Staff Picks

I first discovered the singing style of Old Regular Baptists from this 1997 Smithsonian Folkways release. The highly elaborated melodies twist and turn creating a beautiful heterophonic texture unlike anything I previously heard of. The raw singing style of the Old Regular Baptists is so powerful that I’m often left speechless when I listen. The liner notes that accompany the book give an in-depth look into the history and theology of Old Regular Baptists. It is a beautiful and fascinating tradition and I’m so glad Smithsonian Folkways has helped preserve it. If you’re interested in other singing traditions, I would recommend Fasola: Fifty-three Shape Note Folk Hymns: All Day Sacred Harp Singing at Stewart's Chapel in Houston, Mississippi.
— Stevie Feliciano, Intern

Michael Doucet, leader of the Grammy award winning Cajun band ‘BeauSoliel’, has recorded an album celebrating the rich traditions of the ‘roots’ music of Louisiana. Performing on the fiddle and octave violin, with one number each on the accordion and acoustic guitar, Doucet presents a savory gumbo of old and new Cajun, Creole, blues, gospel, and modern New Orleans funk. The album’s 19 tracks were recorded in three sessions; one solo, one with fiddle player Mitchell Reed, and one with guitarist Todd Duke. A personal favorite is a very soulful interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael’s “New Orleans”. If you listen closely, it is almost as if Doucet and Duke are channeling Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt on this track. The mutual respect for the music and for each other as musicians is very much in evidence throughout. The music will get your feet tapping and your head bobbing. Music doesn’t get much better than this!
— J.B. Weilepp, Volunteer

These timeless standards performed by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra make you want to get up and dance! A healthy helping of classics from Duke Ellington and the like make this album a big band fan’s dream. Each track on the album is a prime example of WWII era big band music — full of energy and swingin’ for sure.
— Kate Mullen, Intern

Kevin Burke shines as the leader on this album, his highly ornamented, vibrant, Sligo style smoothly guiding each melody. Yet what makes this record unique is that Burke and his fellow musicians, a group of old-timey musicians from New York, never edited these tunes. Their decision to keep the “live” recordings, thus preserving their experimental combination of musical styles, gives listeners a chance to hear one example of how Irish instrumental music has spread and evolved as musicians sit down together, share their music, and adapt their own techniques to blend with the stylistic heritage of another.
— Kaitlyn Myers, Intern

Tony DeMarco, a fiddler of Italian-Irish heritage, exemplifies nothing if not the diversity of Irish music in America. One of the best-loved musicians of the New York Irish music scene, he plays in the highly ornamented Sligo style with passion and finesse. Sligo Indians, his first solo album, represents the connections he has made throughout his 30 years of playing traditional music; it boasts a slew of star guest artists including fiddler Kevin Burke, guitarist John Doyle, piper Jerry O’Sullivan, and flute player Seamus Tansey. Presenting a range of traditional favorites as well as some of DeMarco’s own compositions, Sligo Indians is essential to any Irish music lover’s library.
— Miranda Pettengill, Intern

I first heard Snooks Eaglin on the Folkways album Classic Sounds of New Orleans. For this, his first album, Snooks Eaglin recorded without his band. The result is a collection of 16 stripped down blues and jazz standards he either taught himself or learned on the streets of his home city. His guitar work here is often improvisational and gives the record an impromptu feel that is substantiated by the fact that many of the songs were recorded in one sitting by University of Louisiana folklorist Harry Oster. A great record for anyone who likes B.B. King, Josh White, Big Bill Broonzy or Muddy Waters.
— Jon Wright, Intern

Debbie Martinez’s rich and sultry voice provides a beautiful harmony to the reverent lyrics on Dios, Familia y Tierra. Martinez employs the romantic sound of traditional Mariachi music to breathe new life into the ranchera (Mexican country) genre. The combination of her dynamic tenor and the musical arrangements of Lorenzo Martinez as masterfully interpreted by the Mariachi Tenapa makes this album a must have for anyone interested in Mexican-American folk music.
— Sandra Amolo, Intern

This recording comes from the Deori people of northeastern India, close to Bhutan. What strikes me most about the music is how both expansive and intimate it feels. The devotional and vocal strength of the people, the 10-minute tracks of pulsing drum work and insistent cymbals, all build into an awesome kind of overwhelming. At the same time though, the music has this honest, meditative quality, and in the quiet moments, you can sometimes even hear birds tweeting. Devotional Music of Assam is a part of Folkways’ ARCE (Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology) collection, which houses tons of ethnically diverse Indian music; so if you like this, I recommend checking out other ARCE releases too!
— Minna Zhou, Intern

