News & Updates — folk

Skip James / June 9, 1902 - Oct 3, 1969

Skip James / June 9, 1902 - Oct 3, 1969

One of the great icons, Skip James was one of the dark princes of the blues and his songs and guitar style was a huge influence on Robert Johnson. He came from the Mississippi Delta and recorded several sides for Paramount in '31 but they sold poorly during the Depression, yet upon discovery by a newer generation of blues fans leading up to the early '60s he became a legend. John Fahey, Henry Vestine and Bill Barth found James in a Mississippi hospital in '64. That same year he played the Newport Folk Festival which helped kick off the blues...

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Otha Turner / June 2, 1907 - Feb 27, 2003

Otha Turner / June 2, 1907 - Feb 27, 2003

Otha Turner upheld the fife & drum tradition in North Mississippi, the last surviving master, in one of the last regions for the style. A sharecropping Mississippi native who started playing around 1923, Turner made his fife out of rivercane (American bamboo) and taught himself several instruments, including guitar and percussion. He led some bands, including one with Jesse Mae Hemphill, and became a sought-out figure in documentation of the tradition. Indeed, several field recordings were made and a few articles were written about Turner and his regional traditional style. His group even appeared on an episode of Mr Rogers...

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Harry Smith / May 29, 1923 - Nov 27, 1991

Harry Smith / May 29, 1923 - Nov 27, 1991

Happy birthday to weirdo filmmaker, bohemian, anthropologist and folk song archivist Harry Everett Smith! Where would we be without his awesome Anthology of American Folk Music, taken from his personal 78s collection and allowing the world to hear long-forgotten and buried blues, gospel, hillbilly and various folk musics. Folkways released and marketed this set of records in 1952, well ahead of the Folk & Blues Revival, and many would-be stars cherished these recordings and many of them covering the songs contained. Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and many others counted this glorious set as a major influence.

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Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen / May 27, 1946 - April 19, 2005

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen / May 27, 1946 - April 19, 2005

Give the bassist some! I always loved NHØP's bass playing on so many great jazz records that I felt the need to point out his birthday today and show some respect. From Denmark, he started playing bass at 13 and went pro pretty quickly. At 17 he was offered the bass role in the Count Basie band but was too young to legally travel to the US for work. He supported many visiting jazz artists at the Jazzhus Montmarte in Copenhagen, including playing with Sonny Rollins, Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp and others....

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Terry Callier / May 24, 1945 - Oct 27, 2012

Terry Callier / May 24, 1945 - Oct 27, 2012

Happy birthday to one of Chicago's greatest! Terry Callier was an amazing singer/songwriter and guitarist, his sound & style were equal parts folkie, soul and jazz. Callier grew up with Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance and Jerry Butler and sang in doo-wop groups and played piano. In '62 he signed to Chess and released his first record while still in high school. While in college he got heavily into John Coltrane and took his songs to the folk coffeehouses. He recorded the classic The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier for Prestige Records and had his songs covered by others from...

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