Josh White - Folk Songs Sung By Josh White (1944, Asch International Stinson 358)

Most blues enthusiasts think of Josh White as a folk revival artist. It's true that the second half of his music career found him based in New York playing to the coffeehouse and cabaret set and hanging out with Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, and fellow transplanted blues artists Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

What many people don't know is that Josh White was a major figure in the Piedmont blues tradition. The first part of his career saw him as apprentice and lead boy to some of the greatest blues and religious artists ever, including Willie Walker, Blind Blake, Blind Joe Taggart (with whom he recorded), and allegedly even Blind Lemon Jefferson. On his own, he recorded both blues and religious songs, including a classic version of "Blood Red River." A fine guitar technician with an appealing voice, he became progressively more sophisticated in his presentation. Like many other Carolinians and Virginians who moved north to urban areas, he took up city ways, remaining a fine musician if no longer a down-home artist. Like several other canny blues players, he used his roots music to broaden and enhance his life experience, and his talent was such that he could choose the musical idiom that was most lucrative at the time.

"Folk Songs Sung By Josh White" was a set of three singles released in 1944 by Asch Records with the following tracks:

- Motherless Children
- St. James Infirmary Blues

- No. 12 Train
- Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho

- Trouble
- Jerry

Josh White - Folk Songs Sung By Josh White (1944, Asch)

(192 kbps, front cover included)