US Folk Music 1963-1969 4-CD Set Coming

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The American folk music revival of the ’60s is being celebrated with a new collection, When Will They Ever Learn? A Story of U.S. Folk Music 1963-1969, featuring recordings by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, the Byrds, and dozens more. The 100-song, 4-CD set, via the Strawberry imprint of Cherry Red Records, arrives August 29, 2025. It’s available for pre-order here and here.

The collection includes such classic songs of the genre as Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction,” The Youngbloods’ “Get Together,” We Five’s “You Were On My Mind,” and Bobby Darin’s “If I Were a Carpenter.” It serves as a companion of sorts to the same label’s 1960s U.S. folk-rock collection from earlier this year.

From the label’s announcement: The catalyst for the folk revival in 1958 came with the least likely #1 hit that year, the Kingston Trio’s take on the traditional murder ballad, “Tom Dooley.” The Kingston Trio helped bring folk music into the mainstream adding greater substance to popular music, often with an edge of protest and topical commentary. Their collegiate appeal also fostered a sense of “getting back to the roots” in myriad ways; old-time string bands, urban bluegrass bands, and ‘20s and ‘30s Southern jug bands, revived by Jim Kweskin, confirmed a deeper interest in traditional folk and blues. Pete Seeger, more than anyone, was the bridge between the old and the new. Jack Elliott kept the flame burning for Woody Guthrie while Dave Van Ronk and Eric Von Schmidt showed that city dwellers could play the blues. A new breed of songwriters and interpreters was emerging during the ‘50s; the likes of Bob Gibson, Fred Neil, Paul Clayton, and Dino Valenti were already making a mark.

When Will They Ever Learn? picks up the story in 1963 just as the Kingston Trio and their like were becoming increasingly passé. Peter, Paul and Mary were able to shrug off the hootenanny audience and tap into the civil rights movement. They took Dylan songs, notably “Blowin’ In the Wind,” into the charts. Among the upsurge of new talents – Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Judy Collins, Eric Andersen, etc. – Dylan may have been the figurehead, but folk music was a fruitful and competitive breeding ground. This anthology aims to identify the protagonists in all their diversity, tracking and tracing who, where, how and why they joined forces, or simply did their own thing.

Folk music was never a purely male domain. This anthology presents plenty of powerful female voices including Malvina Reynolds, Odetta, Bonnie Dobson, Hedy West and Karen Dalton. By the mid-’60s, more artists were emerging or finally breaking through, such as Tim Hardin, Richie Havens, Tim Buckley and Gordon Lightfoot. More and more folk musicians were also following the lead taken by the Byrds, the Mamas & the Papas, and the Lovin’ Spoonful. The Grateful Dead, the Youngbloods, Kaleidoscope and H.P. Lovecraft were among those taking their folk origins in different directions.

The compilation opens with the Kingston Trio’s version of Pete Seeger’s ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ where he so presciently asked, “When Will They Ever Learn?”

When Will They Ever Learn? A Story Of U.S. Folk Music 1963-1969 Tracklist

DISC ONE
Take Me For A Walk In The Morning Dew
1 The Kingston Trio – Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
2 The Brothers Four – 500 Miles
3 The Limeliters – John Riley
4 The Journeymen – All The Pretty Little Horses
5 Anita Carter – Fair And Tender Ladies
6 Odetta – Long Time Gone
7 Peter LaFarge – Ira Hayes
8 Dave Van Ronk – Candy Man
9 The New Christy Minstrels – Green, Green
10 The Big 3 – Come Away Melinda
11 Simon & Garfunkel – Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
12 Bob Gibson – Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)
13 Paul Clayton – Spanish Is A Loving Tongue
14 Hamilton Camp – Pride Of Man
15 The Simon Sisters – Motherless Child
16 Tom Paley – The Cuckoo
17 Dian & the Greenbriar Boys – Cannon Ball Blues
18 The Even Dozen Jug Band – On The Road Again
19 The Jim Kweskin Jug Band – Minglewood
20 John Koerner – Southbound Train
21 Hoyt Axton – Bring Your Lovin’
22 The Mugwumps – I Don’t Wanna Know
23 Dick Rosmini – 900 Miles To Go
24 Martin and Neil – Morning Dew
25 Malvina Reynolds – What Have They Done To the Rain?
26 Pete Seeger – The Bells Of Rhymney
27 Tom Paxton – I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound

