American Folk Music
Geoff Grainger
Geoff Grainger
Last updated: 10.01.25
My first recollections of American folk music outside school and the family concern Burl Ives who I quite enjoyed as a child. Another source was a class-mate at grammar school who was a Lonnie Donegan fan (an English skiffle and jazz musician, popular in the 1950's) and an imitator. I well remember him entertaining us with the latest hits such as "Rock Island Line", "The Wabash Cannon Ball" et al during lunch breaks and we, the keen listeners, joining heartily in the choruses.
Geoff Grainger, Bremen-Vegesack, January 2001
| Title | Composer | Sequencer |
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Arkansas Traveler | Frank Petersohn | |
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Beautiful Dreamer | Frank Petersohn | |
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Clementine | Frank Petersohn | |
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Donna, Donna | Frank Petersohn | |
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Froggie went a-courtin | Frank Petersohn | |
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I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen (1875) | T.P. Westendorf | Frank Petersohn |
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Pick a bale of cotton | Frank Petersohn | |
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She'll be coming round the mountain | Frank Petersohn | |
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Skip to my Lou | Unknown | |
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Sweet Genevieve (1869) | H. Tucker | Frank Petersohn |
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There is a house in New Orleans | Frank Petersohn | |
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Way down upon the Swanee River | Unknown | |
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When Johnny comes marching home | Frank Petersohn | |
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Yankee Doodle | Frank Petersohn |
| Title (Release Year) | Composer | Performers | Issue |
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The Arkansas Traveler (1902) | Traditional | George Schweinfest L. Spencer |
Columbia Phonograph Company: 11098 |
| Title | Audio Files | Remarks |
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Alcoholic Blues, The |  |
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Arkansas Traveler | |
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Asleep in the Deep | |
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Banks of the Ohio | |
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Beautiful Dreamer | |
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Big Rock Candy Mountain, The | |
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Black is the color of my true love's hair | |
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Blowin' in the wind | |
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Blue Moon | |
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Bridge Over Troubled Water | |
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Bye Bye Blues | |
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Camptown Races |  |
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Careless Love | |
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Clementine | |
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Corinna | |
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⇑Cripple Creek | |
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Cumberland Gap | |
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Devil and the farmer's wife, The | |
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Devilish Mary | |
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Donna, Donna | |
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Dust in the Wind | |
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El Paso | |
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Elements, The | |
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Erie Canal | |
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Every night when the sun goes in | |
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Farewell Angelina | |
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Farmer is the man, The | |
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Four Walls | |
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Froggie went a-courtin | |
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Go to Work on Monday | |
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Goodnight Sweetheart | |
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⇑Grandfather's Clock | |
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Guy is Guy, A | |
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Home in Pasadena | |
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I hold your hand in mine dear | |
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I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen | |
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I'm a getting ready to go | |
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If I had a hammer | |
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Irish Ballad, The | |
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Jeanie with the light brown hair | |
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Joe Bowers | |
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Joe Hill | |
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John Riley | |
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Lemon Tree | |
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Music! Music! Music! | |
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Nellie Gray | |
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Oh, Susanna | |
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⇑Ol' Man River | |
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Old Rustic Bridge, The | |
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Pick a bale of cotton | |
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Prohibition Blues | |
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Puff the magic dragon | |
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Shawneetown | |
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She'll be coming round the mountain | |
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Skip to my Lou | |
