The Unfortunate Rake (album)

The Unfortunate Rake
Compilation album by Various Artists
Released	1960
Genre	Folk
Length	50:30
Label	Folkways Records
Producer	Kenneth S. Goldstein

The Unfortunate Rake is an album released by Folkways Records in 1960, containing 20 different variations from the 'Rake' cycle of ballads. The album contains the earliest known version of the song, a British folk song from the 18th century, and the variations that evolved from it, including the American standards "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Streets of Laredo". The album also contains songs written for humorous and political purposes, like "The Ballad of Sherman Wu" and "The Professor's Lament".

Track listing

1. "The Unfortunate Rake" - A. L. Lloyd and Alf Edwards – 2:59
2. "The Trooper Cut Down in His Prime" - Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger – 4:30
3. "The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" - Harry Cox – 1:57
4. "Noo I'm a Young Man Cut Down in My Prime" - Willie Mathieson – 2:17
5. "The Bad Girl's Lament" - Wade Hemsworth – 2:49
6. "One Morning in May" - Hally Wood – 2:36
7. "Bright Summer Morning" - Viola Penn – 2:24
8. "The Girl in the Dilger Case" - D. K. Wilgus – 1:08
9. "The Cowboy's Lament" - Bruce Buckley – 2:39
10. "Streets of Laredo" - Harry Jackson – 4:59
11. "St. James Hospital" - Alan Lomax – 3:33
12. "Gambler's Blues" - Dave Van Ronk – 2:44
13. "I Once Was a Carman" - "I Once Was a Carman in the Big Mountain Con" - Guthrie T. "Gus" Meade – 1:12
14. "The Lineman's Hymn" - Rosalie Sorrels – 1:49
15. "The Wild Lumberjack" - Kenneth S. Goldstein – 1:51
16. "A Sun Valley Song" - Jan Brunvand and Ellen Stekert – 1:28
17. "The Ballad of Bloody Thursday" - John Greenway – 3:44
18. "Streets of Hamtramck" - Bill Friedland, Mark Newman, and Morris Howarth – 2:23
19. "The Ballad of Sherman Wu" - Pete Seeger – 2:07
20. "The Professor's Lament" - Roger Abrahams – 3:25

External links

• The Unfortunate Rake at Folkways