News & Press
July 30th, 2009
Smithsonian Folkways T-Shirts Now Available
By popular request, Smithsonian Folkways T-shirts are now available at
folkways.si.edu!
Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger fans should consider the most popular shirt at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which features Woody's guitar on the front and Pete's banjo on the back.
In addition, the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program Las Américas: Un Mundo Musical inspired two shirts — "¡Oye!" and "Mi Música".
T-shirt purchases support the nonprofit mission of Smithsonian Folkways and help spread the word when you wear them.
July 27th, 2009
Nine Smithsonian Folkways songs named to 100 Most Essential Folk Songs list
Nine tracks from the Smithsonian Folkways collection were recently featured on Folk Alley's "100 Most Essential Folk Songs" list, including songs from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Elizabeth Cotten. Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" was awarded the list's top spot. The list also includes twenty three songs from Smithsonian Folkways collection that are performed by other artists, such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" by Pete Seeger (as performed by the Kingston Trio) and "Goodnight Irene" by Lead Belly (as performed by the Weavers).
Smithsonian Folkways Songs on Folk Alley's list of 100 Most Essential Folk Songs:
01."This Land Is Your Land" - Woody Guthrie
04. "If I Had a Hammer" - Pete Seeger
08. "We Shall Overcome" - Pete Seeger
30. "Pastures of Plenty" - Woody Guthrie
36. "Freight Train" - Elizabeth Cotton
41. "Changes" - Phil Ochs
45. "Little Boxes" - Malvina Reynolds
64. "Deportee" - Woody Guthrie
68. "The Crucifixion" - Phil Ochs
93. "Hobo's Lullaby" - Woody Guthrie
July 17th, 2009
Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On Episode #7 Now Available on Podcast
Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On, the 26-part radio series hosted by Michael Asch, son of Folkways founder Moses Asch, features the original recordings of Folkways Records' vast catalogue. Episode #7 features the Songs of Animals - click here to download or subscribe to the podcast.
June 23rd, 2009
Read about the expanding universe of Música Latina and more in Folkways Magazine - Summer 2009
Explore the second edition of Folkways Magazine, which examines the expanding universe of Música Latina, profiles new Smithsonian Folkways artist Los Texmaniacs, re-discovers an album of Welsh music from 1954, and much more.
June 23rd, 2009
Borders y Bailes from Los Texmaniacs now available with free stream
June 23rd, 2009
¡Y Que Viva Venezuela! Maestros del Joropo Oriental now available with free stream
June 23rd, 2009
Blodeugerdd: Song of the Flowers - An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song now available with free stream
Blodeugerdd: Song of the Flowers - An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song highlights music from a country as ancient as it is forward-looking. Recorded in a 15th-century building, the album features a garland of intimate musical interpretations by leading keepers of Welsh music today (including six featured performers at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival).
June 23rd, 2009
A Voice Ringing O'er the Gale! The Oratory of Frederick Douglass Read by Ossie Davis now available with free download
June 9th, 2009
Upcoming Releases as Part of 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
In conjunction with the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held June 24th - July 5th on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Folkways will release four albums:
A Voice Ringing O'er the Gale! The Oratory of Frederick Douglass Read by Ossie Davis as part of the Giving Voice: The Power of Words in African American Culture Festival program.
Borders y Bailes from Los Texmaniacs and ¡Y Que Viva Venezuela! Maestros del Joropo Oriental as part of the Las Américas: Un Mundo Musical Festival program.
Blodeugerdd - Song of the Flowers: An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song as part of the Wales Smithsonian Cymru Festival program.
Join the monthly Smithsonian Folkways mailing list for more information on these albums when they are available, and we'll see you at the Folklife Festival!
June 9th, 2009
Sounds to Grow On Podcast Now Available
Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On, the 26-part radio program hosted by Michael Asch, is now available as a podcast on iTunes and via www.folkways.si.edu. Click here to access the podcast, which will be updated twice per month.
