Many years ago–in 1979, to be exact–a one-man show premiered in a small space at the Body Politic Theatre. It was Stephen Wade’s “Banjo Dancing” and none could have imagined how successful it would be.
It moved to the Apollo Theater and later to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. What was supposed to be a three-week engagement turned into a six-year stay–more than 2,100 performances for something in the neighborhood of 350,000 customers.
Wade’s latest accomplishment is equally impressive: “A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings” (Rounder Records).
He selected the 30 songs on this remarkable CD, folk songs chosen from hundreds recorded between 1933 and 1946 on site, where the performers lived, worked, partied or prayed.
Wade’s 40-page booklet accompanies the CD and informatively fills us in on the performers, their songs and styles, and the ways in which these folk voices influenced American music.
