''Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger'' is a studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

folksinger Dave Van Ronk, released in November 1962 on the Prestige International label.

History

''Folksinger'' (Prestige International PR- INT 13056

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine expeditionary force under General Nike ...

reissued as

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

Folklore FL 14012

963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...

was recorded in April 1962. ''Inside Dave Van Ronk'' (

Folklore FL 14025) would combine with it and all end up on the

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

1989 CD release, '' Inside Dave Van Ronk''. That combination was released as a double LP set in 1972 as ''Van Ronk'' (not the 1969 album of the same name). Songs from ''Folksinger'' along with selections from ''Inside Dave Van Ronk'' and ''In the Tradition'' were also released on the Big Beat label in the compilation ''

Hesitation Blues "Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, many ...

''.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave it a 5 of 5 stars in their review and stated "This is a vital touchstone of Americana and likewise is highly recommended as a key component of any serious collection of 20th century folk music." It is the only Van Ronk album to have received 5/5 stars from Allmusic.

Track listing

# "

He Was a Friend of Mine "He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax was the first to collect the song, in 1939, describing it as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade." ...

" - 3:29 # "

Motherless Children "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time", also known as "Motherless Children", is a gospel blues song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance, with Johnson singing and playing an acoustic slide guitar. Background Johnso ...

" - 3:45 # " Stackerlee" - 3:32 # "Mr. Noah" - 1:28 # "Come Back, Baby" - 3:48 # "Poor Lazarus" - 5:06 # " Samson and Delilah" - 3:35 # "

Cocaine Blues "Cocaine Blues" is a Western swing song written by Troy Junius Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song " Little Sadie." Roy Hogsed recorded a well known version of the song in 1947. Background The song is the tale of a man, Willy Lee, wh ...

" - 4:13 # "You've Been a Good Old Wagon" - 2:16 # " Fixin' to Die" - 2:50 # "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" - 3:07 # " Long John" - 2:10 # "Chicken is Nice" - 2:29

Personnel

*Dave Van Ronk - guitar, vocals

Production notes

*Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder

References

{{Authority control 1962 albums Dave Van Ronk albums Prestige Records albums