Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4

FW-ASCH-10RR-3128

Potentially the "real" missing fourth volume to Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. 78s sides from 1928-1936. At Smith's memorial, it was joked we are still waiting on the 4th volume. Notes in box indicate these tapes were compiled by Moe Asch, Sam charters, and Harry Smith, though without dates. Various interviews with Asch, Smith, and John Cohen claim the project was scrapped because Asch "did not have the documentation" and Harry "wanted to do more content analysis" but lost interest and many of his original working notes, and sold much of his own 78 collection to the New York Public Library. A "Volume 4" (2012) was put out by Revenant (RVN 211) in accordance with the Harry Smith Archives, it is unclear how they chose songs, supposedly compiled contemporaneously with the first three volumes, but it shares only a few artists and none of the songs found on this version, and none of Smith's unique graphics and descriptions, and Dick Spottswood claims no song titles or topical hints were known other than the Carter's "I am a Stranger Here" which does not appear in this collection. This series is likely what Asch referred to in 1972 when he said he had tapes of volume 4, and even a volume 5. Spottswood also mentions that a tape of 78s had been made. What seems to make this the "genuine" 4th volume is Smith's claim that "the problems involved in those interrelationships (shown in the original Anthology) have been solved since then, so there is no reason to bring those records out, they aren't as relevant." This series seems to be a more recent effort by Smith, Charters, and Asch to show new sets ethnomusicological interrelationships relevant to the cultural and scholarly problems of the 1960s. With newly available info on these 78s, it seems a viable project for Folkways to complete. CDR copy