DISC TWO
Where I’m Bound
1 Judy Collins – Me And My Uncle
2 Bonnie Dobson – Country Girl Blues
3 Hedy West –The Davison-Wilder Blues
4 Judy Henske – High Flying Bird
5 Jackie de Shannon – When You Walk In The Room
6 The Modern Folk Quartet – The Bells
7 Au Go Go Singers -Where I’m Bound
8 Koerner, Ray & Glover – Fine Soft Land
9 Jesse Colin Young – Four In The Morning
10 Fred Neil -The Water Is Wide
11 Bob Dylan – Mr Tambourine Man
12 Paul Simon – The Sound Of Silence
13 Barry McGuire – Eve Of Destruction
14 PF Sloan –Take Me For What I’m Worth
15 Cher – See See Rider
16 Len Chandler – Shadow Dream Chaser Of Rainbows
17 Mark Spoelstra – White Winged Dove
18 Kathy & Carol – Green Rocky Road
19 Richie Havens – Morning, Morning
20 David Blue – Grand Hotel
21 Boz Scaggs – Baby Let Me Follow You Down
22 Tim Rose – Hey Joe (You Shot Your Woman Down)
23 We Five – You Were On My Mind

DISC THREE
Leaving The Folk Music Behind
1 The Mamas And The Papas – Creeque Alley
2 The Byrds – I Come And Stand At Every Door
3 Gene Clark – The French Girl
4 The Lovin’ Spoonful – Rain On The Roof
5 Scott McKenzie – Like An Old Time Movie
6 Bob Lind – Mister Zero
7 M.F.Q. – Night Time Girl
8 Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Danville Girl
9 Doc Watson- Worried Blues
10 Phil Ochs – There But For Fortune
11 Fred Neil – Everybody’s Talkin’
12 Gordon Lightfoot – For Lovin’ Me
13 Tim Hardin – Reason To Believe
14 Bobby Darin – If I Were A Carpenter
15 Norma Tanega – Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog
16 Pat Kilroy – Cancereal
17 Tim Buckley – Once I Was
18 Nico – I’ll keep It With Mine
19 The Grateful Dead – Cold Rain And Snow
20 The Leaves – Codine
21 The Youngbloods – Get Together
22 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Buy For Me the Rain
23 Jim & Jean – Changes
24 Jesse Lee Kincaid – Baby You Come Rolling Cross My Mind
25 Billy Edd Wheeler – High Flying Bird
26 Kaleidoscope – Banjo

DISC FOUR
Take Off Your Thirsty Boots
1 John Stewart – You Can’t Look Back
2 Johnny Cash & June Carter – Pack Up Your Sorrows
3 Porter Wagoner And Dolly Parton – The Last Thing On My Mind
4 The Dillards – Close the Door Lightly
5 The Holy Modal Rounders – Dame Fortune
6 Bonnie Dobson – Morning Dew
7 Mickey Newbury – Just Dropped In
8 H.P. Lovecraft – Spin, Spin, Spin
9 Pearls Before Swine – These Things Too
10 Danny Kalb and Stefan Grossman – Requiem For Patrick Kilroy
11 Taj Mahal – Corinna
12 The Insect Trust – Mountain Song
13 Vince Martin – Summerwind
14 Dino Valente – Time
15 Karen Dalton –Little Bit Of Rain
16 Tom Rush – Tin Angel
17 Steve Noonan – Shadow Dream Song
18 Jerry Jeff Walker- Mr Bojangles
19 Arlo Guthrie – Coming In To Los Angeles
20 Linda Ronstadt & The Stone Poneys – Wings
21 Eric Andersen – (We Were) Foolish Like The Flowers
22 Townes Van Zandt -Tecumseh Valley
23 Judy Henske & Jerry Yester – Three Ravens
24 Anne Murray – Thirsty Boots