Traditional American Folk Songs from the Anne and Frank Warner Collection - by Anne Warner (Paperback)

About the Book

A songbook from one of America's great chroniclers of folk music.

Book Synopsis

Starting in the late 1930s, writer Anne and her husband and musician Frank Warner traveled along the Eastern Seaboard, from the Adirondacks to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, collecting folk songs they would perform, document, research, and lecture on. This decade-spanning work led to the Warners' development of a nearly one-thousand-song archive, one of the defining collections of American folk music.

From that treasured archive, Traditional American Folk Songs from the Anne and Frank Warner Collection brings together nearly 200 of the Warners' most beloved songs with a detailed history behind the music and lyrics. The book is uniquely organized by region and singer, allowing each of the voices to speak to the places they called home and the songs that could be heard there. Now updated with new photos, Traditional American Folk Songs is the definitive collection from the preeminent collectors of East Coast American folk music.

Review Quotes

An extraordinary collection.-- "Booklist"

The richest single volume of folk songs and ballads to come from the hand of any folk song scholar. The human warmth radiating from this book has not been surpassed in any book on the subject that I know.-- "Wayland D. Hand"

These songs contain the stuff of daily life in our country, stretching back almost to its origins, and in other countries where America had hardly been imagined. . . . Indispensable.-- "The Washington Post"

Frank Warner's warm bass voice has rewarded us with the richness of songs long buried. Now, his and Anne's book adds immeasurably to the treasure.-- "Studs Terkel"

What a wonderful book! Full of good anecdotes and fascinating people and characters, recalled with love and humor. And the songs! One fine melody after another.-- "Pete Seeger"

About the Author

Anne Warner has written numerous album liner notes and articles on American folk music. In 1981 an award given at Southeastern Massachusetts University cited Anne and husband Frank Warner as "relentless collectors with lives dedicated to the perpetuation of the oral tradition."