June 5th, 2009
¡Ayombe! The Heart of Colombia's Música Vallenata wins an Independent Music Fan Award
May 28th, 2009
Videos Featuring Master Paraguayan Harpists, Now Available
Watch two videos featuring master Paraguayan harpists. Marcelo Rojas and Martin Portillo perform a "dueling harp" version of the classic "Pájaro campana" and Oscar Maldonado discusses harp construction while Marcelo Rojas and Nicolás Caballero perform.
May 28th, 2009
Mike Seeger to Receive 2009 NEA Award
Mike Seeger, who has performed on, produced, or recorded 74 Smithsonian Folkways albums, will receive the 2009 Bess Lomax Hawes Award for significant contributions to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage from the National Endowment of the Arts. Congratulations Mike!
May 19th, 2009
Maiteí América: Harps of Paraguay, the Newest Album in the Tradiciones/Traditions Series, Now Available
May 5th, 2009
Sing Along With Pete!
"Sometimes the most eloquent song I can sing is 'Wimoweh', with no words at all. Just melody, rhythm, and great bass harmony."
- Pete Seeger
Click here to sing along with Pete and access two free downloads from the new American Favorite Ballads: Vol. 1-5 Box Set!
April 21, 2009
Smithsonian Folkways Launches New Website and Online Magazine
Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label of the U.S. national museum, has upgraded www.folkways.si.edu and has launched Folkways Magazine™, a quarterly, multimedia online magazine bringing you the people and stories behind the recordings of Smithsonian Folkways.
The new website includes:
• Improved navigation and search
• Single-click downloads including album artwork and liner notes
• Your choice of 256K MP3 or lossless FLAC format
The premiere edition of Folkways Magazine includes a feature article on Pete Seeger, still standing tall at age 90, an interview with Grammy-award winning Nati Cano from Los Camperos de Nati Cano, and much more.
We hope you are enjoying the continued improvements of www.folkways.si.edu - stay in touch by joining our monthly newsletter and find us on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube.
April 21, 2009
Pete Seeger: American Favorite Ballads Vol. 1-5 Box Set Now Available With Two Free Downloads and Two Bonus Tracks
Pete Seeger's life, music, and legacy encapsulate nearly a century of American history and culture. He has immersed himself in folk music and used it, like Johnny Appleseed, to "plant the seeds of a better tomorrow in the homes across our land."
This box set contains 139 songs for nearly 6 hours of music across 5 CDs, each with its own booklet of extensive notes. The digital download version includes two additional, previously unreleased bonus songs. Two free digital downloads, "Buffalo Gals" and "Oh Mary Don't You Weep", are available for a limited time. Click here for more information.
April 21, 2009
Son de Mi Tierra, the New Son Jarocho Album by Son De Madera Now Available
Son JarochoThe improvisatory, string-driven music of Veracruz, Mexico has enjoyed several decades of major resurgence. This "back-to-the-future" recording allies elder farmer and rancher musicians with the next generation of forward-looking innovators who comprise the group Son de Madera. Click here for more information.
April 16, 2009
Pete Seeger: American Favorite Ballads Vol. 1-5 Box Set Will Be Released April 21st
Pete Seeger: American Favorite Ballads Vol. 1-5 Box Set, a collection of nearly 6 hours of classic songs, will be released on April 21st at www.folkways.si.edu and other retail outlets. Check back soon for a special announcement including free downloads, but in the meantime, please enjoy this previously unreleased video of music performance and interviews with Pete Seeger.
March 24, 2009
Classic Protest Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is now available on CD and DRM-free Digital Download
War, social injustice, personal plaints, and calls for action have long fueled musical creation and performance. In Classic Protest Songs, Mark Gustafson and Jeff Place tap the historic Smithsonian audio collections to compile 22 songs favored by leaders of antiwar, civil rights, industrial labor, farm worker, and other struggles to air their grievances. Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Janis Ian, Big Bill Broonzy, Pete Seeger, Barbara Dane, Guy Carawan, Phil Ochs, and other marquee artists let their voices ring out with calls for peace and justice.
March 17, 2009
John Cephas Memorial
Family, friends, musical colleagues and admirers of bluesman John Cephas will gather in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, March 29, 2009 to honor the memory of the Piedmont blues master through a sharing of remembrances and a musical tribute. The memorial gathering will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Baird Auditorium, located at 10th and Constitution, NW, Washington, D.C., 20506.
