Worlds of Sound

Ciara HaskettAnthropology 377

Ball State UniversityApril 26, 2010

Book Information

• Worlds of Sound– Richard Carlin– Collins Publishing • 2008

– 304 pages

Book Thesis

• Richard Carlin seeks to provide a history of Folkways Records, outlining important individuals along with the social and cultural outcomes produced by the existence of a “different” kind of record label.

Folkways?

• Folkways Records were created in 1940 by Moses Asch.

• Primary goal of Folkways Records: to create an “encyclopedia of sound.”

Moses Asch

Social and Cultural Implications of Folkways

• Moses Acsh created a record company that recorded all sound. All musicians were welcome, regardless of skin color.

• Early records put out by Folkways were Jazz records, employing the “unemployable” according to other record companies of the time.

A Look at Chapter 3: Lasting Friendships

• Chapter examines the close friendship of three individuals who made a huge contributions to folk music.

• Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and Pete Seeger

Woody Guthrie

Leadbelly

Pete Seeger

Professional Use?

• The book is not written for professionals, it simply seeks to tell the story of Folkways.

• My use of the book is merely for the historical aspect of it. The book tells another side to Woody Guthrie while offering a glimpse into his friendships with Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, and above all Moses Asch