The bare-bones, acoustic instrumentation in “A Grain of Sand” stands in sharp contrast to the politically-charged vocals of Nobuko Miyamoto and Chris Iijima. Their music is closely tied to their sense of identity. When their people became “Asian Americans,” marginalized for their perceived racial differences, the trio’s music became a way to express political unrest.
— Dan Singer, Intern

In 1960, Clarence Ashley had been out of the entertainment business for 20 years, and Doc Watson was an obscure electric guitar player in local country and rockabilly ensembles. Brought together by Ralph Rinzler, the two started performing in various settings across the USA, spurring Ashley’s comeback and launching Watson’s solo career in the wake of the urban folk revival of the 1960s. This two-disc collection chronicles their musical journey with recordings from concerts as well as back-porch family get-togethers.
— Linnea Jimison, Intern

Pete Seeger recorded Songs of Struggle and Protest on Folkways Records in 1964, just three years after testifying before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and during the height of his blacklist status. The songs have a rich history—some are written by Woody Guthrie and The Almanac Singers, a group of folk musicians who often sang for worker’s rights, and others hearken back to the Wobblies (The Industrial Workers of the World) who unionized in 1905. They are the very sorts of songs that got Pete blacklisted—songs of common humanity, struggle, and protest. He is known for having an enduring optimism and commitment, and the track “I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister” illustrates Seeger’s unparalleled talent to lead a crowd in song. Detailed liner notes contain lyrics, historical, and contextual information for many songs. Before you listen, consider this quote from his trial transcripts: “I am proud of the fact that my songs seem to cut across and find perhaps a unifying thing, basic humanity.”
— Nichole Procopenko, Intern

Just gorgeous! This CD blew me away. In both contemporary and traditional compositions, solo or with great guest artists, Trischka offers music in a variety of styles, from uptempo to reflective; interesting tempos; and such virtuosic playing. My favorite tracks may be "Trompe l'oreille," "Zoe," "Sean," "Noah Came to Eden," and "Salt River" (which makes me want to get up and dance).
— Carla Borden, Editor

Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers combine the best of civil rights protest songs and the girl group sound and structure in this album, which perfectly epitomizes the sounds and struggles of the sixties. Dane is Fannie Lou Hamer, Aretha Franklin, and Bessie Smith all rolled in one, and her version of "It Isn’t Nice" is as catchy as it is powerful. Dane is extraordinary — a must-have!
— Heather Nelson, Intern

The late Dave Van Ronk was Bob Dylan's "first New York guru," he was the "musical Mayor of MacDougal Street" and "a walking museum of the blues," according to Dylan's biographer Robert Shelton. His generosity of spirit earned him friendship with artists such as Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Mississippi John Hurt, and Christine Lavin. Dave Van Ronk left a deep mark, and after half a century of commitment to the blues, this October 2001 recording of his last concert features the incomparable "mayor" at his lively best.
— Dieger De Maeseneer, Intern

The story of Mississippi's Big Joe Williams may sound like blues myth—even legend—to a newcomer to the genre; however, any seasoned blues aficionado will tell you that Big Joe Williams is no tall tale, but in fact, "the real thing," as Pete Welding contends in the liner notes of this landmark album. A veritable road-warrior, Big Joe traveled the lands like Paul Bunyan with his equally mythical companion, his nine-string guitar, a hybrid beast assemblage played through an amplifier (jerry-rigged) with beer cans and pie tins. Listen to "King Biscuit Stomp #2" and note the comforting dissonance of Williams' growl atop his riveting licks all carried by the walloping rhythms of Ransom Knowling's bass. This album is truly relentless.
— John Van Paepeghem, Intern

For me, this is one of Folkways' most impressive albums because of the way it epitomizes America as a musical melting pot. This CD combines two LPs of Pete Seeger's from the 1950s and includes traditional American folk songs, European classical music, Irving Berlin, and some of Pete's own compositions. All tracks feature the 5-string banjo, an instrument with African origins. The recordings represent Pete Seeger's dedication to tradition as well as his innovativeness.
— Steven Saracco, Intern

Many people may remember reading about the Silk Road in world history classes from high school, recalling images of exotic merchants carting colored silks across Europe and through Inner Asia. This album shows that more than silk travelled on that road: the winds of trade tossed around a vast, rich, musical culture. Though many of these traditional performers are separated by hundreds of miles, their music is still united by the Silk Road, a thousand years later. The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan tells a story of human experience through beautiful music.
— Daniel Singer, Intern