March 5, 2009
John Cephas, 1930-2009
Piedmont blues guitarist and vocalist John Cephas passed away March 4th at his home in Woodford, Virginia. Cephas, a 1989 National Heritage Fellowship Award recipient, recorded the album Richmond Blues in 2008 with his longtime musical partner Phil Wiggins as part of the African American Legacy Recording Series.
Cephas & Wiggins teamed up in 1977 after meeting at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and were named W.C Handy Blues Entertainers of the Year in 1987. Cephas, who once said "blues music is truth", served on the Executive Committee of the National Council for the Traditional Arts and was a founder of the Washington D.C. Blues Society. Click here to watch a video of Cephas & Wiggins discussing the Piedmont Blues style and click here to watch them perform in the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife festival Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert.
Other News (click for details)
- February 19, 2009
Snooks Eaglin, 1936-2009
Singer and guitarist Snooks Eaglin passed away February 18th in New Orleans. His Smithsonian Folkways album New Orleans Street Singer was originally released in 1959 and reissued in 2005 with 7 previously unreleased tracks. Recorded by folklorist Harry Oster after he heard Eaglin performing on the streets of the French Quarter, New Orleans Street Singer was selected for the book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.
Eaglin, also known as "the human jukebox" for his wide and varied repertoire including electric blues, rock, jazz, and country, lost his sight as a child before teaching himself to play guitar. He went on to play and record with many other New Orleans musicians, including Professor Longhair, the Wild Magnolias, and Alan Toussaint. In recent years he was a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
- February 9, 2009
Mariachi Los Camperos De Nati Cano Wins Grammy Award
Mariachi's Los Camperos de Nati Cano won a Grammy Award February 8th, 2009 in the Best Regional Mexican Album category for Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. This is the first Grammy Award for Los Camperos de Nati Cano (though Nati Cano performed on Linda Ronstadt's grammy-winning recordings Canciones de Mi Padre and Mas Canciones) and the third Grammy Award for a Smithsonian Folkways album, joining 2005's cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins and 1997's Anthology of American Folk Music™.
Congratulations as well to Michael Doucet who won for Best Zydeco or Cajun Album for Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival: BeauSoleil & Michael Doucet. Michael Doucet's Smithsonian Folkways album From Now On was nominated in the same category. Pete Seeger also won for Best Traditional Folk album for At 89 and Tom Paxton, who appears on five Smithsonian Folkways recordings, received a lifetime achievement award.
- January 27, 2009
Congratulations to IMA Winners Tony Trischka and the Paschall Brothers
Two Smithsonian Folkways releases were named winners at the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards. Tony Trischka's Territory won for Best Americana Album and the Paschall Brothers' On the Right Road Now won for Best Gospel Album.
- January 15, 2009
Irish Pirate Ballads and Other Songs of the Sea Now Available
Irish Pirate Ballads and Other Songs of the Sea an exceptional collection of authentic maritime songs sung by celebrated vocalist and author Dan Milner, is now available from Smithsonian Folkways. Featuring an impressive array of guest musicians and singers, including Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies, John Doyle of Solas, Tim Collins of the renowned Kilfenora Ceili Band, All-Ireland champion fiddler Brian Conway, Robbie O'Connell and Susan McKeown, Irish Pirate Ballads captures centuries of tradition and the revelry, mischief, tales of love and caution that characterize nautical life. Click here to learn more.
- January 12, 2009
White House Workers: Traditions and Memories DVD Now Available
White House Workers: Traditions and Memories explores the dedication, skills, and sacrifices of residence staff whose extraordinary service has helped the White House fulfill its multiple roles as a family residence, seat of government, ceremonial center, historic building, and museum. Features the 32-minute film Workers at the White House for the first time on DVD, plus more than 2 hours of additional material. Please click here for more information.
- December 16, 2008
Grammy Nominations and Independent Music Award Finalists
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings received two 2008 Grammy nominations, with Mariachi's Los Camperos de Nati Cano's Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano nominated for the Best Regional Mexican Album and Michael Doucet's From Now On nominated for the Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album. This is the fifth time in six years the label has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards in a single year, with a total of thirteen nominations in the last five years. The award show takes place February 9th, 2009.
