These eight songs are the fruit of Lead Belly's first visit to New York in 1935, but the record company's financial downfall prevented all but two-"Pigmeat" and "Black Snake Moan"-from reaching the... more

No one could pound out that incessant bass with the left and still lead the way with a thunderous right like Slim. This 1959 LP features one stunning solo after another by one of the most exciting... more

The music on this recording is at once far-reaching and intimate. It has a quality enjoyed well beyond contemporary fans of this style of music, and yet this recording gives the listener the sense of... more

I've never had the blues, says Brownie McGhee in an interview with famed oral historian, Studs Terkel, "the blues has always had me." the trio of legendary bluesmen played, talked, and traded stories... more

This Folkways LP came out in '61, but the tracks take you from John's first year of recording ('29) through his '30s prime. The Memphis blues icon is backed by the unmistakable mandolin playing of... more

There is no single kind of music that led to the creation of Jazz. Instead, the genre evolved, and continues to evolve, from diverse musical avenues. Following the popularity of swing music in the... more

While recording in the South in the early 1960s, producer, writer, and music historian Samuel Charters was inspired not only by the sound of Furry Lewis's guitar, but by the patterns of movement in... more

In the spoken introduction that opens this recording, Memphis Slim says, "I'm doing something now that I've always wanted to do. This is my interpretation of some of my favorite blues singers-some of... more

Originally released in 1959, The Country Blues features a range of styles and a collection of recordings not included in other Folkways compilations. This selection-mostly recorded between 1927 and... more

Moses Asch purchased the "race records" heard on this album in 1941 for 15 cents each. Demonstrating some of the musical styles characteristic of the American South that proved influential in shaping... more

This second volume continues Folkways' The Country Blues (FW00RF1) and is the result of efforts in the early 1960s to find singers who were previously known only as names on commercial recordings.... more

During the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s, documentarians and aficionados searched for country blues singers whose music had previously only been known through old recordings. This album's music... more

As the Depression's early days brought Southern musicians to Northern cities, the Chicago blues scene absorbed and incorporated these new arrivals. Ensembles grew, the blues became more popular, and... more

This album features big-voiced blues pianist and singer Memphis Slim and legendary bassist Willie Dixon, who is credited with having helped create the Chicago blues sound. Several tracks from this... more

Singing and begging are about the only two ways a blind man can make a living in farm country. Several years after Blind Willie Johnson's death in 1949, Samuel B. Charters tries to get to know the... more

From the early blues of Son House, Willie Brown, and Charley Patton to the assertive music of the Depression, the Mississippi delta has produced songs and singers with a fierce honesty that has... more

Taken from unreleased recordings, previous Folkways releases, and early blues recordings, this two-disc set offers an introduction to the vocal styles, ornamentation, and instrumentation of this... more

These artists formed the blues backbone of Folkways: Big Bill Broonzy (Mule-Ridin' Blues), Leadbelly (Leaving Blues), Rev. Gary Davis (Candy Man), Big Joe Williams (Don't Leave Me Here), Lightnin'... more

Lucinda Williams' take on Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor joins 21 more by these blues titans: Just a Dream Memphis Slim; Jelly Jelly Josh White; Tell Me, Baby Lightnin' Hopkins; When Things Go Wrong... more

Six decades of bending, blowing, wailing blues beauty—20 tracks including eight unissued performances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Gillum Blues Jazz Gillum; Crow Jane Blues Sonny Terry;... more

Here are 20 classic cuts from the blues kings of the Mississippi Delta, the land where the blues began: "C.C. Rider" Big Bill Broonzy, "Death Letter Blues," "Sun Goin' Down" Son House, "Married Woman... more

From N'awlins to Chicago, here are 20 vintage blues cuts full of famous flying fingers! Includes Hesitation Blues James P. Johnson; No Special Rider Blues Little Brother Montgomery; Pinetop's Boogie... more

Rural and urban, black and white, country and coastal—it all blended together in Piedmont blues. Here's a stellar set of classics in that fascinating blues style: "Mamie" John Cephas and Paul... more

Recorded in '59 (before the height of the folk/blues revival), Hopkins' first acoustic session has since been recognized as an out-and-out blues classic. He's as witty and charming as he is... more

The fleet fingers of this mighty piano man still stun. Here's a 32-page booklet plus 21 solo and group tracks (three unissued): "Joogie Boogie," "San Juan Blues," "Midnight Special," "Just a Dream,"... more