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Sound of silence | |
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Summertime | |
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Sweet Betsy | |
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Sweet Genevieve |  |
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Sweet Georgia Brown | |
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Tea for Two | |
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There is a house in New Orleans | |
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Universal Soldier, The | |
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⇑Wabash Cannon Ball, The | |
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Way down upon the Swanee River | |
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Wayfaring stranger |  |
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We shall overcome | |
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When Johnny comes marching home | |
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Where have all the flowers gone | |
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Working on the New Railroad | |
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Wreck of the Number Nine, The | |
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Yankee Doodle | |
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| Title | Performer | Composer |
|---|
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A Fool There Was (1915) (1:06:39) | Theda Bara | |
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A Guy is Guy (2:42) | Dorris Day | |
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Abide With Me (2:28) | Vivian Holt L. Rosedale |
W.H. Monk |
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All Around Mama (2:46) | Mary Dixon | H. Cole |
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All I Want to Do-Do-Do Is Dance (2:35) | Marilyn Miller | J.A. Burke |
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Am I Blue? (4:09) | E. Waters | H. Akst |
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Arkansas Traveler (2:37) | P. Seeger | |
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Asleep in the Deep (1897) (4:07) | Fred Feild | H.W. Petrie |
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Asleep in the Deep (1930) (6:13) | P. Dawson | H.W. Petrie |
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⇑Banks of the Ohio (3:13) | Olivia Newton-John | |
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Beautiful Dreamer (3:24) | Jonathan Guyot Smith & Stephen Sasloe | S. Foster |
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Beautiful Eyes (3:03) | U. Carlisle | T. Snyder |
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A Beautiful Waste of Time (2:40) | M. Small | V. Mizzy |
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Big Rock Candy Mountain (2:36) | Burl Ives | |
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Bigger and Better Than Ever (2:50) | Frances Williams | C. Friend |
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The Bird On Nellie's Hat (2:07) | H. Trix | A. Solman |
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Black is the color of my true love's hair (2:48) | Joan Baez | |
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Blowin' in the wind (2:37) | Bob Dylan | |
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Blue Moon (3:17) | E. Fitzgerald | R. Rodgers |
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⇑Blue Shadows (3:08) | Earl & Bell | L. Alter |
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Bottoms Up (2:52) | Frances Williams | C. Friend |
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Bridge Over Troubled Water (4:53) | Simon & Garfunkel | P. Simon |
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Brother, Tell Me of the Battle (3:24) | Harry Timetey | G.F. Root |
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Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (4:21) | Alma Gluck | J. Bland |
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Charmant Oiseau (3:24) | Evangeline Florence | F. David |
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A Chip of the Block (2:11) | H. Trix | W.H. Squire |
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The Church Across the Way (1:49) | Annie Carter | W.B. Gray |
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The Coffee Song (2:17) | M. Small | B. Hilliard |
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Cripple Creek (2:56) | Billy Connolly | |
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⇑Cry-Baby Blues (3:20) | Elsie Clark | G.W. Meyer |
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Daddy (2:24) | Florence Venning | A.H. Behrend |
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Daddy You Got Ev'rything (2:52) | Mary Dixon | J.C. Johnson |
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Darling Nelly Gray (1856) (3:07) | Alma Gluck | B.R. Hanby |
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Devil and the farmer's wife (3:46) | Atwater Donnelly Trio | |
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Devilish Mary (1:16) | P. Seeger | |
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Did You Ever See a Dream Walking? (3:09) | Pickens Sisters | H. Revel |
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Diga Diga Doo (1931) (2:57) | H. Trix | J.F. McHugh |
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El Paso (4:43) | Marty Robbins | |
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Every night when the sun goes in (2:44) | Shelby Flint | |
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⇑Everything Is Hotsy Totsy Now (2:56) | Earl & Bell | J.F. McHugh |
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Far Off I Hear a Lover's Flute (3:47) | Agnes Kimball | C.W. Cadman |
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Farewell Angelina - 1965 (3:16) | Joan Baez | |
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The Farmer is the man (1:47) | P. Seeger | |
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The Fate of Talmedge Osborn (3:13) | E.V. Stoneman | E.V. Stoneman |
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Foolin' Me (2:46) | Maureen Englin | S. Bechet |
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For the Two of Us (3:04) | R. Dietrich Horace Wright |
H. Ruby |
