More than any other group of their era, it was the Weavers who made American folk song accessible to the record buying public in the 1940s and 1950s. Their influence on generations of folk groups – from the Tarriers and the Kingston Trio, to the Seekers and beyond – is as enormous as it is incalculable.Before becoming the victims of a Communist witch-hunt, the Weavers were without peer in their field of music, popularising and making hits of future staples of The Great American Songbook such as ‘Goodnight Irene’, ‘On Top Of Old Smoky’, ‘Wimoweh’ and ‘If I Had A Hammer’. Their unwarranted fall from grace was happily suffixed by a return to popularity in the late 50s – but it’s on the records they made between 1949 and 1953 that their reputation will forever rest.All those records are included in this new Jasmine 2CD collection, which brings together the A and B sides of every 78 and 45 their label Decca issued between 1950 and 1953, plus the contents of their two albums for the label and some earlier, independently-issued recordings - including their first version of ‘If I Had A Hammer’ (as ‘The Hammer Song’).The sophisticated musical arrangements of many of these tracks, by the legendary Gordon Jenkins, serve to enhance rather than detract from Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman’s presentation of their musical messages.Superb music, mastered, as always, from the finest available sources and reopening a window on a time when American popular music was changing and evolving rapidly - and looking increasingly towards folk and blues to provide new stimulus for a growing record buying public.
- 1 -
1. Tzena Tzena Tzena - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the
2. Goodnight Irene - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the W
3. So Long - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the Weavers
4. Lonesome Traveller - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and Th
5. The Roving Kind - the Weavers
6. The Wreck of the John B - the Weavers
7. Across the Wide Missouri - the Weavers and Terry Gilkyson
8. On Top of Old Smoky - the Weavers and Terry Gilkyson
9. When the Saints Go Marching In - the Weavers
10. . Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - the Weavers
11. The Frozen Logger - the Weavers
12. Darling Corey - the Weavers
13. Old Paint (Ride Around Little Dogies) - the Weavers and Gord
14. Wimoweh (Based On Mbube) - the Weavers and Gordon Jenkins an
15. Midnight Special - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra and the
16. Hard Ain't It Hard? - the Weavers
17. Run Home To Ma-Ma - the Weavers
18. Around the Corner (Beneath the Berry Tree) - the Weavers and
19. The Gandy Dancer's Ball - the Weavers and Gordon Jenkins and
20. Clementine - the Weavers
21. True Love - the Weavers
22. Down In the Valley - the Weavers
23. The Bay of Mexico - the Weavers
24. Taking It Easy - the Weavers
25. Benoni - the Weavers
26. Rock Island Shuffle - the Weavers
27. Sylvie - the Weavers
28. Trouble In Mind - the Weavers
- 2 -
1. Wasn't That a Time - the Weavers
2. Dig My Grave - the Weavers
3. The Hammer Song (If I Had a Hammer) - the Weavers
4. Banks of Marble - the Weavers
5. Around the World - the Weavers
6. Tzena Tzena Tzena (Hebrew Version) - the Weavers