Various Artists - The Golden Age of American Popular Music The Folk Hits From the Hot 100 (28 tracks) +Album Reviews

A great way to discover or perhaps recall what the excitemen

Paul Tognetti | Cranston, RI USA | 03/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was a time like no other in the history of American popular music. For a period that spanned roughly half a decade (1958-1964) folk music emerged from the coffee houses and college campuses of this nation and became an integral part of the mainstream music scene. Some of this music was quite intense but most of the songs that made it to the airwaves were light and upbeat. Now, some 50 years after it all began Ace records presents its sensational new 28 track collection "The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Folk Hits From the Hot 100". With the notable exception of Bob Dylan, this disc features memorable recordings by virtually all of the important folk artists of this era.

Among the most important groups of the folk era was Peter Paul and Mary. You will find one of their most enduring hits "If I Had A Hammer" from the summer of '62 featured in this collection. Most will recall the great New Christy Minstrels recording of "Green Green" as well as the Kingston Trio's mega-hit "Tom Dooley". Both are included here. And the inimitable Johnny Cash checks in with his popular version of the Bob Dylan tune "It Ain't Me Babe" from 1964. And who can ever forget the Rooftop Singers classic "Walk Right In" that shot right to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1963?

What really attracted me to "The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Folk Hits From The Hot 100" is the fact the folks at Ace records have managed to include a significant number of tunes that have been virtually impossible to find. I have now been able to replace my scratched and worn copy of The Glencoves "Hootenanny" that I picked up at a yard sale several years ago. The Limeliters, featuring the legendary voice of Glenn Yarborough, turn up here with "A Dollar Down" a tune that remains surprisingly relevant all these years later. I was also extremely pleased to find the Simon Sisters 1964 recording of "Winkin', Blinkin" And Nod" included in this collection. Just in case you did not know, The Simon Sisters were actually Carly Simon and her older sister Lucy. This record peaked at #74 on Billboard's Hot 100 just a short time before the act broke up. This was a real find for a collector like myself as I had never heard or even seen this record before! Of course Carly would go on to much bigger and better things as a solo act in the 1970's and 80's. I would also be remiss if I failed to at least make mention of Pete Seeger's "Little Boxes". This simple little ditty made a huge impression on me as a young teen in 1964 and really did change the way that I viewed the whole subject of materialism. America would have been so much the poorer without the music and activism of Pete Seeger. Sadly, as the 1960's came to a close, folk music would largely vanish from the airwaves. Today, folk music has pretty much been relegated to just a few hours each week on local college and public radio stations.

As usual, Ace records has left no stone unturned in their continuing quest to present the finest collections available. There is a reason that most collectors consider them to be the premiere reissue company in the world. The liner notes are terrific and the sound quality impeccable. So whether you are baby boomer looking to recapture those magical days or a younger person simply interested in sampling the music you certainly cannot go wrong with "The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Folk Hits From the Hot 100". This CD would be a welcome addition to any serious library of American popular music. Highly recommended!"

A near-perfect anthology of popular folk music

Music fan in the Midwest | USA | 03/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Detailed liner notes and excellent sound further enhance this comprehensive anthology that, frankly, has saved me a boatload of money. I was around when these songs were popular on Top 40 radio and I liked (and still like) many of them, but not enough to purchase entire "greatest hits" anthologies of all the various artists and groups. This CD brings together so many of the essential songs from the period -- pretty much all the ones I would ever want that I don't already have.

I am surprised the Seekers' "I'll Never Find Another You" is absent, considering its global chart success in 1965 (#4 here in the States and I think #1 in the UK, Australia and elsewhere). But I have everything the Seekers ever released, so it's not a big deal. Chad and Jeremy's "A Summer Song" (a #7 hit in 1964) is another pop-folk tune that could have qualified for inclusion. Maybe even the Silkie's cover of the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" (a Top 10 hit in 1965) might qualify. And Trini Lopez was another artist whose songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 several times in the 1960s; "Lemon Tree" (#20 in 1965) would fit right in with these other chart entries.

Baby boomers are already familiar with many -- actually, most -- of the 28 tracks here, but for younger music fans who are curious about the "folk boom" of the late 1950s and early 1960s (and a style of popular music that continued sporadically throughout the 1960s), this is your one-stop collection. I have several other CD collections from the Ace label, and that is one company I trust to do a solid job. They have come through yet again with "The Folk Hits." This is an excellent compilation of songs that rarely if ever get any airplay on the oldies stations. Recommended."

WORTH HAVING IN YOUR COLLECTION!!!

Michael S. Kader | Maryland | 03/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The three previous reviewers have pretty-much covered

the background of the folk music movement of that era.

This is clearly a good sampling of some of that music,

including most of the more significant songs from the

period as the selections presented here range from

# 1 hits to barely-made-the-top-100 plus the two that

just "bubbled under" . . .

Just be sure to realize that this CD is only a small

sampling since there was a huge quantity of folk music

available back then, much of which is not yet available

on CD. This CD is indeed a great presentation by itself

but I hope that it will be only Volume One of a multi-

volume series of folk hits and non-hits from that

Golden Age of American Popular Music.

I thoroughly enjoy hearing this great music again and I

do indeed think this CD is well worth having in the

collection of anyone who collects the music of the

50's and 60's or just American folk music in general.

It's clearly a winner!

"

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.

"

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

CD Details

Synopsis

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews