Betsy. I only met DB once, so I can't comment on whether he had his good points or not. In any event, that is irrelevant to the present discussion. The accusation is that he bought an admittedly small, but nonetheless vitally important catalogue of traditional music and song from Britain, Ireland and the USA and sat on it for the rest of his life. As a result the vast majority has never been reissued. Here's an incomplete listing of what we wuz robbed of. England. Copper family, The. Leader LEAB 404 England. George Dunn. Leader. LEE 4042 USA. New North Carolina Ramblers. North Carolina Boys. Leader LEA 4040 USA. Virginia Reel. Leader LED 2053 England. Unto Brigg Fair: Joseph Taylor and other Lincolnshire Singers recorded in 1908 by Percy Grainger. Leader LEA 4050 England. Billy Pigg. Border Minstrel, The. Leader LEA 4006 England. Fine Hunting Day, A. Leader LEE 4056 England. Cecilia Costello. Recordings From the Sound Archives of the BBC Leader LEE 4054 England. Charlie Wills. Leader LEA 4041 Ireland. Coleman Country Traditional Society, The. Music from the Coleman Country. Leader LEA 2044 Ireland. Folk Ballads From Donegal and Derry. Leader LEA 4055 Ireland. John J Kimmel. Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Dance Music. Leader LED 2060 Ireland. Seamus Tansey with Eddie Corcoran. Leader LEA 2005 Scotland. Shetland Fiddlers. Leader LED 2052 England. Stephen Baldwin. English Village Fiddler. Leader LED 2068 Ireland. Eddie Butcher. Shamrock Rose and Thistle. Leader LED 2070 England. Walter Pardon. A Proper sort. Leader LED 2063 USA. Lonnie Austin-Norman Woodlief Lonnie Austin & Norman Woodlief. Leader LEE 4045 USA Various Blue Ridge Mountain Field Trip. Leader LEA 4012 Canada Various Far Canadian Fields. Leader. LEE 4057 England. Jack Elliott of Birtley; The Songs and Stories of a Durham Miner. Leader LEA 4001 England. Walter Pardon. Our Side of the Baulk. Leader LED 2111 Ireland. Martin Byrnes. Leader LEA 2004 Ireland. Séamus Ennis. Leader LEA 2003 Ireland. John Maguire. Come Day, Go Day, God Send Sunday. Leader LEE 4062 England. People's Carol, A. Leader LEE 4065 For anyone who doesn't know the story, Leader Sound was forced out of business by the oil (and therefore vinyl) shortage of 1973, which means he achieved that astonishing list in just four years. I don't know of any other record company, including Folkways and Topic, who showed such splendid initiative as Leader Sound did.
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