Tradition Records was an American record label that existed from 1955 to 1961.
The label was founded (and funded) by Diane Hamilton. It may have started as a non-commercial exercise but once The Clancy Brothers were signed up in 1958, it generated profits. When the group signed to Columbia in 1961, the label ceased to be viable, and the catalogue was sold to "Everest Records". Their policy was to issue recordings without any notes, in haphazard permutations. Later Rykodisc bought the rights, and issued several recording under the "Tradition" logo. Some of these were actually from the Everest catalogue. The history is cloudy, but Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner, Coleman Hawkins and Jimmy Witherspoon almost certainly never recorded for Tradition, though recent issues would suggest they did.
For many years John Jacob Niles received little acclaim, but following the broadcast of the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, there was a surge in the demand for his albums. His two albums on "Tradition" were accordingly reissued.
Selected Tradition Records releases
- The Lark in the Morning by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, Family and Friends (1955)
- A Ballad Singer's Choice by Ed McCurdy (1956)
- Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956)
- At the Gate of Horn (1957)
- Children's Songs by Ed McCurdy (1958)
- The Tradition Years: I Wonder as I Wander by John Jacob Niles (1958)
- The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion by The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem (1956 and 1959 re-recording)
- Come Fill Your Glass With Us by The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem (1959)
- An Evening With John Jacob Niles by John Jacob Niles (1959)
- Classic Scots Ballads by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger (1959)
- Heather and Glen: Songs and Melodies of Highland and Lowland Scotland by Alan Lomax, Calum McLean and Hamish Henderson (1959)
- The Tradition Folk Song Sampler (1959)
- Carols for All Seasons by Jean Ritchie (1959)
- Pie in the Sky by Oscar Brand (1960)
- The Folk Songs Tradition (1960) (reissued 2005)
See also
External links
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