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Four Walls (2:30) | Jim Reeves | |
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Gennett Laughing Record (2:54) | Irene Young | Unknown |
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George Lewis and Acker Bilk - Corine Corinna - May 1965 (3:33) | A. Bilk | Traditional |
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⇑Go to Work on Monday (5:52) | Roy Bailey | |
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Good Morning (2:46) | R. Blane | N.H. Brown |
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Goodnight Sweetheart (1:51) | Psycho-Chor der FSU Jena | C. Carter |
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Grandfather's Clock (2:23) | Burl Ives | H.C. Work |
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Habanera from Carmen (3:22) | Margaret Keyes | G. Bizet |
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He's a Nice Boy (1927) (1:53) | Edith Clifford C. Kellard |
B. Foy |
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He's My Uncle (2:37) | R. Blane | L. Pollack |
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Home in Pasadena (3:07) | The Temperance Seven | |
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The Home Road (3:14) | Ernestine Schumann-Heink | J.A. Carpenter |
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Home Sweet Home (2:26) | Lillian Blauvelt | H.R. Bishop |
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⇑Honey (2:21) | M.M. Hunt | S.B. Simons |
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House of the Rising Sun - 1960 (2:58) | Joan Baez | |
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How Come You Do Me Like You Do? (2:42) | Marjorie Royce | G. Austin |
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How My Sweetie Loves Me (2:56) | Martha Pryor | L. Pollack |
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I Ain't Lazy - I'm Just Dreamin' (1:48) | Irene Taylor | D. Franklin |
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I Can Do Wonders With You (3:51) | Doree Leslie | R. Rodgers |
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I Can't Give You Anything But Love (2:26) | Mary Dixon | J.F. McHugh |
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I Concentrate on You (3:27) | Mary Healy | C. Porter |
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I Happen to Be in Love (2:19) | Mary Healy | C. Porter |
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I Hold Her Hand and She Holds Mine (3:11) | Elsie Clark | I.M. Bibo |
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⇑I hold your hand in mine dear (2;24) | T. Lehrer | T. Lehrer |
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I List the Trill in Golden Throat. . Act Ii (3:02) | Agnes Kimball | V. Herbert |
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I Poured My Heart Into a Song (3:09) | Mary Healy | I. Berlin |
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I'll See You in My Dreams (3:07) | Earl & Bell | I. Jones |
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I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen (3:12) | Josef Locke | |
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I'm a getting ready to go (2:57) | Riley Pucket | |
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I'm Happy Go Lucky There's Nothing on My Mind (2:56) | Elsie Clark | H. Creamer |
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I'se Gwine Back to Dixie (3:15) | Alma Gluck | C.A. White |
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I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo (7:41) | Marion Hutton | H. Warren |
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I've Got Beginner's Luck (2:43) | R. Blane | G. Gershwin |
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⇑I've Got My Eyes on You (2:33) | Mary Healy | C. Porter |
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If I had a hammer (1:58) | Peter Paul and Mary | |
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If I Had A Hammer (1956) (2:30) | P. Seeger | P. Seeger |
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In the Dim Dim Dawning (2:31) | Irene Taylor | A. Hoffman |
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In the Evening (3:11) | Keller Sisters & Lynch | W. Donaldson |
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The Irish Ballad (5:28) | T. Lehrer | T. Lehrer |
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Is Everybody Happy? (2:04) | Madge P. Maitland | E. Hogan |
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Is Your Mother In, Molly Malone (1:57) | H. Trix | A.J. Mills |
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It's Unanimous Now (2:55) | Frances Williams | B. Green |
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Jeanie with the light brown hair (3:01) | John McCormack | S. Foster |
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⇑Joe Bowers (4:56) | Pat 'N Rob | |
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Joe Hill (3:24) | Joan Baez | |
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John Riley (3:50) | Joan Baez | |
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Johnny Zero (2:42) | M. Small | V. Lawnhurst |
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Just a Bundle of Sunshine (2:59) | Earl & Bell | E. Herbert |
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The Lady of the Slipper (4:18) | Elizabeth Spencer | V. Herbert |
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Laugh and the World Laughs With You (3:44) | Irene Young | Unknown |
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Lazy (2:58) | Martha Pryor | I. Berlin |
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Learning How to Love (3:06) | Edith Clifford | B. Rose |
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Lemon Tree (2:56) | Peter Paul and Mary | |
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⇑Lemon Tree (2:56) | Peter Paul and Mary | |
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Let It Rain! Let It Pour! (2:42) | Earl & Bell | W. Donaldson |
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Let the Rest of the World Go By (2:54) | Elizabeth Spencer | E.R. Ball |
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Listen to the Mocking Bird (4:07) | Alma Gluck | S. Winner |
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A Little Hilarity (0:31) | Carrie DeMar | J. Hart |
