With their 1950 recording of Goodnight Irene, the Weavers brought folk music to the 'American Hit Parade.' The public immediately responded to the song's catchy melody and Gordon Jenkins' lush arrangement. But the quartet's dynamic, passionate vocals were what really made the record stand apart from everything else in pop music. No one could escape the song or its popular flip side, Tzena, Tzena, Tzena. Juke boxes and radio stations kept both songs in constant rotations, and record sales snowballed into the millions. During the next eighteen months the Weavers dominated the charts with such folk anthems as So Long (It's Been Good To Know Yuh), The Roving Kind, On Top Of Old Smokey and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine. Suddenly, the creamy 1940s harmonies of the Pied Pipers, Six Hits and a Miss, the Merry Macs and the Modernaires seemed dated. Pop music would be different in the 1950s, and the Weavers were among the first artists to signal this new era.

No one was more surprised by this rush of success than the Weavers themselves. Emerging from the embers of the postwar People's Songs movement, the group polished its sound and repertoire at New York hootenannies, union balls and political rallies. An extended booking at the Village Vanguard in early 1950 led to a friendship with arranger Gordon Jenkins, who convinced skeptical Decca Records executives to sign the quartet.

But the Weavers' fortunes ultimately fell as quickly as they rose. Under the guise of patriotism, rightwing zealots gleefully exposed its leftist political affiliations. Organizations like the American Legion pressured promoters, bookers and media executives to boycott the group. Airplay disappeared and jobs dwindled, yet the Weavers persevered until they disbanded in 1953. However, the public's affection for the group never waned. A barely advertised Christmas Eve 1955 reunion at Carnegie Hall was an immediate sellout. A half-century after the release of Goodnight Irene, the Weavers remain one of the most beloved acts in American popular music. The group's saga has spurred dissertations and documentaries from historians and filmmakers. But ironically, those early records that helped shape the contemporary folk music revival have remained largely uncatalogued and virtually impossible to find.

This 5-Disc collection surveys the first five years of The Weavers' recording career. The complete Decca recordings are included; digitally transferred from the original sessions reels. The rare 10" 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' LP has been expanded with two previously unreleased carols.

DISC 1:

1. Wasn't That a Time
   
2. Dig My Grave
   
3. Freight Train Blues
   
4. Love Song Blues
   
5. The Hammer Song
   
6. No Irish Need Apply
   
7. The Hammer Song
   
8. Banks of Marble
   
9. When the Saints Go Marching In
   
10. Rock Island Line
    
11. Lonesome Traveler
    
12. I Don't Want to Get Adjusted
    
13. Wasn't That a Time
    
14. The Johnson Boys
    
15. Goodnight Irene
    
16. Lousy Dime
    
17. Every Night When the Sun Goes Down
    
18. Talking Blues
    
19. East Virginia Blues
    
20. Love Song Blues
    
21. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
    
22. Quinte Regimento
    
23. Wimoweh
    
24. Oscar Brand Shows: Poor Howard's Dead and Gone
    
25. Dig My Grave
    
26. Love Song Blues
    
27. Washington Square Blues
    
28. Freight Train Blues
    
29. Old Riley
    
30. The Johnson Boys
    
31. Lousy Dime
    

DISC 2:

1. Around the World
   
2. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
   
3. Goodnight Irene
   
4. Lonesome Traveler
   
5. So Long (It's Been Good to Know You)
   
6. The Wreck of the John B.
   
7. Midnight Special
   
8. The Roving Kind
   
9. Follow the Drinking Gourd
   
10. Trouble in Mind
    
11. Along the Colorado Trail
    
12. Suliram (Indonesian Lullaby)
    
13. Hush Little Baby/I Know Where I'm Going
    
14. Across the Wide Missouri (&Terry Gilkyson)
    
15. On Top of Old Smokey (& Terry Gilkyson)
    
16. The Frozen Logger
    
17. Follow the Drinking Gourd
    
18. Wake Up, Darling Cory
    
19. Greensleeves
    
20. Easy Rider Blues
    
21. Along the Colorado Trail
    
22. Greensleeves
    
23. When the Saints Go Marching In
    
24. Run Home to Mama
    
25. Quilting Bee
    
26. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
    
27. Jig Along Home
    
28. (Come On and) Join into the Game
    

DISC 3:

1. Old Paint (Ride Around Little Dogies)
   
2. Wimoweh
   
3. Midnight Special
   
4. The Gandy Dancer's Ball
   
5. Around the Corner (Beneath the Berry Tree)
   
6. Hard Ain't It Hard
   
7. The Boy of Mexico
   
8. True Love
   
9. Clementine
   
10. Down in the Valley
    
11. Rock Island Line
    
12. Benoni
    
13. Taking It Easy
    
14. Sylvie
    
15. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
    
16. Burgundian Carol/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
    
17. Go Tell It on the Mountain
    
18. Twelve Days of Christmas
    
19. It's Almost Day/Lulloo Lullay
    
20. One for the Little Bitty Baby
    
21. Poor Little Jesus
    
22. The Seven Blessings of Mary
    
23. Joy to the World/Masters in This Hall
    
24. Goodnight Irene
    
25. The Roving Kind
    
26. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
    
27. Around the World
    
28. So Long, It's Been Good to Know You
    

DISC 4:

1. The Trenton Six, Parts 1 & 2
   
2. The Peekskill Story, Parts 1 & 2
   
3. A Train to the Zoo, Parts 1 & 2
   
4. New York City
   
5. We Shall Not Be Moved
   
6. Buddy Rogers Show: See What Comes Up
7. Fred Hellerman: Old Man Atom
   
8. Pity the Downtrodden Landlord
   
9. Ronnie Gilbert: (Ma Come' Bali) Bella Bimba
   
10. Calla, Calla (The Bride)
    
11. Flamenco
    
12. Just One More Chance
    
13. Lee Hays & Fred Hellerman: Goodnight, Sweet Dreams