Track Listing

1. Barbara Allen
2. Young Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
3. Midnight Special
4. House of the Rising Sun
5. Careless Love
6. Oh, What a Beautiful City
7. Poor Boy
8. Sally Ann
9. Riddle Song
10. Go Tell Aunt Rhody
11. Water Is Wide
12. Fox
13. Keeper and the Doe
14. Pretty Polly
15. Jesse James
16. Stagolee
17. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
18. Camptown Races
19. Blow the Man Down
20. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
21. I Had a Rooster (Barnyard Song)
22. Putting on the Style
23. Farmer's Curst Wife
24. Hard Travelin'
25. Alabama Bound
26. Wimoweh
27. Dink's Song

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78294 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Customer Reviews

Excellent resource to rediscover our musical heritage
Folksinger, banjoplayer, songwriter Pete Seeger was born in New York in 1919, the son of musicologist Charles Louis Seeger and violin teacher Constance de Clyver. A political activist, he fought injustice. Seeger was a member of the Almanac Singers and The Weavers in the 40s. During the 50s and 60s, he recorded for Folkways Records. In fact, he was so prolific, there were 38 albums released for Folkways between 1950 and 1964. From 1957-62, Seeger's 5-record "American Favorite Ballads" series were a cornerstone of the collection. "American Favorite Ballads" has apparently been reissued in two volumes. The songs were, and still are, essential items for the folk music enthusiast. As Seeger always believed, we should be singing and enjoying these old songs. And he had a knack for involving his audiences, interacting with them in ways that stimulated their active participation. While not all of the songs on this Volume 2 CD are true ballads in the strict definition of the term, each tells a strong story. With extensive liner notes, and 27 songs totaling 73 minutes, there are many songs that we'll immediately recognize while others are a little more obscure. All are sung by Seeger, most accompanied only with banjo or 12-string guitar. This is an excellent resource for all Americans to rediscover their musical heritage and favorite story songs. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

Essential folk/Americana album
Pete Seeger's five "American Favorite Ballads" LPs were the basic documents of American folk music for generations. No dusty museum pieces, though - they were lively, funny, inspirational, joyous. It is delightful to see them begin to appear now on CD, especially fleshed out, as this volume is, with appropriate additional tracks from his other out-of-print Folkways LPs (how about getting some of those out on CD?). Essential in every way.

American heritage personified
There is only one Pete Seeger. Though he is a man of the twentieth century, his music and life style cover American history. These recordings of Ameican Favorite Ballads are deceptively simple. Pete does not show off instrumentally or vocally, but he plays and sings with conviction. Because Pete sings what he believes, the songs obtain a depth and meaning that we may not have experienced before. Listen to them over and over...you will learn what it is to love America.