Search - Various Artists :: The Golden Age of American Popular Music - The Folk Hits From the Hot 100

Another great Ace release

Gordon Walter | Markham, On, Canada | 05/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once again the gang at Ace has hit a home run. I have always had an affinity for the folk music of the 50's and 60's. There is something about folk music that tells stories better than any other form of music.

If you are not familiar with the folk era of the 50's and 60's this is a wonderful sampler of those 'innocent' times. This Cd covers a terrific cross section of both the big hits and the lesser known ones. While I own many of the songs on this CD on other single artist CD's, it was great to hear some of the lesser songs that I had almost forgotten such as "Hootenanny", "Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod" and "A Stranger in your Town". Plus there are a couple that I hadn't even heard of before such as "Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back" and "Ballad of the Alamo".

In addition to the superb song selection, the liner notes (really a mini book) are worth the price of the CD on their own. Great detail and background. If Ace keeps doing these this well there are going to have to get bigger jewel cases. All in all - a gem."

Not All Made The Hot 100 - But Still A Marvelous Compilation

Gordon Walter | 04/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Folk is certainly enduring with its songs protesting war, economic hardships, civil rights, and labor strife and, since the days of Huddy Leadbetter (Leadbelly) and Woody Guthrie, there was never much middle ground where the listening audience was concerned - you either loved it .... or you couldn't stand it. And that pretty much stayed the same throughout each period of resurrection of the genre led by the likes of The Weavers, Kingston Trio, New Christy Minstrels, Serendipity Singers, Arlo Guthrie, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Harry Belafonte, The Limeliters, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, and so on.



As earnest and as honest as they were with their lyrics and, for the most part, simple melodies, working on the conscience of the richer elements of the masses, they were also decried as "pinko, commie sympathizers" by the more idiotic fringes of society. Cartoonist Al Capp, after converting from liberalism to conservatism, even went so far as to label Joan Baez "Joanie Phoanie" in a series of vicious lampoons. But although the vast majority of the single releases by these sometimes counterculture icons (not all were in that vein by any stretch) never did well enough to break into the mainstream charts in the early years of the R&R era, every now and then one would do well enough to rank and, in a few cases, do very well.



Indeed, the first selection here, Walk Right In by The Rooftop Singers, is probably THE most commercially successful record of its era, Not only did this tune, first recorded in 1929 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, reach # 1 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100 in early 1963 for the Vanguard label, it also made it to # 1 on the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts (introduced in late 1961), Your Hit Parade (THP) and Cash Box (CB). And, to graphically demonstrate its widespread appeal, it also made it to # 4 R&B and # 23 Country. You'd be hard-pressed to find one other song that did as well. In any era. The trio from New York City would only register two more hits, however, and one of them, Tom Cat (# 20 Hot100/# 30 R&B in April 1963) is in this collection. The missing one is Mama Don't Allow, a revival of the 1936 tune Mama Don't Allow It, which reached # 20 AC/# 55 Hot100 in August 1963.



Others that, while not quite managing that enormous success, also did quite well were: Michael by The Highwaymen (# 1 Hot 100, AC, YHP and CB in late summer 1961); Tom Dooley by The Kingston Trio (# 1 Hot 100, YHP and CB and # 9 R&B in late 1958/early 1959); Greenfields by The Brothers Four (# 2 Hot 100/YHP and # 3 CB in spring 1960); We'll Sing In The Sunshine by Gale Garnett (# 1 AC/CB/YHP, # 4 Hot 100, # 43 Country in fall 1964); Don't Let The Rain Come Down [Crooked Little Man] by The Serendipity Singers (# 2 AC/# 6 Hot 100 in April 1964); The Unicorn by The Irish Rovers (# 2 AC/# 7 Hot 100 in May 1968); The Reverend Mr. Black by The Kingston Trio (# 8 Hot 100/# 15 R&B May 1963); and If I Had A Hammer [The Hammer Song] by Peter, Paul & Mary (# 10 Hot 100 in September 1962).



In terms of only the more lucrative Billboard Pop Hot 100, the following, while not attaining the success of those just mentioned, still managed to make the Top 40: Cotton Fields by The Highwaymen (# 13 in December 1961); Green Green by The New Christy Minstrels (# 14 July 1963); Silver Threads And Golden Needles (# 20 September 1962); Where Have All The Flowers Gone? by The Kingston Trio (# 21 March 1962); Greenback Dollar by The Kingston Trio (# 21 March 1963); and Hootenany by The Glencoves (# 38 in July 1963). All the rest finished in the lower regions of the charts, all of which is detailed in the excellent liner notes.



Two of the entries never made the Hot 100 (or any other national charts for that matter): There's A Meetin' Here Tonight by Joe (Gilbert) & Eddie (Brown), a black duo whose song was featured in the 1963 film Hootenany Hoot; and Summer's Come And Gone by The Brandywine Singers, circa 1962. This group included identical twins Rick and Ron Shaw who would later form part of The Hillside Singers (I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, a hit in 1971). I also wonder at the inclusion, in a "folk" volume, of Johnny Cash and Billy Edd Wheeler, both very much Country. But these are minor quibbles and I highly recommend this spin-off from Ace's magnificent Golden Age Of American Rock `n' Roll series.



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