From the track list and liner notes of disc 1: 1-1 Irene (Goodnight Irene) 1:53
Harmonica – Sonny Terry
“also known as “Irene, Goodnight”; from Folkways 2004, 1950/ Smithsonian Folkways 40044, 1996; recorded possibly August 1943″
Folklorist John Lomax and his son Alan originally recorded the “King of the 12-String Guitar” at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola prison farm) for the Library of Congress in 1933:
The pioneering American folk group The Weavers learned the song directly from Lead Belly and had a humongous hit with it in 1950, with 13 weeks at #1. L to R: Ronnie Gilbert, vocals; Pete Seeger, vocals & banjo; Lee Hays, vocals; Fred Hellerman, vocals & guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDyiUBrUSk
PakalanaPikake
February 25, 2020 at 12:47 AM
I’LL FIND YOU ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY, Ep. 1
Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter: “Goodnight Irene”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT-OuWmXDsY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight,_Irene
Sonny Terry, harp.
PakalanaPikake
April 26, 2020 at 12:08 PM
Lead Belly: “The Smithsonian Folkways Collection” (5-CD compilation, remastered, 2015)
https://www.discogs.com/Lead-Belly-The-Smithsonian-Folkways-Collection/release/6711938
From the track list and liner notes of disc 1:
1-1 Irene (Goodnight Irene) 1:53
Harmonica – Sonny Terry
“also known as “Irene, Goodnight”; from Folkways 2004, 1950/ Smithsonian Folkways 40044, 1996; recorded possibly August 1943″
Folklorist John Lomax and his son Alan originally recorded the “King of the 12-String Guitar” at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola prison farm) for the Library of Congress in 1933:
Lead Belly: “Irene” track #1, 4:39 (Midnight Special — The Library of Congress Recordings, V. 1 compilation CD, 1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BTZZAGeJLI
https://www.discogs.com/Lead-Belly-Midnight-Special-The-Library-Of-Congress-Recordings-Volume-One/master/1667553
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Belly#Music_career
The pioneering American folk group The Weavers learned the song directly from Lead Belly and had a humongous hit with it in 1950, with 13 weeks at #1. L to R: Ronnie Gilbert, vocals; Pete Seeger, vocals & banjo; Lee Hays, vocals; Fred Hellerman, vocals & guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDyiUBrUSk
I had no idea Lead Belly wrote “Cotton Fields” (1940). He could pick half a ton a day.
https://www.leadbelly.org/leadbelly.html