In addition, five Smithsonian Folkways were selected as Finalists for the 8th Independent Music Awards. Click here to listen to and vote for your favorite albums on the Independent Music Awards website
- December 2, 2008
Happy Birthday Moe! Free Song Download on December 2nd
Download for free On My Way to See Moe Asch by Champion Jack Dupree as a happy birthday wish to Folkways founder Moses Asch, who would have turned 103 today!
- November 18, 2008
Listen to Worlds of Sound™ author Richard Carlin on three archived radio programs
Richard Carlin recently appeared on three radio programs (NPR's Talk of the Nation (also featuring Mike Seeger), WNYC's Sound Check, and WYPR's Tapestry of the Times) to discuss the new book Worlds of Sound™: the Story of Smithsonian Folkways and sample-cuts from the Worlds of Sound™ Sampler CD that comes with every copy ordered from Smithsonian Folkways. Each show is archived for future listening, and you can post your own "Folkways moment" on the website for each show. Click here for more information.
- November 14, 2008
Nine Smithsonian Folkways Albums Named to "Recordings to Hear Before You Die" List
Nine Smithsonian Folkways albums were selected in the new book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, a Listener's Life List released in August by Workman Publishing. Written by frequent National Public Radio contributor Tom Moon, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die features music from all genres, and the Smithsonian Folkways selections (just under one percent of the total!) are equally as diverse:
- Dock Boggs: His Folkway Years, 1963-68, Dock Boggs (Folk)
- ¡Viva el Mariachi!, Nati Cano's Mariachi los Camperos (World/Mexico)
- New Orleans Street Singer, Snooks Eaglin (R&B)
- The High Lonesome Sound, Roscoe Holcomb (Folk)
- Lightnin' Hopkins, Lightnin' Hopkins (Blues)
- The Original James P. Johnson 1942-1945, James P. Johnson (Jazz)
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 1, Lead Belly (Folk/Blues)
- The Anthology of American Folk Music™, Various Artists (Folk)
- Zodiac Suite, Mary Lou Williams (Jazz)
Smithsonian Folkways recording artists Big Bill Broonzy, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Guthrie, Dave Van Ronk, and Pete Seeger were also selected for albums they released on other labels. Please visit www.1000recordings.com to submit comments about the Smithsonian Folkways selections, as the albums with the most comments will be featured on the site!- October 21, 2008
"Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGGGGG and Other Children's Favorites by Tom Glazer now available.
Tom Glazer's uncanny ability to "speak to children as saints speak to birds," as touted by the New York Times, rings loud and clear in this signature collection of live performances by this legendary children's artist. His own delightfully silly "On Top of Spaghetti" and "Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGGGGG" stand as eternal favorites alongside "The Bus Song," "This Old Man," "Jimmy Crack Corn," and many more of these two dozen newly compiled and remastered classic tracks. Please click here for more information.
- October 14, 2008
Worlds Of Sound: The Story Of Smithsonian Folkways is Available Now With a Free Music Sampler CD
Worlds of Sound™: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, a behind-the-scenes look at the "little label that could", is now available nationwide. If you order directly from folkways.si.edu, you will also receive an exclusive 26-track Worlds of Sound™ Sampler CD free for a limited time while supplies last. Please click here for more information.
- October 9, 2008
Nobel Voices for Disarmament: 1901?2001 free for a limited time, download free lesson plan.
Introduced and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, producer and United Nations Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas, Nobel Voices honors the achievements of the last century's Nobel Peace Prize winners in disarmament and arms control and those who have been inspired by their work. Click here to stream the album free and download a free lesson plan.
- September 25, 2008
Worlds Of Sound: The Story Of Smithsonian Folkways is Available now for Pre-Order With a Free Music Sampler Cd
Worlds of Sound™: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, a behind-the-scenes look at the "little label that could", is now available for pre-order and each order will include an exclusive 26-track Worlds of Sound™ Sampler CD free for a limited time while supplies last. Please click here for more information.
