From Smithsonian Folkways

The Smithsonian Folkways label has issued a CD of folk protest songs. If you are feeling nostalgic for the folk boom of the 1960’s or are curious, this CD might a good start.

Protest songs are as old as man had music and the little guy wanted to speak out without losing his head. Folk singers like Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie created some of the early protest songs of the last century. Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” was a protest song against Negro lynch mobs.

The folk boom of the 1960’s made protest songs part of the popular culture. Bob Dylan’s early career was built on protest songs like “Blowin in the Wind”, “Masters of War”, “Maggie’s Farm” and “Time They Are A Changing”.

Warning – Explicit Content follows

Today genres such as Hip-hop, punk, rock are built on the culture of sticking it to “the man”. Why not since “the man” is sticking it to the people.

Folkways Records was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch who recorded more than 2,000 LP’s of the least commercial music in America.

Folkways sought to record and document the entire world of sound. Between 1948 and Asch’s death, Folkways’ tiny staff released 2,168 albums. Topics included traditional, ethnic, and contemporary music from around the world; poetry, spoken word, and instructional recordings in numerous languages; and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, current events, and natural sounds. From Smithsonian Folkways

To own Folkways LPs was to connect with the most unadulterated music in its day, if sometimes the least approachable. Asch was uncompromising in getting the authentic voices recorded.

The Smithsonian Institute purchased the catalog from Asch’s estate in 1987 and has been re-releasing it bit by bit. Classic Protest Songs from Smithsonian Folkways release is too eclectic for me but if you want a sampler, it’s perfect.

Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian Folkways)

The most famous re-release is Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith)
reputed to be the source of Bob Dylan’s inspiration for decades.

I had the original LP’s and lost them. It was impossible to replace the set until the Smithsonian re-released it. Today, anyone can get a new copy for $79. That is truly an amazing gift.

I’m looking for vinyl copies to replace the one’s lost over the decades. I want to complete the Newport Folk Festival series and early bluegrass recordings.

For an interesting survey of protest music beyond the folk 60’s, try Spin’s 20 Protest Songs that Matter. Catch Clampdown by The Clash. Awesome. The site bows to censorship when it refuses to let you hear ‘F’ tha Police’ by Ice Cube N.W.A.

We’re still writing protest songs. I wrote recently 56 Percent Man, DSP Blues and Sticky Fingers (unreleased).