Sure it is meant for a younger audience, but I think it is just such a great CD that anyone at any age can enjoy it. Elizabeth puts her own spin on some familiar songs that makes them seem fresh and new. I especially like her versions of "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley and Buckeye Jim. It is definitely a must-have on a rainy day, when you need a pick-me-up or are on a long car ride with small children.
— Keisha Martin, Manufacturing and Inventory Coordinator

I never knew how much Mary Lou Williams had contributed to jazz. She arranged for Duke Ellington. She went through every era of jazz. This is an example of really high art that is also accessible to my ears. After awhile, she pulled out of the jazz scene and helped recovering drug musicians—she housed them and fed them because after several prominent people died, like Charlie Parker, she felt like she had to do something for the musicians that were falling to this lifestyle. So it's interesting to learn about her personal life, as well as the music, through the extensive 30-page liner notes on Mary Lou Williams.
— Mary Alfaro, Intern

I first learned of Joe Hickerson and his band, the Folksmiths, in a course on North American folk music that I took in college. My class primarily learned about Hickerson because he founded the folk music club at my alma mater, Oberlin College, in the mid-'50s. His contributions to the world of folk music as a "song finder," songwriter, sales representative for Folkways, and longtime archivist at the Library of Congress, however, were enough to make me feel surprised that I had not heard of him before.

We've Got Some Singing to Do, the Folksmiths' only album, was the product of their tour of concerts and workshops across New England and the Mid-Atlantic during the summer after their graduation from Oberlin. It is a historic album as it includes the first recording of "Kum Ba Yah" by an American group.
— Raphael Bivas, Intern

We want to select forms of music that are more than music, but are symbols of identity and are touch-points of commonality, that work to build a stronger sense of community, whatever that community might be.
— Daniel Sheehy, Curator and Director

This albums kicks! It's great combination of the best of the past in Texas Mexican conjunto music and outstanding creativity and instrumental chops taking traditional to a high level of playing.
— Daniel Sheehy, Curator and Director

One of my favorite recordings was of Mrs. Marguerite Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. Lee wrote a bunch of letters to her while he was living in Russia. It's a recording of her after the Kennedy assassination reading the letters. The fact that Moses Asch was willing to have them recorded and felt that that was something that needed to be archived really shows a lot about the catalog and Moses Asch.
— Joanna Fisher, Intern

Ralph Rinzler [founder of the Folklife Festival in 1967] went in September of 1960 to record Clearance Ashley at his daughter's house, and Ashley shows up with a band, including an electric guitar player. Ralph, being the folk purist, did not want anything to do with an electric guitar and he basically told him to get lost, he didn't want him there. That was Doc Watson. Later they were riding in a truck, and Doc picked up a banjo and started playing old-time music on it. He convinced Doc that people cared about the old stuff. Doc said: "Oh the old stuff! OK, that's what you want! OK we know some of that stuff."
— Jeff Place, Archivist

I like listening to the 37th Old Time Fiddler's Convention at Union Grove, North Carolina record. I've been attending this festival since I was a baby, and there's no other place on earth like it. Listening to the record makes me feel like it's Saturday night in late May and I'm sitting with my family on our quilt on the Grove under the trees watching the main stage performers, with kids playing by the honeysuckles to the left and musicians gearing up to hit the stage on the right.
— Elisabeth Beaver, Intern

I worked on the Flash animation for the Sarah Lee Guthrie album Go Waggaloo. While I worked, I would listen to the songs for inspiration while I designed. Sarah Lee Guthrie's voice is so soothing and calm. I always expect to not relate to children's music, but this is a great album that both parents and children can enjoy.
— Sandra Vuong, Web Designer

From the high lonesome sounds of Kentucky mountains to the high atmosphere of mountainous Kyrgyzstan, fiddles, Jew's harps, plucked-string instruments, and powerful voices ring out of highlands on opposite sides of the world.
— Mary Monseur, Production Manager

I became aware of Red Allen and Frank Wakefield via their influence on Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and bluegrass group Old and In the Way. Jerry performed and recorded the music of Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, and other seminal voices in bluegrass, and was an emissary into the genre. These recordings for Folkways Records are examples of the powerful melodies, soaring harmony singing, and virtuosic instrumental solos that characterize the classic bluegrass sound, but also retain the spontaneity of a back-room jam session.
— David Horgan, Online Marketing Manager

Wade in the Water has so much music and I keep finding new ones that become favorites.
— Pam Rogers, IT Contractor

I think this is a brilliant record. Spoelstra was one of the few folk guys in the 60s who played on a 12-string. It's a classic of that era.
— Jeff Place, Archivist

This is the raw roots of the cumbia.
— Pete Reiniger, Sound Production Supervisor