- September 23, 2008
¡Que Viva el Canto! Songs of Chile released
Veteran musician Rafael Manríquez, paired with an array of Chilean musician notables, crafts a stunning portrait of Chilean folk music and captures the stylistic evolution of the genre from the mid-20th century to the present. Influenced by the extraordinary work of performer-researchers Margot Loyola, Violeta Parra and Gabriela Pizarro, who documented the musical traditions of the Chilean countryside during the 1960s, Manríquez pays tribute to his homeland with songs that epitomize its rich, albeit tumultuous, cultural heritage. Ultimately, ¡Que Viva el Canto! aims to offer a new rendition of Chilean folk music that bridges the past and the present.
- September 12, 2008
Worlds of Sound™: the Story of Smithsonian Folkways, Available October 14th 2008, is a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the "Little Label That Could"
Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1949. Worlds of Sound™: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways will be available for purchase from this website soon, and will include an exclusive 26-track Worlds of Sound™ Music Sampler free for a limited time. Please sign-up to our monthly newsletter to find out when it will be available and click here for more information.
- September 8, 2008
Blues Routes: Heroes and Tricksters On Sale in September
This compilation of live blues performances in a variety of styles is just $9.99 on CD format and $5.99 as a digital download through September, 2008. Blues Routes features 17 tracks from a wide range of artists, including Cephas & Wiggins, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, Etta Baker, the Georgia Sea Island Singers, and more. Click here to purchase the album.
- September 5, 2008
Cephas & Wiggins in Billboard, Wall Street Journal
Richmond Blues, the new Smithsonian Folkways album by Cephas & Wiggins, entered the Billboard Blues Chart last week at #14 and was the subject of a Wall Street Journal article on the Piedmont blues style. Click here to read the article and click here for more information on Richmond Blues.
- August 26, 2008
Nobel Voices for Disarmament: 1901–2001 Released
Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 to honor such advocacy. In this collection of archival and new spoken word recordings, Nobel laureates and other proponents of peace remind us of their profound efforts on behalf of world peace. Click here for more information.
- August 6, 2008
Rahim Alhaj Profiled on CNN
Grammy-nominated oud master Rahim Alhaj was the subject of a feature video on CNN in conjunction with his July 31st, 2008 performance at the Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Alhaj, with percussionist Souhail Kaspar, released When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq on Smithsonian Folkways and earned a 2008 Grammy nomination in the traditional world music category. Click here to watch the CNN profile, featuring both interview and performance footage.
- June 24, 2008
Música Del Pueblo: A Virtual Exhibition of Latino Roots Music and Culture in the United States and Latin America
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage has partnered with Smithsonian Folkways and the Smithsonian Latino Center to create a Flash-based virtual exhibition featuring a diverse range of Latin American and Latino musics. Música del Pueblo draws its content from many sources: research and documentation from the Nuestra Música: Music in Latino Culture programs from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; research and recordings from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Tradiciones/Traditions series of música latina CDs; and new documentation of music done partnering with community organizations and researchers around the United States. The exhibition includes twenty four high-quality video features arranged by thematic categories. Content includes Puerto Rican bomba, plena, and jíbaro music, South Texas conjunto, Mexican mariachi music, Mexican huasteco, jarocho, and Michoacán Tierra Caliente son, Afro Cuban sacred music, Colombian vallenato, Dominican merengue típico, Salvadoran chanchona music, corridos, Guatemalan marimba music, Chilean nueva canción, and Latino hip-hop. These videos are accompanied by brief essays and links to related content in other sections of the Música del Pueblo website and on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
- June 8, 2008
Smithsonian Folkways Launches New Web Site
We hope you are enjoying the new Smithsonian Folkways website, which is an effort to provide greater access to the more than 3,000 recordings that make up the collection. Browse our new releases, staff picks, best sellers, or the more than 40 genres represented. Try our enhanced advanced search, listen to song samples, and when you find recordings you'd like to purchase, you can choose between CD or Digital Download format.
