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Classic American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways

Various Artists
Classic American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways Born of the British ballad, its American offspring was the blank canvas for all type of tale, the more calami­tous or scandalous, the better. Jesse James and Billy the Kid, train wrecks and hurricanes, the Titanic and Tom Dooley, fatal lovers’ quarrels and foiling the devil, all and more were normal fare, served up in a song. Classic American Balladsis 25 tracks of time-worn tragedy drawn from the deep fount of the Smithsonian Folkways archives. 74 minutes, 40-page booklet with extensive notes and photos.

Track Listing

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101
Banks of the Ohio Doc Watson and Bill Monroe 03:32
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102
Blue Mountain Lake Pete Seeger 02:47
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103
Claude Allen Hobart Smith 03:50
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104
Cole Younger Dock Boggs 01:50
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105
Cowboy’s Lament (Streets of Laredo) Buck Ramsey 03:21
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106
Boll Weevil Sam Hinton 02:12
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107
Duncan and Brady Lead Belly 01:08
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108
Floyd Collins Paul Clayton 03:27
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109
Frankie and Johnny Rolf Cahn and Eric Von Schmidt 06:39
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110
John Henry John Jackson 03:22
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111
Jesse James Sis Cunningham, Mike Millius, and Wes Houston 03:51
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112
Billy the Kid Woody Guthrie 02:04
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113
The Death of the Lawson Family Glen Neaves 01:54
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114
Naomi Wise Doug Wallin 03:06
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115
Pearl Bryan Bruce Buckley 02:54
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116
Sam Bass Hermes Nye 01:59
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117
Springfield Mountain Bascom Lamar Lunsford 02:31
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118
Tom Dooley Glen Neaves, Roscoe Russell, Ivor Melton, Warren Brown, Ted Lundy 02:11
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119
Tying a Knot in the Devil’s Tail Cisco Houston 02:14
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120
Young Charlotte Pete Seeger 04:05
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121
Wasn’t That a Mighty Storm? The Tex-i-an Boys 02:41
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122
Zebra Dun Joan O'Bryant 02:32
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123
The Titanic Pink Anderson 02:52
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124
The Louisville Burglar The Iron Mountain String Band 03:09
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125
The F.F.V. (Engine 143) Annie Watson 03:56