Folk Music U.S.A.: Vol. 1

This wide-ranging anthology of American folk music was compiled by noted folklorist Harold Courlander from recordings, many of them field recordings, made in the 1940s and ’50s. Almost all the performers on the collection—who include Cisco Houston, Elizabeth Cotten, and Snooks Eaglin—learned their music from oral tradition. Selections represent a broad spectrum of American folk music, from Puerto Rico to the north coast of Alaska.

Extensive liner notes, written by Charles Edward Smith, delve into the characteristics of American folk music and provide detailed information, with lyrics, for each of the 25 selections.