American Songwriter

3 Folk Songs Everyone’s Covered—but Few Know the Original Singer

The Animals helped to bring fame to “House of the Rising Sun,” but they weren’t the first to record this track. This song started its life as a folk ballad, first recorded by Appalachian artists ...
American Songwriter

On This Day in 1964, a British Band Turned a Traditional American Song Into the First Folk Rock No. 1–Inspiring Bob Dylan To Go Electric

On this day (September 5) in 1964, The Animals topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “House of the Rising Sun.” The song, an arrangement of a traditional American folk song, occupied the top spot for ...
insider.si.edu

American Folk Songs for Children [sound recording]

Folk music. "A total of 94 songs, this set comprises every song which appeared in Ruth Crawford Seeger's famous children's book of the same title Table of contents Yonder she comes -- Down came a lady ...
The New York Times

Joe Hickerson, 89, Dies; Helped Preserve America’s Folk Song Tradition

He was both the longtime archivist of folk music at the Library of Congress and a widely respected singer and songwriter. By Clay Risen Joe Hickerson, a singer and songwriter who as the lead archivist ...
NPR

Joe Hickerson didn't just document American folk music. He shaped it

Library of Congress archivist Joe Hickerson has died at 89. For decades, he worked to preserve America's collection of folk music and served as director of the library's American Folklife Center. Joe ...