Topic: Culture
Yesterday was my birthday — I’m now 30, thank you very much — and along with an awe-inspiring chocolate mousse cake from Balducci’s, my wife gave me the Smithsonian Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music, a reissue of the famous Harry Smith collection, first released in 1952. From the Harry Smith website:
The Anthology was comprised entirely of recordings issued between 1927 (the year electronic recording made accurate reproduction possible) and 1932, the period between the realization by the major record companies of distinct regional markets and the Depression’s stifling of folk music sales. Released in three volumes of two discs each, the 84 tracks of the anthology are recognized as having been a seminal inspiration for the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960 (the 1997 reissue by the Smithsonian was embraced with critical acclaim and two Grammy awards).