listening, listening, listening to the varied sounds of the American folk music revival.
I ask my Digitizing Folk Music History seminar to listen to a lot of music. We put it on an audio player so you can simply put in on in the background, or zero in on a particular track for closer attention. This Introductory Mix is long, but that does not mean it is anywhere near complete. And that’s fine. One enters the revival from many doors. Later in the course, students might try their hand at digitally remixing a song to explore it in new ways (see Tanner Howard’s work at the bottom of this post), or annotating it, or working it into an interpretive digital history audio podcast project.
Digitizing Folk Music History Introductory Listening Mix
Harry McClintock, “Big Rock Candy Mountain”
Burl Ives, “The Big Rock Candy Mountain”
Baby Gramps, “Big Rock Candy Mountain”
Bessie Jones and the Sea Island Singers, “Sheep Sheep Don’tcha Know the Road”
Elder Gray and the Pulaski Prayer Society, “Amazing Grace”
Rev. Gary Davis, “Samson and Delilah”
Mississippi John Hurt, “Spikedriver’s Blues”
Robert Pete Williams, “When I Lay My Burden Down”
Mance Lipscomb, “Motherless Children”
Fred McDowell, “Shake ‘Em On Down”
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, “Down By the Riverside”
Jesse Fuller, “San Francisco Blues”
Big Bill Broonzy, “WPA Blues”
Howlin’ Wolf, “Smokestack Lightnin'”
Paul Robeson, “Ballad for Americans”
SNCC Freedom Singers, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”
Clarence “Tom” Ashley, “Coo Coo Bird”
John Jacob Niles, “The Cuckoo”
Almeda Riddle, “The House Carpenter”
Ewan MacColl, “To the Begging I Will Go”
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, “The Cambric Shirt”
Jean Ritchie, “Little Sparrow”
The Carter Family, “The Ship That Never Returned”
Jimmie Rodgers, “Blue Yodel #9 (Standing on the Corner)”
Jimmie Rodgers, “Waiting for a Train”
Mississippi John Hurt, “Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me”
Gene Autry, “Home on the Range”
Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
Elvis Presley, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
Gillian Welch, “Elvis Presley Blues”
Alan Lomax, et. al., “Radio Program-Back Where I Come From: Introduction, Buffalo Gals”
Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, “Rock Island Line”
Lonnie Donegan, “Rock Island Line”
Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, “Midnight Special”
Credence Clearwater Revival, “Midnight Special”
Almanac Singers, “Round and Round Old Hitler’s Grave”
Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, “Irene Goodnight (Goodnight, Irene)”
The Weavers, “Goodnight, Irene”
The Weavers, “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena”
The Weavers, “Wimoweh”
The Tarriers, “Banana Boat Song”
The Weavers, “Wasn’t That A Time”
Pete Seeger, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”
Kingston Trio, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”
Kingston Trio, “Charlie and the MTA”
Grayson and Whitter, “Tom Dooley”
Frank Proffitt, “Tom Dooley”
Frank Warner, “Tom Dooley”
Arthel “Doc” Watson, “Tom Dooley”
Kingston Trio, “Tom Dooley”
Neil Young and Crazy Horse, “Tom Dula”
Woody Guthrie, “Ramblin’ Round”
Woody Guthrie, “Pretty Boy Floyd”
Woody Guthrie, “Pastures of Plenty”
Woody Guthrie, “Do-Re-Mi”
Woody Guthrie, “This Land Is Your Land”
Bob Dylan, “Song to Woody”
Bob Dylan, “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down”
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, “With God on Our Side”
Bob Dylan and Friends, “Blowin’ in the Wind” (Live at Newport Folk Festival)
Bob Dylan, “From a Buick 6”
Bob Dylan, “Highway 61 Revisited”
Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Joan Baez, “Copper Kettle”
Joan Baez, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
Joan Baez, “All My Trials”
Peter, Paul, and Mary, “If I Had a Hammer”
Phil Ochs, “Ringing of Revolution”
Phil Ochs, “Love Me, I’m a Liberal”
Tom Paxton, “Ramblin’ Boy”
Patrick Sky, “Many a Mile”
Eric Anderson, “Violets of Dawn”
Donovan, “Catch the Wind”
Joni Mitchell, “Chelsea Morning”
Country Joe and the Fish, “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag”
Utah Phillips (with Ani DiFranco), “Joe Hill”
Richard “Rabbit” Brown, “James Alley Blues”
Alice Stuart, “James Alley Blues”
Alice Stuart, “Beatnik”
Sandy and Jeanie Darlington, “Poor Man, Rich Man”
John Semien and the Opelousas Playboys, “Bye, Bye Rosie”
Flaco Jiménez, “Gritenme Piedras del Campo”
Los Halcones De Salitrillo, “Amores Por Correo”
Benny Will Richardson and Other Unnamed Prisoners, Parchman Farm Penitentiary, “John Henry”
Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, “John Henry”
Ed Lewis, “John Henry”
Odetta, “John Henry”
Paul Robeson, “John Henry”
The Golden Gate Quartet and Josh White, “John Henry”
Harry Belafonte, “John Henry”
Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, “John Henry (That Steel Drivin’ Man)”
Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys, “New John Henry”
The Lilly Brothers, “John Henry”
Richard Dyer-Bennett, “John Henry”
John Jacob Niles, “John Henry”
Bob Gibson, “John Henry”
Dave Van Ronk, “John Henry”
The Brothers Four, “The Thinking Man, John Henry”
Aaron Copeland (London Symphony Orchestra), “John Henry”
Bruce Springsteen, “John Henry”
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”
New Lost City Ramblers, “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”
Dock Boggs, “Sugar Baby”
New Lost City Ramblers, “Sugar Baby”
Sam Amidon, “Sugar Baby”
Mississippi John Hurt, “Make Me Down a Pallet On Your Floor”
Gillian Welch, “Make Me Down a Pallet On Your Floor”
Gillian Welch (with David Rawlings), “I Want To Sing That Rock ‘n’ Roll”
Gillian Welch, “Back in Time/Wayside”