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Lo! Here the Gentle Lark (3:26) | Evangeline Florence | H.R. Bishop |
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Lonnie Donegan - Cumberland Gap (2:03) | L. Donegan | |
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Louisville Lou (1:34) | Martha Pryor | M. Ager |
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Love Me While the Lovin' Is Good (3:26) | I. D'Armond | H. von Tilzer |
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Maybe This Is Love (2:46) | Keller Sisters & Lynch | R. Henderson |
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⇑Me and the Man in the Moon (2:41) | Earl & Bell | J.V. Monaco |
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Meet Julian Rose (2:32) | J. Rose | J. Rose |
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Mindin' My Bus'ness (2:47) | Maureen Englin | W. Donaldson |
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Mississippi Mud (3:31) | Irene Taylor | H. Barris |
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The Mouse and the Thomas Cat (3:11) | A. Francis | A. Francis |
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Mr. Froggie Went A-Courtin (3:02) | Burl Ives | |
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My Bairnie (2:37) | Lillian Blauvelt | K. Vannah |
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My Daddy's Growin' Old (So I'll Have to Look Aroun') (3:00) | Marjorie Royce | A. Robbins |
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My Honolulu Hula Girl (2:51) | R. Dietrich Horace Wright Helen Louise Frank Ferera |
S. Cunha |
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My Own Iona (2:58) | R. Dietrich Horace Wright Frank Ferera Helen Louise |
A. Friedland |
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⇑My Sweetheart Is Somewhere in France (3:12) | Elizabeth Spencer | R.A. King |
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Nagasaki (1;35) | Keller Sisters & Lynch | H. Warren |
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Nellie Gray (4:53) | Tom Roush | |
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The Next Horse I Ride On (2:50) | H. Trix | F. Murray |
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The Nightingale Song (3:31) | Alma Gluck | C. Zeller |
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No Bout Adoubt It (2:28) | Marion Hutton | V. Mizzy |
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No Wonder She's a Blushing Bride (3:03) | Edith Clifford | C. Edwards |
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O Come With Me in the Summer Night (2:47) | Agnes Kimball | F.V. v.d. Stucken |
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O schöne Zeit, o sel'ge Zeit (3:28) | Margaret Keyes | K. Götze |
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Odetta - House of the Rising Sun (3:16) | Odetta | |
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⇑Odetta - The Waterboy (1954) (4:05) | Odetta | |
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Oh my darling Clementine (2:15) | The Sweptaways | |
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Oh, Susanna (3:02) | Tom Roush | |
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Ol' Man River (4:18) | Paul Robeson | J. Kern |
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Ol' Man River (3:11) | B. Beiderbecke | J. Kern |
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An Old Garden (2:13) | Florence Venning | H. Temple |
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On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away (2:07) | Annie Carter | P. Dresser |
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Oogie Oogie Wa Wa (3:01) | Elsie Clark | A. Gottler |
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Organlogue (5:19) | Ann Leaf | Miscellaneous |
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The Original Radio Girl (62:52) | V. de Leath | Miscellaneous |
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⇑Pick a bale of cotton (2:54) | L. Donegan | |
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Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (2:48) | M.M. Hunt | S.H. Stept |
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Prohibition Blues (3:07) | N. Bayes | N. Bayes |
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Puff the magic dragon (3:50) | Peter Paul and Mary | |
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Redskin (2:47) | M.M. Hunt | J.S. Zamecnik |
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Ring the Bells of Heaven (1:59) | Rix Tillman | G.F. Root |
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Romance Me (2:54) | M. Small | V. Mizzy |
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Rum and Coca-Cola (3:01) | R. Blane | J. Sullavan |
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Says I to Myself, Says I (3:07) | A. Francis | H. von Tilzer |
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Shall We Dance? (2:37) | R. Blane | G. Gershwin |
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⇑Shawneetown (4:25) | Chris Vallillo | |
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She'll be coming round the mountain (1:49) | ListenAndReadAlong | |
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Shirley Kellog (2:52) | Shirley Kellogg | H.E. Darewski |
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The Shoemaker and the Brownies (3:26) | A. Francis | A. Francis |
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Skip to my Lou (4:44) | P. Seeger | |
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Skip to My Lou (1:26) | Wally Whyton | |
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Sleepy Valley (3:19) | M.M. Hunt | J.F. Hanley |
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Somebody and Me (2:56) | Keller Sisters & Lynch | E. Golden |
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Somebody Loves You (2:59) | Pickens Sisters | P. de Rose |
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Sound of silence (3:05) | Simon and Garfunkel | |
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⇑Stormy Weather (3:06) | E. Waters | H. Arlen |
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Sugar Babe (3:11) | B. Senter | B. Senter |
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Summertime - Abbie Mitchell (2:10) | Abbie Mitchell Cook | G. Gershwin |
