Cook Records, the record label of famed audio engineer/inventor Emory Cook, was acquired by Smithsonian Folkways in 1990 – one of the label’s earliest acquisitions. The wide-ranging collection of 140 albums features European and American concert music, U.S. and Caribbean popular and traditional music, as well as mechanical and natural sounds. According to Folkways Senior Curator and Archivist Jeff Place, “Cook’s records were coveted by audio geeks in the 1950s, and he didn’t want to control the environment at all. He wanted his recordings to be like you’re standing in the middle of the street in Port of Spain and a steel band is marching by. He didn’t want just a recording.” Much of the Cook catalog represents the pinnacle of sound recording technology of his time.

Folkways has selected four stand-out recordings from Cook Records, unavailable and out-of-print for many years, to make available once again with complete audio, liner notes, and album art. These classic releases range in style and scope, and represent Cook’s dedication to recording unconventional instruments, people, and places, or as Place puts it, an “odd assortment of wacky geniuses.” Learn more about these “long lost” recordings:

Songs of All Times

Sam Eskin

COOK01020 (2018)

Ethnomusicologist Sam Eskin (1898-1974) traveled widely collecting and recording folk music...

Foort Pops

Reginald Foort

COOK01057 (2018)

English organist Reginald Foort (1893-1980) is considered by many enthusiasts to be the master of the theater organ...

Waltz and Ballet

Reginald Foort

COOK01058 (2018)

Shortly after moving to the United States in 1951, English organist Reginald Foort (1893-1980) began recording for Cook Records...

Campos Parsi: Divertimento del Sur / Sonata in G for Piano

Various Artists

COOK01061 (2018)

Puerto Rican composer Héctor Campos Parsi (1922-1998) composed works for orchestra, voice, small ensembles and for individual instruments...