American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 1 by Pete Seeger - DeepRiffs

COMPILATION

Much of the banjo playing here sounds different than normal banjos because in addition to pioneering the preservation of American folk music Pete Seeger also single-handedly invented a modification of the instrument, elongating its neck by three frets, allowing for his preferred method of detuning the strings a minor third lower than the standard 5-string banjo. American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 1 (the first in a five-volume set) focuses largely on the songs Seeger recorded in the McCarthy era of the ‘50s, when his singing voice and political voice got him blacklisted. “John Henry” opens the collection with Seeger’s fast-picking and straight tenor singing the narrative of the folk hero who challenged the birth of industrial labor. Did you know that the proper title for “Jimmy Crack Corn” is actually “Blue Tailed Fly” and that it was a blackface minstrel song musing joyously on the death of a slave owner? That song is here too, as are much more whimsical numbers like “Skip to My Lou” and of course Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”

1. John Henry

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

2. Shenandoah

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

3. Blue Tailed Fly (Jimmie Crack Corn)

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

4. Black Girl

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

5. Skip to My Lou

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

6. The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

7. Clementine

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

8. Yankee Doodle

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

9. Home on the Range

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

10. John Brown's Body

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

11. Goodnight, Irene

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

12. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

13. Oh, Susanna

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

14. Wayfaring Stranger

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

15. Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

16. Down in the Valley

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

17. The Wabash Cannonball

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

18. On Top of Old Smoky

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

19. Frankie and Johnny

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

20. I Ride an Old Paint

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

21. The Wreck of the Old 97

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

22. Wagoner's Lad

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

23. Old Dan Tucker

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

24. I've Been Working on the Railroad

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

25. Cielito Lindo

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

26. So Long, It's Been Good to Know You (Dusty Old Dust)

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

27. America the Beautiful

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

28. This Land is Your Land

Primary Artist: Pete Seeger; Main Performer

Technical Specifications

Volume

1 volume only

Tracks

28 tracks available

Type

COMPILATION

Format

Digital Media

Duration

1 hour, 13 minutes and 10 seconds

Explicit

None

Coverart

Available and up to 600x600 px

Booklet

Not available

Max Quality

CD Quality (Lossless)

16bit / 44.1 kHz

Stereo

Audio Extension

Lossless: FLAC, M4A, WAV, WV, AIFF

Lossy: AAC, MP3, M4A, MP4, OGA, OGG, OPUS, WMA

Archive Format

Available in these formats: ZIP, TAR, RAR

Lyrics

All tracks have lyrics

Synchronized Lyrics

10/28 tracks have synced lyrics

Genres

Folk, Americana, Singer & Songwriter, Traditional Folk, Children's Music, Contemporary Folk, Political Folk & Protest Songs, Folk Revival, Singer-Songwriter

Label

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Music Distribution Service

Orchard Enterprises Inc

Country

United States

Language

English (United States)

Popularity

Release Date

Nov 30, 1957

Track Preview

Available

Delivery Charge

Free

Delivery Method

Digital download link via Email or Personal Dashboard on this site

UPC

829410397759