The Weavers

Recorded on location at Carnegie Hall on May 2 and 3, 1963, at two historic concerts celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Weavers featuring Bernie Krause, Frank Hamilton, Pete Seeger, Erik Darling, Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman.

The Weavers of Nishijin classically captures the process of Nishijin textile manufacture in rich black and white reminiscent of Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai era.

Stax’s proximity to the Civil Rights Movement and struggle for black American liberation was well established prior to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mere city blocks away from the label’s headquarters. It deepened thereafter, as Stax label head Al Bell forged an ongoing partnership with King confidante Rev. Jesse Jackson. Around the same time that Jackson spun off his own Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) from the Southern Christian Leadership Council’s Operation Breadbasket, he’d also ascended as a household name, thanks to the success of a recording of his signature litany, “I Am Somebody.” A recording of the speech, made famous by Jackson at rallies and meetings in Chicago, had gained notoriety nationwide with the help of its own Stax Records LP.

Home For The Holidays is a 2014 compilation of Christmas music released by Jasmine Records. 58 tracks for those who can't get enough of the reason for the season.

The most beautiful old songs by The Platters, The McGuire Sisters, The Stargazers and many more on one compilation!

Features 39 tracks on 2 CDs and includes 2 booklets that contain extensive notes celebrating 50 years of singing and songwriting by one of the truly great artists of the 20th century. This collection includes a new song by Seeger, as well as rare appearances by artists like: Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls, Peter, Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Tim Robbins (yup, the actor) and more! A pretty stunning group of socially conscious performers (from Bonnie Raitt to Billy Bragg) join in tribute to the inspirational music and life of Pete Seeger on this expansive 2 CD set. The grand selection of songs is well-annotated with notes from the artists and Seeger himself about each piece and its place in the pantheon. Among the many highlights are Bruce Springsteen's heartfelt "We Shall Overcome," John Trudell's tense "Torn Flag," actor Tim Robbins's rap-like "All My Children of the Sun," and Ani DiFranco's quiet, brooding "My Name Is Lisa Kalvelage." Further listening: the Smithsonian/Folkways release of If I Had a Hammer, a remarkable collection of Seeger singing his own songs. –Michael Ruby

It was distinctly ironic: at the very zenith of America's postwar space-age love affair with TV, 3-D, and rock & roll (and other disposable cultural ephemera), a grassroots movement set out to recapture the country's lost musical heritage. These curious minds not only found it in a wealth of seemingly forgotten protest songs, spiritual blues, and country laments, but also forged new songs in its image. That this crusade sprang from lower Manhattan's Washington Square and the doorstep of New York University made the paradox all the sweeter. Ted Myers, the producer of this triple-disc anthology, grew up just blocks from the epicenter of that folk-quake, and his generous sense of place and time permeates this rich collection. Generally misunderstood and historically pigeonholed, the era finally gets its due, chronicled here by 72 tracks that extend far beyond the roots-conscious work of Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Pete Seeger on one hand, and the more popular material by the Kingston Trio, Limeliters, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan on the other. Culturally, the Folk movement was the alt-rock of its day–if eminently more conscious of history and politically committed. Musically, it encompassed an ethos that enthusiastically blurred the boundaries between blues, Appalachian ballads, jug music, pure country, honky-tonk, work songs, and even unbridled novelty; this set explores them all, often with a palpable sense of discovery. Historically, the movement championed preservation at the same time it gleefully tweaked old sensibilities in pursuit of new inspiration. Listen and you'll hear music that became touchstones for artists as diverse as the Byrds, Roberta Flack, Rod Stewart, and–wittingly or not–every passionate coffeehouse minstrel who's strode on stage with a guitar ever since. –Jerry McCulley