Tradition Records was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

from 1955 to 1966 that specialized in folk music. The label was founded and financed by Guggenheim heiress

Diane Hamilton Diane Hamilton was the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim (1924 – 1991), an American mining heiress, folksong patron and founder of Tradition Records. Personal life The only child of millionaire Harry Frank Guggenheim, president of ''Newsday'' and o ...

in 1956. Its president and director was Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, who was soon to join his brothers Liam and

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

and

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banj ...

, as part of the new Irish folk group,

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Liam Clancy Liam Clancy ( ga, Liam Mac Fhlannchadha; 2 September 1935 – 4 December 2009) was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's ...

designed the company's maple leaf logo. Columbia University Professor of Folklore Kenneth Goldstein was also involved in the early creation of the company, which operated out of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. With artists like The Clancy Brothers,

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

, and

Jean Ritchie Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally ...

growing in popularity during the

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

, the label began to generate good profits. When The Clancy Brothers signed with Columbia Records in 1961, Paddy Clancy ceased to run the day-to-day operations of the company. In 1966, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, as owners of the label, sold the Tradition catalogue to

Everest Records Everest Records was a record label based in Bayside, Long Island, started by Harry D. Belock and Bert Whyte in May 1958. It was devoted mainly to classical music. History The idea for starting a label was related by electronics inventor Harr ...

. Everest reissued Tradition recordings without any notes in haphazard permutations. Much of the Tradition catalogue has been reissued on CD and/or for digital download. For many years

John Jacob Niles John Jacob Niles (April 28, 1892 – March 1, 1980) was an American composer, singer and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers," Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 195 ...

received little acclaim, but following the broadcast of the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

documentary ''

No Direction Home ''No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'' is a 2005 documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arrival in New ...

'', there was a surge in the demand for his albums. His two albums on Tradition were reissued. 43 North Broadway. a private IP management fund, acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to the Tradition Records catalog, as part of its acquisition of the Everest Records Group of labels.

Partial discography

TLP series

*TLP 501:

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Background She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly-created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

, John Neville,

: ''The Countess Cathleen'' *TLP 1001:

Isla Cameron Isla Cameron (5 March 1927 – 3 April 1980) was a Scottish-born, English-raised actress and singer. AllMusic noted that "Cameron was one of a quartet of key figures in England's postwar folk song revival – and to give a measure of her importa ...

: ''Through Bushes And Briars (Songs From The British Isles)'' (1956) *TLP 1002: Hillel and Aviva: ''Songs Of Israel and Many Lands'' (1956) *TLP 1003:

Ed McCurdy Edward Potts McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war " Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950. Career Born to ...

: ''A Ballad Singer's Choice'' (1956) *TLP 1004:

Sarah Makem Sarah Makem (18 October 1900 – 20 April 1983) a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer. She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of ...

Paddy Tunney Paddy Tunney (28 January 1921 – 7 December 2002) was an Irish traditional singer, poet, writer, raconteur, lilter and songwriter. He was affectionately known as the ''Man of Songs''. From Glasgow to Garvery Tunney was born in Glasgow to Ir ...

, Padraig O'Keeffe: '' The Lark in the Morning'' (1956) *TLP 1005: Paul Clayton: ''Whaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick'' (1956) *TLP 1006:

: '' The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion'' (1956) *TLP 1007: Various artists: ''Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians'' 1976 *TLP 1008: El Nino De Ronda: ''The Real Flamenco'' 1969 *TLP 1009:

John Langstaff John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...

: ''Sings American and English Folk Songs and Ballads'' *TLP 1010:

: ''

Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues ''Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues'' is the debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta. It was released in November 1956 by Tradition Records. Like much of Odetta's early work, ''Ballads and Blues'' combines traditional songs (e.g. spirituals ...

'' 1957 *TLP 1011:

& Paul Clayton: ''American Folk Tales and Songs'' 1956 *TLP 1012: Norman Notley and David Brynley: ''Elizabethan Songs'' (1956) *TLP 1013:

Seamus Ennis Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

: ''The Bonny Bunch of Roses'' (1956) *TLP 1014:

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

: ''Laughing America'' (1956) *TLP 1015:

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

and

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeg ...

: ''Classic Scots Ballads'' (1956) *TLP 1016: A. L. Lloyd: ''The Foggy Dew and other Traditional English Love Songs'' (1956) *TLP 1017: Colyn Davies: ''Cockney Music Hall Songs & Recitations'' (1956) *TLP 1018:

Kossoy Sisters The Kossoy Sisters are identical twin sisters (Irene Saletan and Ellen Christenson) who performed American folk and old-time music. Irene sang mezzo-soprano vocal, and Ellen supplied soprano harmony, with Irene on guitar and Ellen playing the ...

: ''Bowling Green and Other Folk Songs from the Southern Mountains'' *TLP 1019:

Glenn Yarbrough Glenn Robertson Yarbrough (January 12, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restless ...

: ''Come and Sit by My Side'' 1957 *TLP 1020: Various artists: ''Negro Prison Songs'' 1958 *TLP 1022:

: ''Pie in the Sky'' 1967 *TLP 1023:

: ''I Wonder As I Wander - Carols And Love Songs'' *TLP 1024:

Mary O'Hara Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...

: ''Songs of Ireland'' *TLP 1026:

and A. L. Lloyd: ''Blow Boys Blow'' 1960 *TLP 1031:

: '' Carols of All Seasons'' *TLP 1032: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: ''

Come Fill Your Glass with Us ''Come Fill Your Glass with Us: Irish Songs of Drinking & Blackguarding'' is a collection of traditional Irish drinking songs that first brought The Clancy Brothers and their frequent collaborator Tommy Makem to prominence. It was their second a ...

'' *TLP 1033: Robin Roberts: ''Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies'' *TLP 1035:

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

: ''

Country Blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

'' 1959 *TLP 1036: John Jacob Niles: ''An Evening with John Jacob Niles'' 1959 *TLP 1037: Theodore Alevizos: ''Songs of Greece'' 1960 *TLP 1040: Lightnin' Hopkins: '' Autobiography in Blues'' 1960 *TLP 1042: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: ''

'' *TLP 1043:

Carolyn Hester Carolyn Sue Hester (born January 28, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She was a figure in the early 1960s folk music revival. Biography Hester's first album was produced by Norman Petty in 1957. She made her second album for Tr ...

: ''Carolyn Hester'' 1961 *TLP 1044:

: ''Songs of Tommy Makem''

References

External links

Discogs
{{Authority control American independent record labels Folk record labels Record labels established in 1955 Record labels disestablished in 1966 American companies established in 1955

Partial discography

TLP series

See also

References

External links