| In 1987 the Smithsonian acquired
Folkways' master tapes, documentation, art work, files, and the business records of the
Folkways Record Company, founded in 1947 by Moses Asch and Marian Distler. The more than
2,000 Folkways recordings contain uncounted performances of music, song, narratives,
rituals, and oral traditions from the United States and around the world. Folkways
recordings were the first to include extensive written notes, and made their way into
libraries and classrooms across the nation. Folkways activities are coordinated by the Center as a "museum of sound," a non-profit business, and an archive. The archive is maintained at the Center and has been increasingly used by scholars and researchers as a source of cultural documentation and as a mine for new compilations. New acquisitions including recordings and documentation from the Cook and Paredon labels have been added. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings helps support the continuity and integrity of traditional artists and cultures while at the same time exposing broad audiences to the aesthetics and importance of diverse musical and verbal arts. The quality of the Center's work is reflected in a Grammy Award won in 1988 for Folkways: A Vision Shared (Ralph Rinzler, Harold Leventhal, Don DeVito, producers) and a 1992 Grammy nomination for the Roots of Rhythm & Blues (Ralph Rinzler and Worth Long, producers). |
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