Hi everybody. My name is Kyle. I've posted here a couple times as a guest, but mainly I've been lurking round here for quite some time and thought I would finally make some attempt to participate a bit. Well, that and I need some help. Basically, I'm a musician with a wide range of tastes, but lately I've become stricken with the desire to record an album of trad folksongs and put it on mp3.com. Not exactly an original desire, but a desire nonetheless. Now, I have a list here that I made of songs that I think I could do a good job with (I'm trying to do my own arrangements and sort of put a new spin on these songs), but I have no idea as to the legality of selling a CD of these songs, as some I think are copyrighted and others are public domain. My main question is, could I get sued for recording any of these songs, as long as I use my own arrangements? I can't find copyright information anywhere. If you guys could help me or just point me to a thread I've been missing, I'd appreciate it.

Little Maggie
Pretty Polly
White House Blues
Wayfaring Stranger
Nine Pound Hammer
Shenandoah
Upon Waking (One that I wrote)
Black Jack Davey
El Condor Pasa translation
St. James Infirmary
Rock Island Line
Whisky in the Jar
Dink's Song
Wildwood Flower
You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond
In the Pines
The Sinking of the Reuben James
Man of Constant Sorrow
Take This Hammer
Stagger Lee

My other fear is that these songs are sort of the 'popular' folksongs, and are overplayed and overrecorded as it is. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm always looking to expand my repertoire..

-kyle wade

P.S.: On an utterly unrelated note, I went to my first bluegrass festival a couple weeks ago. 13 hours of some of the best music I've ever heard. Not only that, I got to meet and shake hands with Ralph Stanley. He answered a question I had about learning the banjo and signed a t-shirt. Alas, this story impresses nobody. I thought I'd share, anyway.