|
Folkways Records & Service Co. was founded in 1948 in New York City by
Moses Asch (1905-1986) and Marian Distler (1919-1964). Under Asch's enthusiastic
and dedicated direction, Folkways sought to record and document the entire world
of sound. Between 1948 and Asch's death, Folkways' tiny staff released 2,168 albums.
Topics included traditional, ethnic, and contemporary music from around the world;
poetry, spoken word, and instructional recordings in numerous languages; and documentary
recordings of individuals, communities, current events, and natural sounds. As
one of the first record companies to offer albums of "world music,"
and as an early exponent of the singers and songwriters who formed the core of
the American folk music revival (including such giants as Woody Guthrie, Pete
Seeger, and Lead Belly), Asch's Folkways grew to become one of the most influential
record companies in the world. Following Asch's death, in 1987 the Smithsonian
Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington D.C. acquired
Folkways Recordings and the label's business papers and files to ensure that the
sounds and genius of its artists would continue to be available to future generations.
As a condition of the acquisition, the Smithsonian agreed that virtually all
of the firm's 2,168 titles would remain "in print" forever--a condition
that Smithsonian Folkways continues to honour through its custom order service.
Whether it sells 8,000 copies each year or only one copy every five years, every
Folkways title remains available for purchase. In the years since 1987, Smithsonian
Folkways has continued to expand on Asch's legacy, adding several other record
labels to the collections
and releasing over 300 new recordings that document and celebrate the sounds of
the world around us.
| 
