The Folkways Years, 1959 - 1961 is a compilation album of songs by Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....

 released in 1991.

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, critic William Ruhlman wrote of Van Ronk's musical background and the he continued to "... play and sing hard, as if still trying to be heard over Dixieland arrangements. That sounded unusual to the more polite folk audiences of the time, in contrast to singers who played tame versions of traditional folk and blues tunes. But more than three decades later, it keeps Van Ronk's performances from sounding as dated as those of many of his peers do. Nobody worries much anymore about an articulate, urban white man trying to sound like an unlettered, rural black man, and these recordings have proven very influential... If he was imitating the originators at the time, now he sounds like a master whose work has been emulated by the rock musicians who followed him (and who made a lot more money doing so than he ever did)."

Track listing

1. "Duncan and Brady" – 3:00
2. "Hesitation Blues" (Davis) – 2:32
3. "In the Pines" – 3:04
4. "Willie the Weeper
   Minnie the Moocher
   "Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over 1 million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed lyrics . In performances, Calloway would have the audience participate by repeating each scat phrase in a...
   
   " (Bloom, Melrose, Rymal) – 2:47
5. "Twelve Gates to the City" – 3:12
6. "River Come Down" – 3:43
7. "Careless Love" (Handy, Koenig, Williams) – 3:56
8. "Betty and Dupree" (McGhee) – 3:34
9. "Bed Bug Blues" – 2:43
10. "Leave Her Johnny" – 1:26
11. "Yas-Yas-Yas
    The Duck's Yas-Yas-Yas
    "The Duck's Yas-Yas-Yas" or "The Duck's Yas Yas Yas" is a hokum jazz-blues song, originally recorded by James "Stump" Johnson, but the most well known version was recorded by Oliver Cobb and his Rhythm Kings....
    
    " (Traditional) – 2:05
12. "Please See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" – 2:54
13. "Winin' Boy" – 2:35
14. "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Traditional) – 3:00
15. "Gambler's Blues" (Traditional) – 2:42
16. "Spike Driver's Moan" – 3:11
17. "Georgie on the IRT" – 3:28
18. "Come Back Baby" (Davis) – 3:51
19. "Black Mountain Blues" – 4:00
20. "My Baby's So Sweet" – 2:32