Harry Smith

Eccentric Harry Smith occupies an almost mythical role in 20th century American music, as a curator and, in his own fashion, promoter of vital folk forms. The three-volume Anthology of American Folk Music that he compiled for Folkways in the early '50s was instrumental in exposing much roots music to a wider audience and young musicians, helping to facilitate a folk revival and, by extension, folk-rock. When Anthology of American Folk Music was reissued by Smithsonian Folkways in 1997, it was deservedly considered a major event, though critics sometimes seemed to read mystical significance into Smith's intentions that were not there. Whatever his intentions were, there is no question that Smith did a good deal to raise the awareness of American musical heritage, and indeed to pioneer the very concept of collecting records so that sounds and innovations could be preserved for posterity.



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