The acclaimed biographer offers a social history of the poem that helped America fall in love with baseball. The sport that came to be known as America's Pastime was still in its infancy when a journalist for the San Francisco Examiner wrote a ballad extolling the drama and excitement of the game. Ernest L. Thayer's Casey at the Bat made its first appearance in the Examiner on June 3, 1888. But the immortal tale of Mighty Casey was destined to become...

280 real American songs to sing and play. Ballads, hobo songs, spirituals, steamboat, railroad and lumberjack songs, close harmony ditties, and much more.

Enhanced CD focuses on Smith as an artist and twentieth century luminary and contains rare photos, historic video footage, artists interviews, and additional annotations.

Appliance salesman Guy Patterson fills in for an injured drummer when the band The Wonders competes in a talent show. After Guy injects a Merseybeat rhythm into lead singer Jimmy's ballad, the song's undeniable pop power flings the group into a brief whirlwind of success.

A collection of old and modern ballads arranged under six headings: magic and miracles, narratives, broadsides and satires, war, work, and love