In 1952, Folkways Records published the legendary 6-LP series entitled the Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled from original 78s by record collector, filmmaker, artist, and anthropologist Harry Smith.
Many historians and musicians cite Smith’s reissue, with its recordings of country, blues, Cajun, and gospel music from the 1920s and ‘30s, and its booklet containing idiosyncratic liner notes, esoteric artwork, and handmade design as a major impetus for the folk music revival of the 1950s and ‘60s and as a source of profound cultural change.
68 years later, The Harry Smith B-Sides offers both a resonant listening experience and the closing of a collector’s circle. Sequenced in the identical order that Smith created, this new box set offers the flip-side of 78-rpm records that he selected for the original Anthology of American Folk Music.
With newly-remastered audio, this box set represents a mirror image of the Anthology of American Music’s tracklist, and a way to hear the complete statement of each original 78-rpm record included on Smith’s landmark compilation.
READ ABOUT HARRY SMITH’S WORK IN AMANDA PETRUSICH’S RECENT FEATURE FOR THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE.
FAQ
Harry Smith used some A-sides and some B-sides of 78s from the 1920s and 30s for the "Anthology of American Folk Music." What we are referencing in the title of our set is the 1952 "Anthology of American Folk Music" not the original 78s. What that means is that these aren't B-sides in the sense that Columbia, Victor, Paramount, etc. designated them B-sides; these are B-sides as designated by Harry Smith when he was compiling the "Anthology."

In four instances, Harry included both sides of the same 78-rpm record on the "Anthology of American Folk Music." For these recordings, the location of the tracks in the playlist order have been switched, so that the first song appears where the second song was, and so on. For example, “Must Be Born Again” and “Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting” are opposite sides of the same original 78rpm record by Rev. J.M. Gates, therefore their positions in the playlist on the B-Sides collection are reversed. The same is true of “Rocky Road” and “Present Joys” by the Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, “Kassie Jones parts 1 and 2” by Furry Lewis, and "The Wagoner's Lad" and "The Butcher's Boy" by Buell Kazee.

This box set contains newly-remastered audio under license from Gennett Records, The George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group.

Our licenses do not allow us to make the audio available via download or streaming.