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Summertime - Harolyn Blackwell (2:54) | Harolyn Blackwell | G. Gershwin |
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Sunny Disposish (2:03) | Frances Williams | P. Charig |
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The Suns in My Heart (1932) (2:29) | Sylvia Froos | A. Baer |
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Sweet (1:54) | Toby Wing | P. Tomlin |
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Sweet Betsy (3:18) | Johnny Cash | |
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Sweet Genevieve (1:59) | Charles Elmer Szabo, | |
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Sweet Georgia Brown (3:03) | Pickens Sisters | B. Bernie |
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⇑Sweet Georgia Brown (4:17) | L. Armstrong | B. Bernie |
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Sweet Georgia Brown (3:10) | E. Fitzgerald | B. Bernie |
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Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight - Song (3:17) | Vivian Holt L. Rosedale |
F.H. Klickmann |
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The Sweetest Flower That Blows (2:09) | Florence Venning | C.B. Hawley |
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Sweetheart Blues (2:58) | B. Senter | B. Senter |
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Sweetheart of All My Dreams (6:44) | T. Monk | A. Fitch |
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Sweetheart of All My Dreams (3:07) | R. Vallée | A. Fitch |
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Sweetheart of All My Dreams (2:21) | Ruby Murray | A. Fitch |
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Tain't Yours (2:36) | U. Carlisle | U. Carlisle |
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Tea for Two (3:50) | Anita O'Day | V.M. Youmans |
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⇑That's What The Rose Said To Me (2:18) | Louise Le Baron | L. Edwards |
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The Alcoholic Blues (3:46) | Sheet Music Singer | A. von Tilzer |
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The Elements (3:02) | T. Lehrer | A. Sullivan |
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The Old Rustic Bridge (2:55) | Daniel O'Donnell | |
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The Unchastened Woman (1925) (51:30) | Theda Bara | |
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The Universal Soldier (2:29) | Buffy Saint-Marie | |
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There is a house in New Orleans (5:15) | Bob Dylan | |
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This Land Is Your Land (2:18) | Woodie Guthrie | |
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Throw It Out of Your Mind (1:27) | U. Carlisle | L. Armstrong |
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Too Many Tears (3:06) | Pickens Sisters | H. Warren |
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⇑Under the Deodar (3:29) | Florence Venning | L. Monckton |
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The Venus Waltz (3:00) | D. Jardon | I. Caryll |
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Vipers Skiffle Group (Live 1957) (2:28) | Wally Whyton | |
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The Wabash Cannon Ball (2:37) | Roy Acuff | |
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Was That the Human Thing to Do? (3:21) | Pickens Sisters | S. Fain |
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Way down upon the Swanee River (3:15) | Paul Robeson | S. Foster |
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Wayfaring stranger (4:30) | Joan Baez | |
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We Shall Overcome, Berlin, DDR, 1967 (3:42) | P. Seeger | |
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Well all Right (Tonight's the Night) (2:55) | R. Blane | F. Faye |
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When Celia Sings (3:09) | Lillian Blauvelt | F.L. Moir |
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⇑When Johnny comes marching home (3:34) | Bobby Horton | |
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When My Sugar Walks Down the Street (2:47) | Earl & Bell | J.F. McHugh |
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When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along (2:56) | Keller Sisters & Lynch | H. Woods |
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When the Shadows Softly Come and Go (2:40) | Vivian Holt L. Rosedale |
H. Creamer |
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Where Have all the Flowers Gone (1:57) | P. Seeger | P. Seeger |
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Where the Lazy Daisies Grow (2:50) | Maureen Englin | C. Friend |
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Whisper and I Shall Hear (2:15) | Louise Le Baron | G. Hubi-Newcombe |
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Who Takes Care of the Caretaker's Daughter (2:32) | Earl & Bell | C. Endor |
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Why Do I Love You? (3:44) | Olga Albani Frank Munn |
J. Kern |
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Why Do They Call Them Flappers? (1927) (3:54) | Edith Clifford | B. Foy |
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⇑Willow Weep For Me (3:28) | Irene Taylor | A. Ronell |
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Working on the New Railroad (6:11) | Joe Hickerson, | |
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Wreck of Number Nine (2:52) | E.V. Stoneman | Traditional |
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The Wreck of the Number Nine (2:23) | Jim Reeves | |
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Yankee Doodle (2:47) | ListenAndReadAlong | |
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Yiddisher Jazz - Levinsky's Jubilee (3:45) | J. Rose | W.K. Wells |
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Yodel-Oh (1927) (2:48) | Edith Clifford C. Kellard |
B. Foy |
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Yodelin' Jive (3:14) | R. Blane | D. Raye |
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You Can't Sleep In My Bed (3:07) | Mary Dixon | J. Rose |
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You're Here and I'm Here (3:15) | Agnes Kimball Charles W. Harrison |
J. Kern |