News About Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Media inquiries, please contact:
Alexis Tedford
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Upcoming Releases:
Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas by Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano to be released May 20
Classic Piano Blues from Smithsonian Folkways to be released June 24
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.
