Various Artists - American Epic: The Soundtrack

150-gram vinyl

Newly-restored archival recordings from 1920s and 1930s

American Epic: The Soundtrack is a companion album to the noted 2017 PBS/BBC film series exploring the roots of modern popular music from the Roaring Twenties

In the 1920s, as radio took over the pop music business, music scouts armed with that era's cutting-edge recording equipment, explored rural America seeking new sources and audiences for music. They recorded a huge variety of folk, blues, country and ethnic songs — giving rise to country singers in the Appalachians, blues guitarists in the Mississippi Delta, gospel preachers in the south, Cajun fiddlers in Louisiana, Tejano groups from the Texas-Mexico border, Native American drummers in Arizona and ethnic music from Hawaiian musicians.

For the first time, a woman picking cotton in Mississippi, a coal miner in Virginia or a tobacco farmer in Tennessee could have their thoughts and feelings heard on records playing in living rooms across the country. It was the first time America heard itself.

American Epic: The Soundtrack is a 15-song single LP anthology of songs featured in the American Epic film trilogy. Compiled by Lo-Max Records, and released by Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings label, it includes restored archival recordings from artists such as Memphis Jug Band, The Carter Family, Charley Patton, Joseph Falcon, Lydia Mendoza and others.

The American Epic film series comprises a three-part historical music documentary airing in the U.S. on PBS on Tuesdays May 16, 23 and 30, 2017, at 8 p.m. CST, and in the U.K. on the BBC in May.

The series also includes a feature-length performance film — The American Epic Sessions — showcasing an all-star roster of contemporary artists, led by Jack White and T Bone Burnett, as well as Willie Nelson, Elton John, Beck, Steve Martin, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton (Blues Masters at the Crossroads alumnus) and others. They were filmed replicating this early recording process on an original 1920s electrical recording system and paying tribute to those great artists of the past. The American Epic Sessions airs in the U.S. on PBS at 7 p.m. CST Tuesday, June 6, and in the U.K. on BBC in June. The entire documentary and film series will also be subsequently available from PBS on Blu-ray and DVD.

The companion series of American Epic record releases includes the newly-restored audio recordings from the 1920s and 1930s from Sony Music Entertainment/Legacy Recordings, as well as a deluxe set of vinyl records from Third Man Records, and contemporary performances from Columbia Records.

 

 

Side 1

1. Gonne Die with My Hammer in My Hand - Williamson Brothers & Curry

2. On the Road Again - Memphis Jug Band

3. Frankie - Hurt, Mississippi John

4. Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow - Carter Family, The

5. Mal Hombre - Mendoza, Lydia

6. Peg and Awl - Carolina Tar Heels

7. Tomi Tomi - Bright, Sol K., with The Aloha Serenaders

8. The Indian Tom Tom - Big Chief Henry's Indian String Band

Side 2

1. Cocaine Habit Blues - Hart, Hattie & The Memphis Jugband

2. Up Above My Head - Tharpe, Sister Rosetta

3. Down the Dirt Road Blues - Patton, Charley

4. Allons A Lafayette - Falcon, Joseph

5. Stackalee - HUTCHISON, FRANK

6. Waiting for a Train - Rodgers, Jimmie

7. Jole Blon - Breaux Brothers, The with Louis Michot

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