Anthology of American Folk Music

Whole Earth,  Spring, 2001  by Mks

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Anthology of American Folk Music Harry Smith, ed. Vols. 1-3: 1997; 30-page liner notes, 67-page book, and 6 CDs. $79 ($84.50 postpaid). Smithsonian Folkways Mail Order (see above) Vol. 4: 2000; 96-page book and 2 CDs. $28. Revenant Records

The three volumes of Harry Smith's Anthology that Folkways released in 1952 were probably more responsible than any other recordings for driving the 1950s American folk music revival that spawned Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, et al. As Dave Van Ronk recalls, "The Anthology was our bible. We all knew every word of every song on it."

Smith concentrated on commercial records produced between 1927 and 1932. The Anthology sent a generation of folklorists armed with tape recorders to the South in search of living practitioners. Smith compiled material for a fourth volume that was never issued. In 2000, Revenant, working with the Harry Smith Archives, produced Vol. 4, recordings from 1928 to 1940. --MKS

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