New Dave Van Ronk Retrospective 'Down In Washington Square: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection.' Features 16 Previously Unreleased Recordings From The Inspiration For The New Coen Brothers Film (Out 10/29)

Called “The Mayor of MacDougal Street,” Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was a leading figure in the Greenwich Village music scene for more than four decades. He epitomized the urban “folksinger”— apprenticing through immersion in the music revival’s New York City epicenter of Washington Square Park. A raconteur as well as a “guru on the mountain,” he taught and advised musicians including Bob Dylan, Danny Kalb, Christine Lavin, Jack Hardy, Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, and many more. His legacy as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and grand mentor of the folk and blues revivals is collected in a 54-track, 3-disc set featuring 16 previously unreleased recordings. ‘Down in Washington Square: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection,’ compiled and annotated by GRAMMY-winning Smithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place, will be released October 29th on Smithsonian Folkways.

Van Ronk’s version of “Dink’s Song,” which is also performed by Oscar Isaac and Marcus Mumford on the soundtrack for the upcoming Coen Brothers film ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’, will be available September 10 as a digital download from folkways.si.edu other retailers.

The 3-disc set paints a musical mosaic of Van Ronk’s artistry from early live recordings made in 1958 (the year before his first Folkways album) to his final studio recordings in 2001, just months before his death. The collection also includes his full set from a 1997 concert presented by the Smithsonian in tandem with the reissue of the ‘Anthology of American Folk Music,’ four songs of which are available for the first time. Liner notes include a detailed biography and song annotations by Place, and a heartfelt essay by Van Ronk’s widow, Andrea Vuocolo, that incorporates the last song lyrics he wrote, appropriately titled “Down in Washington Square.”

Van Ronk was born in Brooklyn and learned to play ukulele, banjo, and guitar at an early age. His first love was jazz, which alongside Harry Smith’s ‘Anthology of American Folk Music’ had a profound impact on his performing and writing. In the early 1950s, he started to spend time at the jam sessions at the fountain in Washington Square Park, which were attracting the likes of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, and in 1957 Odetta encouraged him to perform his songs in concert. His first album, recorded for Folkways in 1959, was ‘Ballads, Blues and a Spiritual.’ The follow-up, ‘Dave Van Ronk Sings,’ was released in 1961. Included here also are songs from ‘Foc’sle Songs and Shanties,’ a 1959 collection of sea shanties that featured Van Ronk and Paul Clayton. During his career, he developed a large repertoire drawing from a wide range of styles, including traditional folk and blues, his own tunes, and compositions by Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Jelly Roll Morton, Josh White, and countless others.

This December, the award-winning Coen Brothers will release the film ‘Inside Llewyn Davis,’ inspired by Dave Van Ronk’s autobiography “The Mayor of MacDougal Street” and its recollections of life in the Village in the early '60s. The film and its soundtrack feature “Dink’s Song,” which was collected by John Lomax in 1908 and recorded by Van Ronk for Folkways in 1961 (among many other versions recorded during the folk revival and since).

Tracklist:
DISC 1
1. Duncan and Brady 3:02
2. River Come Down (Bamboo) 3:47
(Van Ronk-Weissman / Pepamar Music, ASCAP)
3. Spike Driver Blues 3:17
(John Hurt / American League Music, BMI)
4. John Henry 2:28
5. Backwater Blues 3:04
(Bessie Smith / Frank Music Corp., ASCAP)
6. K.C. Moan 3:04
(Arr. & adpt. Dave Van Ronk)
7. Haul on the Bowline 1:21
8. Just a Closer Walk with Thee 3:04
9. Gambler’s Blues 2:30
(Arr. & adpt. Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Music, ASCAP)
10. Sweet Substitute 2:36
(Ferdinand J. Morton / Edwin H. Morris and Co., ASCAP)
11. Bed Bug Blues 2:46
(Joseph M. Davis, ASCAP)
12. Winin’ Boy 2:38
(Ferdinand J. Morton / Edwin H. Morris and Co., ASCAP)
13. Georgie and the IRT 3:35
(Lawrence Block)
14. Betty and Dupree 3:37
15. Come Back, Baby 3:55
16. My Baby’s So Sweet 2:35
17. Black Mountain Blues 4:02
(J.C. Johnson)
18. Ya-Yas-Yas 2:09

DISC 2
1. Willie the Weeper 3:01
(Frankie Jaxon)
2. Dink’s Song 3:46
(John A. Lomax, Sr.-Bess Lomax / Ludlow Music, BMI)
3. Santy Ano 1:45
4. Leave Her, Johnny 1:30
5. Tell Old Bill 4:24
6. Careless Love 2:59
7. Standing by My Window 5:00
8. Please See My Grave Is Kept Clean 2:56
9. Had More Money 2:57 (Dave Van Ronk) ++
10. If You Leave Me, Pretty Mama 3:09
11. Hesitation Blues 2:36
(Gary Davis)
12. In the Pines 3:08
13. Oh, What a Beautiful City 3:15
14. Mean Old Frisco 3:16++
(Arthur Crudup)
15. Stackalee 2:34++
(Furry Lewis / Yam Hill Music, BMI)
16. How Long 3:56
(Leroy Carr / Trio Music Company, BMI)
17. Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down 4:54
18. House of the Rising Sun 6:03++
(Arr. Dave Van Ronk)

DISC 3
1. Hootchie Kootchie Man 3:16
(Willie Dixon, BMI)
2. Reckless Blues 2:30++
(Fred Longshaw-Jack Gee)
3. Trouble in Mind 3:48++
(Richard Jones)
4. Oh Lord, Search My Heart (1:32)++
(Gary Davis)
5. God Bless the Child 3:18++
(Arthur Herzog-Billie Holiday / Edward B. Marks Music Company, BMI)
6. Losers 3:18
(Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Productions, ASCAP)
7. Another Time and Place 4:31
(Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Productions, ASCAP)
8. Garden State Stomp 3:00
(Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Productions, ASCAP)
9. Motherless Children 3:12
10. Don’t You Leave Me Here (I’m Alabama Bound) 4:35++
(Ferdinand J. Morton / Edwin H. Morris and Co., ASCAP)
11. Spike Driver Blues 6:56
(John Hurt / American League Music, BMI)
12. Down South Blues 5:03++
(Scrapper Blackwell)
13. St. James Infirmary (Gambler’s Blues) 4:41++
(Arr. & adpt. Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Music, ASCAP)
14. Ace in the Hole 3:27++
(George Mitchell-James E. Dempsey, additional verses Dave Van Ronk / Folklore Music, ASCAP)
15. Going Down Slow++
(James Oden / ARC Music, BMI)
16. Buckets of Rain 3:52++
(Bob Dylan / Rams Horn Music, SESAC)
17. Jelly Jelly 2:58++
(Billy Eckstine-Earl Hines / Advanced Music, ASCAP)
18. Sometime (Whatcha Gonna Do) 2:38++
(Josh White / Folk-Blues Music, ASCAP)

++previously unreleased track


Smithsonian Folkways Recordings retail distribution is through ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance) at 800.239.3232. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, as well as Folkways Records, A.R.C.E., Cook, Collector, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, I.L.A.M., The Mickey Hart Collection, Monitor, M.O.R.E., and Paredon, are available via mail order at 888.FOLKWAYS or 800.410.9815 and via the Internet. Visit the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings website at www.folkways.si.edu.
 
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