultural Resources Raleigh, NC 27611
Minnesota Historical Society Press Order Department 1500 Mississippi Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
North Star Appli 1451 W. Mason Street Green Bay, WI 54303
Now and Then Records c/o Center for Appalachian Studies and Services East
Tennessee State University Box 19180A Johnson City, TN 37614-0002
Rebel Records, distributed by County Sales P.O. Box 191 Floyd, VA 24091
Rooster Blues Records 232 Sunflower Avenue Clarksdale, MS 38614
Rounder Records One Camp Street Cambridge, MA 02140
Smithsonian Folkways, distributed by Roundup Records P.O. Box 154 Cambridge,
MA 02140
Southern Culture Records c/o Center for the Study of Southern Culture
The University of Mississippi University, MS 38677
State Arts Council of Oklahoma c/o Center of the American Indian Kirkpatrick
Center 2100 N.E. 52 Street Oklahoma City, OK 73111
Thimbleberry Recordings c/o Postman North Route 1, Box 195 Calumet, MI
49913
For further listings and reviews of folk recordings, consult publications
such as _American Music_, _Bluegrass Unlimited_, _Blues & Rhythm: The Gospel
Truth_, _County Sales Newsletter_, _Devil's Box_, _Dirty Linen_, _Disc
Collector_, _Down Home Music Newsletter_, _Ethnomusicology_, _Folk Roots_,
_Journal of American Folklore_, _Juke Blues_, _Living Blues_, _Musical
Traditions_, _Old-Time Herald_, _Old Time Country_, _Old Time Music_, _Record
Roundup_, _Rejoice: The Gospel Music Magazine_, _Sing Out!_, _Tale Trader_,
_Western Folklore_, _The World of Music_, and _Yarnspinner_. _Ethnomusicology_,
the journal of the Society for Ethnomusicology, publishes a "Current Discography" feature
in each issue. In addition, the free guide Folklife and Ethnomusicology
Serial Publications in North America is available from the American Folklife
Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540.
For a more complete guide to folk record labels and direct mail-order
sources, write for the free reference aid _Recording Companies in North
America Specializing in Folk Music, Folklore and Ethnomusicology_ (LCFARA
3) prepared by the American Folklife Center.
_Folklife Sourcebook_, a directory of folklife resources in the United
States and Canada, can be obtained by sending $10 to the Folklife Sourcebook,
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540.
Mail-Order Sources for Folk Recordings
Alcazar Records P.O. Box 429 Waterbury, VT 05676 (802) 244-8657
Andy's Front Hall Wormer Road Post Office Box 307 Voorheesville, NY 12186
(518) 765-4193
Appalshop Marketing and Sales 306 Madison Street Whitesburg, KY 41858
(606) 633-0108
The Celtic Trader P.O. Box 35495 Charlotte, NC 28235 (800) 822-2420
Country Dance and Song Society of America 17 New South Street Northampton,
MA 01060 (413) 584-9913
County Sales P.O. Box 191 Floyd, VA 24091 (703) 745-2001
Down Home Music Mail Order 6921 Stockton Avenue El Cerrito, CA 94530 (415)
525-1494
Elderly Records 1100 North Washington P.O. Box 14210 Lansing, MI 48901
(517) 372-7890; 372-4161
Flying Fish Records 1304 West Schubert Chicago, IL 60614 (312) 528-5455
House of Musical Traditions 7040 Carroll Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912
(301) 270-9090 after noon, E.S.T.
Music of the North American Indian Canyon Records and Indian Arts 4143
North Sixteenth Street Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 266-4823
National Catalog of Storytelling National Storytelling Resource Center
P.O. Box 309 Jonesborough, TN 37659 (615) 753-2171
Note-Ably Yours 6865 Scarff Road New Carlisle, OH 45344 (800) 828-0115
Original Music R.D. 1, Box 190 Lasher Road Tivoli, N.Y. 12583 (914) 756-2767
Rooster Blues 232 Sunflower Avenue Clarksdale, MS 38614 (601) 627-2209
Roundup Records P.O. Box 154 North Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 661-6064
Uncle Jim's Country Music Catalog P.O. Box A Arcadia, CA 91066 (800) 776-8742
World Music Institute 49 West 27th Street, #810 New York, NY 10001 (212)
545-7536
World Music Press P.O. Box 2565 Danbury, CT 06813 (203) 748-1131
Previous editions of _American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings: A Selected
List_ are available from the American Folklife Center and at facilities
across the United States through the Educational Resources Information
Center (ERIC) of the U.S. Department of Education. Consult your librarian
or online service vendor (such as BRS or DIALOG), or contact:
ERIC Document Reproduction Service 3900 Wheeler Avenue Alexandria, VA
22304 (703) 823-0500 (800) 227-3742
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Underlining, fonts, and diacritics have been removed from this document
for distribution via the Internet. A published version is available upon
request from the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington,
DC 20540.
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