Free & Equal Blues

by Josh White

Overview

This fine 26-song compilation of material was recorded by folklorist Moses Asch in the 1940s, at a time when Josh White was beginning to reach an urban, educated audience with his mixture of blues, folk, and pop styles. What comes across particularly strong in this set is his versatility and all-around appeal; he handles topical songs about discrimination and war, spirituals, covers of blues by Leroy Carr and Victoria Spivey, folk ballads, and theatrical pieces, even extending to a cover of Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets." "One Meatball" provided some of the musical inspiration for the classic Merle Travis tune "Sixteen Tons"; "Freedom Road" had lyrics by poet Langston Hughes. Because he was less earthy and not as Southern-sounding as Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy, White has been accorded less critical respect, but this anthology shows him to be one of the unquestioned linchpins of the first stirrings of the folk revival. Free & Equal Blues includes copious notes by White biographer Elijah Wald. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	03/17/1998
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074008126
Rank:	89731

Tracks

1. One Meatball
2. In My Time of Dying
3. Free and Equal Blues
4. Number 12 Train
5. Jim Crow
6. Landlord
7. Betty and Dupree
8. Trouble
9. Beloved Comrade
10. Hold On
11. Jelly, Jelly
12. When I Lay Down
13. The House I Live In
14. Fuhrer
15. The Minute Man
16. Take a Gal Like You
17. What'cha Gonna Do?
18. Don't Lie Buddy
19. Motherless Children
20. No More Blues
21. Mean Mistreatin' Woman
22. Freedom Road
23. Miss Otis Regrets
24. Careless Love
25. T.B. Blues
26. Outskirts of Town

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Josh White   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Alan Lomax   Guest Artist,Vocals
Mary Lou Williams   Guest Artist,Piano
Burl Ives   Guest Artist
Pete Seeger   Guest Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Brownie McGhee   Guest Artist
Lead Belly   Guest Artist
Eddie Dougherty   Drums
Union Boys   Vocals
Jimmy Butts   Bass
Bill Coleman   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Moses Asch   Engineer
Jeff Place   Producer,Archivist,Compilation Producer
Claude Hopkins   Composer
Elijah Wald   Liner Notes,Compilation Producer
Emerson Harper   Composer
Earl Robinson   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Gene Raskin   Composer
Fred Katz   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Victoria Spivey   Composer
Leroy Carr   Composer
Pete Seeger   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Lou Singer   Composer
Randy Kling   Mastering
Earl Hines   Composer
Anthony Seeger   Production Supervisor
Tom Glazer   Composer
Amy Horowitz   Production Supervisor
Lee Hays   Composer
Hy Zaret   Composer
Josh White   Arranger,Composer
Peter Green   Composer
Mary Lou Williams   Composer
Public Domain   Composer
Richard Lescallette   Mastering
Martha E. Koenig   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Jacques Wolfe   Composer
Roarke Bradford   Composer
Langston Hughes   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Kip Lornell   Compilation Producer
Leonard DePaur   Arranger
Billy Eckstine   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Allen Lewis   Composer
Spencer Williams   Composer
Traditional   Composer