- May 30th, 2008
Discover Música Vallenata in Free Film Screening and in Smithsonian Magazine
Join the Smithsonian Latino Center, the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Smithsonian Channel and the Embassy of Colombia for a free screening of The Accordion Kings, a new documentary film about vallenato, the soulful music of Colombia's Caribbean coast. Following a brief discussion of the film, José Vásquez, Pangue Maestre, Ivo Díaz, and Daniel Castilla will perform a special concert of música vallenata featured in the film and on the new recording ¡Ayombe!:The Heart of Colombia's Música Vallenata, available now from Smithsonian Folkways. The event will begin at 6pm on Friday, June 6th, at the Baird Auditorium in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Click here for more information.
In addition, June's edition of Smithsonian Magazine features a profile of vallenato, video clips from The Accordion Kings, and an audio stream of "Matilde Lina", one of the songs from ¡Ayombe!:The Heart of Colombia's Música Vallenata. Click here for the profile and video clips, and click here for the audio stream of "Matilde Lina".
- May 14, 2008
Two Folkways Records Added to the National Recording Registry
Two recordings from the Folkways collections were included in the 2007 National Recording Registry: You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song recorded by legendary children's music artist Ella Jenkins in 1966 and Freight Train recorded by folk songwriter and guitarist Elizabeth Cotten in 1959 (reissued in 1989). The National Recording Registry was established in 2000 in the Library of Congress to maintain and preserve sound recordings and collections of sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Read more about the Registry and these Folkways artists here.
- May 7, 2008
Smithsonian and University of Alberta Join to Conserve Folkways' Cover Material
When the Smithsonian Institution acquired Folkways Records from the estate of its founder, Moses Asch, in 1987, it received all of the company's business papers and files in addition to a complete catalog of its recordings. Among these materials were more than 2,000 envelope files, called "job bags," containing photographs, artwork, cover text and other production materials for each of Folkways' distinctive album covers.
Now, researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada are collaborating with Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage archivists and Smithsonian Folkways staff to document and preserve the contents of these job bags. Smithsonian Folkways recordings are available for digital download from Smithsonian Global Sound. Read more here.
- April 1, 2008
In Memory of Sam Gesser (1930-2008)
We learned from a friend at the Jewish Public Library in Montreal that Sam Gesser passed away this morning in Montreal General Hospital, Quebec, Canada. Sam visited Folkways founder Moses Asch in 1951 and asked why there was no Canadian material in the Folkways Records catalogue. Asch said he was waiting for Gesser to provide it. Between 1951 and 1963 Gesser produced nearly 100 records of Canadian music traditions, introduced many others to Asch and became the first Folkways distributor for Canada. He is a member of the Order of Canada, has been honored with other awards, including a 2005 certificate from Smithsonian, a 2007 lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and late last year the very first Resonance Award, established by the Canadian Museum of Civilization to honour outstanding lifetime contributions to Canada's musical heritage. More about Sam Gesser.
- March 31, 2008
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Announces Availability of Digitized Artifacts From Yahoo! Time Capsule
On Wednesday, March 26, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will obtain access to a Yahoo! Time Capsule of more than 150,000 digitized artifacts from Yahoo! and may make it available for future study by the academic community under an agreement with Yahoo!. Beginning today, the Yahoo! Time Capsule will be accessible to scholars and others associated with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings by appointment from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
- March 29, 2008
La India Canela in the NPR Studio
Dominican accordionist La India Canela visits the USA and NPR to discuss her new Smithsonian Folkways album, Merengue Típico from the Dominican Repbulic and to perform in the studios. Listen here.
- January 18, 2008
Classic African American Gospel on NPR Weekend Edition
Kip Lornell, compiler of Classic African American Gospel from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (to be released on January 29, 2008), discusses this history of African American gospel and plays music from the upcoming release. Listen here.
- December 8, 2007
Two Grammy Nominations for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq by Rahim Alhaj and Singing for Life: Songs of Hope, Healing, and HIV/AIDS in Uganda both nominated for Best Traditional World Music Album.
