Before the Blues, Vol. 1: The Early American Black Music Scene (1996)

About this title: Although the blues is the most renowned form of early 20th century African-American music (other than jazz), it didn't dominate rural Black music to the extent that many listeners often assume. Black and White folk musics mingled extensively before the advent of recorded technology, and Black musicians often performed gospel, religious hymns, folk ballads, and fiddle tunes as well as what we now recognize as the blues. This compilation does a good job of illustrating the diverse ancestry of African-American music with 23 rare sides from the 1920s and 1930s, when records and mass media had yet ... read more

Tracks:

1. Bamalong Blues
2. Run, Mollie, Run
3. Lonesome Road Blues [Traditional]
4. Jackson Stomp [Davenport]
5. On Jordan's Stormy Banks We Stand
6. Mississippi Jail House Groan [Lacy]
7. Forked Deer
8. Bye Bye Baby Blues [Jones]
9. Pretty Polly [Shelton]
10. Soft Steel Piston
11. Two White Horses in a Line
12. Jamestown Exhibition [Instrumental] [Rose]
13. Dupree Blues [Walker]
14. France Blues
15. Dying Mother and Her Child
16. John Hardy [Kazee]
17. Wayward Girl Blues
18. Newport Blues [Coleman]
19. Tom Sherman's Barroom
20. Stack O' Lee Blues [Hurt/Traditional]
21. Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues [Darby]
22. I'll Go With Her Blues [Wilkins]
23. Christian Soldier

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.