Historical America in Song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Historical America in Song
Historical America in Song cover
Studio album Album Set by Burl Ives
Released 1950
Genre Folk
Label Encyclopedia Britannica Films
Note: This article is linked to the discography in the Burl Ives article.

Historical America in Song, released in 1950 by Encyclopædia Britannica Films, is an album set by folk singer Burl Ives. Each of the six albums consists of five 12-inch vinylite records, for a total of thirty 78 rpm records.[1] Each album has its own cover with a drawing of the Washington Monument on it (see the illustration).

The album set was designed to be used in four types of academic courses: music appreciation, American history, literature, and social studies. Each song was selected and is introduced by Ives. The introductions "establish the songs in mood, time, and place" and "point up the significance of the songs and highlight their most important elements."[2]

The following albums make up the set: Songs of the Colonies, Songs of the Revolution, Songs of North and South, Songs of the Sea, Songs of the Frontier, and Songs of Expanding America.



Contents

[edit] Songs of the Colonies [3]

[edit] Track listing

Record 1, Side 1 (B.I.301)

  1. Psalm 3
  2. Confess Jehovah
  3. Mother Goose Songs

Record 1, Side 2 (B.I.302)

  1. Little Mohee
  2. The Tailor and the Mouse

Record 2, Side 3 (B.I.303)

  1. Barbara Allen

Record 2, Side 4 (B.I.304)

  1. Lord Thomas
  2. Robin He Married

Record 3, Side 5 (B.I.305)

  1. Lord Randall
  2. The Bold Soldier

Record 3, Side 6 (B.I.306)

  1. Edward
  2. Black Is the Color

Record 4, Side 7 (B.I.307)

  1. The Squire’s Son
  2. The Riddle Song

Record 4, Side 8 (B.I.308)

  1. Foggy, Foggy Dew
  2. The Fox

Record 5, Side 9 (B.I.309)

  1. Brennan on the Moor
  2. Billy Boy

Record 5, Side 10 (B.I.310)

  1. Queen Jane
  2. Turtle Dove

[edit] Songs of the Revolution [4]

[edit] Track listing

Label on Side 2 of Songs of the Revolution
Label on Side 2 of Songs of the Revolution

Record 1, Side 1 (B.I.311)

  1. The Escape of John Webb
  2. I Know Where I'm Going

Record 1, Side 2 (B.I.312)

  1. My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free
  2. On Springfield Mountain
  3. Chester

Record 2, Side 3 (B.I.313)

  1. What a Court Hath Old England
  2. Ballad of the Tea Party
  3. The Boston Tea Tax

Record 2, Side 4 (B.I.314)

  1. White Cockade
  2. Free America
  3. Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier

Record 3, Side 5 (B.I.315)

  1. Yankee Doodle
  2. Riflemen’s Song at Bennington

Record 3, Side 6 (B.I.316)

  1. The Battle of the Kegs

Record 4, Side 7 (B.I.317)

  1. Battle of Saratoga

Record 4, Side 8 (B.I.318)

  1. Cornwallis Country Dance
  2. Sir Peter Parker

Record 5, Side 9 (B.I.319)

  1. Yankee Man O’War

Record 5, Side 10 (B.I.320)

  1. Skip to My Lou
  2. Careless Love
  3. Wayfaring Stranger

[edit] Songs of North and South [5]

[edit] Track listing

  1. Ye Parliaments of England
  2. The Constitution and the Guerriere
  3. Patriotic Diggers
  4. Hunters of Kentucky
  5. The Hornet and the Peacock
  6. Hey Betty Martin
  7. Old Dan Tucker
  8. Blue Tail Fly
  9. The Abolitionist Hymn
  10. Nicodemus
  11. Old Abe Lincoln
  12. All Quiet along the Potomac Tonight
  13. John Brown
  14. Dixie
  15. Bonnie Blue Flag
  16. Goober Peas
  17. The Battle of Bull Run
  18. Johnny Comes Marching Home
  19. Lorena
  20. Keemo-Kimo
  21. Beautiful Dreamer
  22. Where You There When They Crucified My Lord?
  23. Burying Ground
  24. Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen

[edit] Songs of the Sea [6]

[edit] Track listing

  1. Golden Vanity
  2. High Barbaree
  3. Maid of Amsterdam
  4. Henry Martin
  5. Hullabaloo Baley
  6. Blow the Man Down
  7. Blow Ye Winds
  8. Away Rio
  9. The Whale
  10. Sacramento
  11. Crocodile Song
  12. Early in the Morning
  13. Boston Come All Ye
  14. Haul Away Joe
  15. Venezuela
  16. Shenandoah
  17. Erie Canal
  18. Eddystone Light

[edit] Songs of the Frontier [7]

[edit] Track listing

  1. Ox-Driving Song
  2. Sweet Betsy from Pike
  3. Dreary Black Hills
  4. Peter Gray
  5. Sioux Indians
  6. Joe Bowers
  7. What Was Your Name in the States
  8. Buffalo Gals
  9. Greer County bachelor
  10. Roving Gambler
  11. Chisholm Trail
  12. Old Paint
  13. Sod Shanty
  14. Git along Little Dogies
  15. The Young Man who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn
  16. I’ve Got No Use for Women
  17. The Hand-Cart Song
  18. Brigham Young

[edit] Songs of Expanding America [8]

[edit] Track listing

  1. Streets of Laredo
  2. Billy the Kid
  3. John Hardy
  4. Jesse James
  5. Drill Ye Tarriers
  6. Blue Mountain Lake
  7. Patrick on the Railroad
  8. The Dying Hogger
  9. John Henry
  10. Down in the Valley
  11. When I Was Single
  12. Sourwood Mountain
  13. Cotton-Eyed Joe
  14. Cowboy’s Dream
  15. Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad
  16. Poor Boy
  17. Old Blue
  18. Midnight Special
  19. Big Rock Candy Mountain
  20. The Boll Weevil
  21. St. John’s River

[edit] Trivia

  • The set was selling for $59.50 in 1951 or $10.95 per album.[9]
  • Ives's wife Helen was a "production consultant" on the project.[10]

[edit] Further Reading

  • Robert C. Pooley, untitled review of Songs of the North and South, inThe English Journal, vol. 42, no. 2. (February 1953), pp. 117-118. "The range of material is too wide for the artistry of Burl Ives. He is excellent in the topical, humorous, and folk songs, but he lacks depth and conviction in the spirituals."
  • Edwin B. Knowles, untitled review of Songs of the Sea, in The English Journal, vol. 42, no. 3 (March 1953), p. 176. "Musically speaking, most of these songs are a joy to listen to. Ives's abilities as a vocalist and guitar player are here up to par.... Here can be felt the haunting sadness and mystery of the sea, the contagious rolling rhythms of group labor, the sailor's dreams of sweethearts and gold, plus a saving touch of simple humor and Munchausen fantasy."

[edit] References

  1. ^ Library Journal, 15 March 1951, p. 540
  2. ^ Inside front cover, Songs of the Colonies, Album 1 of Historical America in Songs, N.p.: Encyclopedia Britannica Films, 1950.
  3. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559914: link
  4. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559915: link
  5. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559916: link
  6. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559917: link
  7. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559918: link
  8. ^ Library of Congress Catalogue, LCCN 2001559919: link
  9. ^ Library Journal, 15 March 1951, p. 540
  10. ^ Front cover, Songs of the Colonies, Album 1 of Historical America in Songs, N.p.: Encyclopedia Britannica Films, 1950.
 This 1950s folk album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.