- November 13, 2007
2007 Latin Grammy Win for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Congratulations to Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto from Colombia for winning a 2007 Latin GRAMMY for Best Folk album for Un Fuego de Sangre Pura. With Un Fuego de Sangre Pura (A Fire of Pure Blood), the roots of the cumbia thrive in the music of Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto from Colombia's violence-torn Caribbean hinterlands. The sounds of long-tubed gaita flutes, unique drums, and maraca stoke the fire of the cumbia and of other regional dances-the fast-paced puya and porro, the cadential gaita corrida, and the bullerengue. Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, the senior statesmen of their tradition, are an animated emblem of Colombian nationhood and a resilient fountainhead for some of Latin America's favorite dance rhythms.
- June 25, 2007
Help Document the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
For the first time in Smithsonian history, the Smithsonian Photography Initiative and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage have invited visitors to add to the rich history of photo documentation of the Festival. To see a selection of these photos alongside photos taken by Smithsonian volunteers and staff, click on the link below. Upload your photos for inclusion in the exhibiton.
View slideshows of photos by Smithsonian staff, volunteers, and visitors
Upload your photos
- March 14, 2007
Ella Jenkins Celebrates 50 Years as a Folkways Artist, Catalogue Now Available Digitally
The First Lady of Children's Music, Ella Jenkins, recorded her first album, Call and Response, for Folkways Records in 1957. For the past 50 years, she has been an integral part of the Folkways and Smithsonian Folkways catalogue and mission.
Today, three and sometimes four generations of fans still sing along with Miss Ella. And a whole new generation of children can learn the groundbreaking songs of Ella Jenkins on Smithsonian Global Sound, where, for the first time, the entire catalogue of Ella Jenkins's songs is available for digital downloading.
- February 26, 2007
Folkways Artist Mark Spoelstra Passes Away
Mark Spoelstra (1940-2007) was a major figure in the folk music scenes in Greenwich Village and Cambridge, Massachusetts during the 1960s. He recorded a live record at Cambridge's Club 47 in 1963.
Born in Kansas City, Spoelstra was raised in California. He remembered moving to New York, where he started out playing for tips in coffee houses, playing at various clubs as a duo with Bob Dylan. On one such occasion, Gil Turner saw him playing with Dylan and brought him to the attention of Broadside Magazine, which began to publish his songs. Folkways Records subsequently released Mark's first two albums, Songs of Mark Spoelstra and the Live at Club 47 album. Folkways also released a rare 45 single of Mark (accompanied by the Two Timers). He went on to record for Elektra, Fantasy, Columbia and Origin Jazz Library. Among his well known compositions were "White Winged Dove" and "5 and 20 Questions."
Mark moved back to California in the late 1960s and joined the band Frontier Constabulary with Mitch Greenhill. In the early 1970s, he moved to Palo Alto, California and began to study the bible and from 1974-1979, Mark used his music as part of a music ministry. He continued to perform both religious and secular music. His last album was released in 2001. His final years were spent living with his family in the Sierra Mountains.
- February 2, 2007
Eric Von Schmidt Dies at Age 75
Erik von Schmidt was an American singer-songwriter associated with the folk and blues revival of the 1960s. He was a prominent figure in the East Coast folk scene, influencing heavily the work of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and many others. He recorded Rolf Cahn and Erik von Schmidt for Folkways Records with his friend Rolf Cahn in 1961 and won a 1997 GRAMMY Award for his work on the liner notes to the Smithsonian Folkways reissue of The Anthology of American Folk Music™. Smithsonian Folkways honors his passion for American folk and blues and his comitment to sharing the music with others.
- December 5, 2006
Music of Central Asia Nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music
Smithsonian Folkways recording Music of Central Asia vol. 2: Invisible Face of the Beloved: Classical Music of the Tajiks and Uzbeks, by Academy of Maqam was nominated for a 2007 GRAMMY Award in the Best Traditional World Music category. Amid the mosques and minarets of Samarkand and Bukhara, generations of vocalists set the mystical, Sufi-inspired verse of Hafiz and other classical poets to lyrical melodies, creating a spiritual art music of great refinement and sublime beauty called Shashmaqâm, confirming its important place among the great art music traditions of Euasia. Music of Central Asia is a co-production of the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The aim of the series is to present leading exponents of Central Asia's rich and diverse musical heritage to listeners outside the region.