Book & CD Recommendations

 Folk Songs of North America, by Alan Lomax - a survey of music from all over the U.S. Indispensable to a library 

English Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians - Two Volumes by Cecil Sharp - a very early survey of music from the Appalachians.

Songs the Whale men Sang by Gale Huntington - if you are going to marry into a family of whalers and fisherman from Martha's Vineyard you might as well be named Gale. A very good book with lots of music from one old trade. 

Old-Time Music Makers of New York State by Simon J. Bronner - a survey of the remarkable array of music from just one state.

Eighty Appalachian Folk Songs by Cecil Sharp. Old and rare.

Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians as Sung by Jean Ritchie - Classic work from Kentucky Queen of Folks Songs, Jean Ritchie. 

English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, Vol 1 and English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, Vol 2. English folk song collector Cecil Sharp and his secretary Maud Karpeles made trips into the Appalachian Mountains to seek old British ballads that had been carried there by emigrants 150 years earlier and still survived vigorously in oral tradition. A selection of these songs were recorded by Brian Peters and Jeff Davis on their new CD entitled Sharp's Appalachian Harvest.

Also see Jeff Davis's Recordings

Field recordings from one of the best collections of American folks songs in existence, by Frank Proffitt. Volume 1 is general from all over the country (NH, NY, NC and more); and Volume 2 is music of Frank Proffitt and North Carolina. Liner Notes by Jeff Davis.

One of the great singers and banjo players of the Appalachians. Source for the song Tom Dooley.

The great singing family of Southern England! Great old songs which have been sung in harmony for ten generations. 

The Early Years by the New Lost City Ramblers: Early recordings by the most important group of the string band revival.

Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings: Legendary indeed! Became an international star decades after his death. Eerie and dark recordings of old ballads and banjo tunes. (Vinyl)

Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 [2-CD Set]: A snapshot of community music from the North Carolina/Virginia line. Doc Watson's first recordings.