This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
Producer: Jeffrey A. Greenberg.
Compilation producers: Anna Lomax Chairetakis, Jeffrey A. Greenberg.
Includes liner notes by Jeffrey A. Greenberg.
Personnel: Leadbelly (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar); Woody Guthrie (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Huddie Ledbetter (vocals, 12-string guitar); Roland "Boy Blue" Hayes (vocals, harmonica); Memphis Slim (vocals, piano); Bessie With A Group Of Children Jones, Bessie Jones (vocals, hand claps); Cleveland Simmons Group, Cecil "Duke Of Iron" Anderson, Church Congregation Of The Independence Church, James "Iron Head" And Group Of Prisoners Baker, Felix Dukes, Georgia Sea Island Singers, Georgia Turner, C.B., John Davis , James "Iron Head" Baker, James Shorty, John Davis & the Georgia Sea Island Singers, Kelly Pace, Patrick McDonald, Sidney Lee Carter, Vera Hall-Ward, Viola James (vocals); Willie "Joe Lee" Jones, Mississippi Fred McDowell (guitar); Sonny Boy Williamson (harmonica); Big Bill Broonzy (upright bass).
Liner Note Authors: Anna L. Chairetakis; Gideon d'Arcangelo; Ellen Harold; Jeffrey A. Greenberg; Brian Eno.
Recording information: Central State Farm, Sugarland, TX (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Como, MS (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Cumins State Farm, Gould, AR (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Department Of The Interior Radio Facility, Washington D (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Faramontes, Orenses, Galicia, Spain (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Havers Studio, New York, NY (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Hughes, AR (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, LA (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Middlesboro, KY (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); New York, NY (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Old Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Parchaman Farm Penitentiary, MS (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Senatobia, MS (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); St. Simons Island, GA (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Town Hall, New York, NY (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Tuscaloosa, AL (12/??/1933-10/12/1959); Tyro, MS (12/??/1933-10/12/1959).
Photographer: Shirley Collins.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Duke of Iron; Gerald Orchestra Clark.
Since Alan Lomax spent his life traveling American and European backroads in search of genuine folk songs, it's difficult to think of his name in conjunction with popular music. Popular Songbook, though, asks the listener to do just that, and the collection's reasoning for doing so is a sound one. A number of songs Lomax gathered on his collecting trips later became popular hits by other artists. One imagines that many of these songs -- "Midnight Special," "Black Betty," and "Rock Island Line" -- would have stayed in their respective hollows without his efforts. Popular Songbook traces these songs' roots, taking the listener back to the original inspiration for "Irene Goodnight" and "The House of the Rising Sun." Of course, old folkniks will know that John Fogerty didn't write "Midnight Special" and Brian Wilson didn't write "Sloop John B." These listeners will enjoy Popular Songbook nonetheless, if for no other reason than to irritate their rock & roll friends who are ignorant of these songs' origins. The collection also makes a good starting point for the new folk fan: the familiar songs offer an easy point of entry and a number of the folk founders -- Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie -- are represented here. Popular Songbook also works as a nice tribute to a great song collector. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. minimize