> Folk Music > Records > The Folk Songs of Britain
The Folk Songs of Britain
This is a ten volume series of sound recordings, collected and edited by Peter Kennedy and Alan Lomax, assisted by Shirley Collins. It was originally published in America on Caedmon Records in 1961 and later in the UK on Topic in 1968 and 1970.
The songs were collected from traditional singers all over the British Isles by the editors mainly in England, by Hamish Henderson in Scotland, and by Séamus Ennis and Sean O'Boyle in Ireland. The series helped provide the repertoire and singing styles not only of luminaries like Ewan MacColl and Bert Lloyd, but those hundreds who came to the revival from the late 1950s onwards.
Expanded versions of some of the original LPs were released on CD by Rounder in 2000.
The Topic LPs list these credits on their album sleeves:
Recorded by Peter Kennedy, Alan Lomax, Séamus Ennis, Sean O'Boyle and Hamish Henderson;
Edited by Peter Kennedy and Alan Lomax, assisted by Shirley Collins;
Notes by Alan Lomax, Peter Kennedy and Shirley Collins;
Edited by A.L. Lloyd;
Sleeve design by James Boswell
> Folk Music > Records > Songs of Courtship
Songs of Courtship
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume I: Caedmon Records TC1142 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 1: Topic Records 12T157 (LP, UK, 1968) |
A collection of love songs recorded in the field with traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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Review
Sydney Carter's review is from Gramophone, June 1968:
Songs of Courtship (Topic 12T157) is the first of ten volumes of the folk songs of Britain. Recorded for the most part in pubs and country cottages over the last fifteen years by collectors whose names read like a roll of honour—Peter Kennedy, Séamus Ennis, Alan Lomax, Sean O'Boyle, Hamish Henderson—annotated by Lomax, Kennedy and Shirley Collins, edited by A.L. Lloyd, and accompanied by a booklet with the words of each song, notes, references, etc—this is the kind of enterprise (you might think) that only Topic would undertake. In fact it is a reissue of a series brought out seven years ago by the American Caedmon label in New York. Many of the singers represented—like Jeannie Robertson, Séamus Ennis, Jimmy McBeath, Davie Stewart, Bob and Ron Copper—are already well known to those who take their folk song seriously. Tracks I particularly liked were Bogie's Bonnie Belle, sung by Davie Stewart of Dundee, The False Young Man by Frank and Francis McPeake and Shule Aroon by Elizabeth Croonin of Cork. Do not be misled by the word “British”—the Irish Republic is strongly represented on this record, too, in both Gaelic and English. This is obviously (as they say) destined to become a standard work of reference. I enjoyed it not only for the beauty and interest of the songs themselves, but for more nostalgic reasons. It took me back to those old pre-Dylan days when folk was folk, and pop was pop, and nobody really imagined that the two would ever meet the way they did. The extraordinary thing is that a new, post-Dylan generation of singers—or one wing of it, at any rate—is now beginning to rediscover the kind of folk songs we sang or listened to ten years ago at Cecil Sharp House.
> Folk Music > Records > Songs of Seduction
Songs of Seduction
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume II: Caedmon Records TC1143 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 2: Topic Records 12T158 (LP, UK, 1968) |
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Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales: Rounder Records 11661-1778-2 (CD, UK, 2000) Musical Traditions review by Rod Stradling |
A collection of love songs recorded in the field with traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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> Folk Music > Records > Jack of All Trades
Jack of All Trades
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume III: Caedmon Records TC1144 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 3: Topic Records 12T159 (LP, UK, 1968) |
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A collection of songs of the country craftsmen—millers, weavers, cobblers, labourers—recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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> Folk Music > Records > The Child Ballads 1
The Child Ballads 1
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume IV: Caedmon Records TC1145 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 4: Topic Records 12T160 (LP, UK, 1968) |
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The Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales: Rounder Records 11661-1775-2 (CD, UK, 2000) Musical Traditions review by Mike Yates |
A collection of ballads, romantic,historical, dramatic and comic, “canonised” by inclusion in F.J. Child's great compilation, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, and still sung today.
Recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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> Folk Music > Records > The Child Ballads 2
The Child Ballads 2
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume V: Caedmon Records TC1146 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 5: Topic Records 12T161 (LP, UK, 1968) |
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The Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales: Rounder Records 11661-1776-2 (CD, UK, 2000) Musical Traditions review by Mike Yates |
A collection of ballads, romantic,historical, dramatic and comic, “canonised” by inclusion in F.J. Child's great compilation, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, and still sung today.
Recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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CD Tracks | |
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> Folk Music > Records > Sailormen and Servingmaids
Sailormen and Servingmaids
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume VI: Caedmon Records TC1162 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 6: Topic Records 12T194 (LP, UK, 1970) |
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A collection of songs about seamen and their womenfolk, recorded in the field with traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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> Folk Music > Records > Fair Game and Foul
Fair Game and Foul
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume VII: Caedmon Records TC1163 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 7: Topic Records 12T195 (LP, UK, 1970) |
A collection of songs about highwaymen, poachers, and all manner of miscreants, recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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Review
Tony Russell's review is from Gramophone, September 1970:
Fair Game and Foul (Topic 12T195) is the seventh volume of The Folk Songs af Britain which Caedmon issued in America some years ago and Topic are now making available in this country. It deals with “highwaymen, poachers, and all manner of miscreants”, and contains several pieces well known to the least experienced of folksong enthusiasts: Brennan on the Moor, The Butcher Boy, Polly Vaughan, Van Diemen's Land. (It is also valuable to students of American folksong, since a number of the pieces crossed the Atlantic to enjoy favour and experience transformation.) Among the twenty performances is Mary Doran's lovely Oxford City; another of those remarkable pub recordings from Blaxhall in Suffolk, Bob Scarce's Newlyn Town; and one of the few accompanied songs in the series, Ethel and John Findlater's The Standing Stones sung to the accordion. I think this is one of the best in the ten-volume collection, but the whole set is of major importance to student, singer and listener.
> Folk Music > Records > A Soldier's Life for Me
A Soldier's Life for Me
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume VIII: Caedmon Records TC1164 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 8: Topic Records 12T196 (LP, UK, 1970) |
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A collection of songs about the British army, its grandeurs and miseries, recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland and Ireland
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> Folk Music > Records > Songs of Christmas / Songs of Ceremony
Songs of Christmas / Songs of Ceremony
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume IX: Caedmon Records TC1224 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 9: Topic Records 12T197 (LP, UK, 1970) |
A collection of songs related to seasonal ceremonies, once of magical intent, now often frivolous, recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man
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> Folk Music > Records > Animal Songs / Songs of Animals and Other Marvels
Animal Songs / Songs of Animals and Other Marvels
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume X: Caedmon Records TC1225 (LP, USA, 1961) |
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The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 10: Topic Records 12T198 (LP, UK, 1970) |
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A collection of songs concerning birds, beasts, fishes, monsters, miracles and downright damn nonsense recorded in the field from traditional folk singers in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Channel Islands
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