John McCutcheon was the most-played artist on folk radio during 2019 and had both the year’s top album and song. (Photo: Irene Young)
On his 40th recording, John McCutcheon, a much-revered folksinger-songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, pays tribute to the music of his friend and mentor, the late folk icon Pete Seeger. McCutcheon calls To Everyone in All the World “an album I’ve been waiting over 50 years to make.” Also lending their musical talents to the recording are Beausoleil, Suzy Bogguss, Stuart Duncan, Finest Kind, Corey Harris, and Hot Rize.
Of his friend, Seeger had said: “John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”
McCutcheon, a performing and recording artist since the mid-1970s, is also a longtime labor and social activist. He is a founder and former president of Local 1000, the traveling acoustic musicians local of the American Federation of Musicians. He has keynoted conferences for several regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International. His previous release, Ghost Light, was the #2 album on folk radio in 2017 and also features three of that year’s 25 most-played songs. McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” has been among the most-played songs during the holiday season for years.
[Here’s a link to hear John McCutcheon’s rendition of Pete Seeger’s “Well May the World Go” from To Everyone in All the World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VE05enOBXA.]
Following McCutcheon, the most-played artists on folk radio during 2019 were Mara Levine, Pete Seeger, Our Native Daughters and Bob Dylan, respectively. Songs Of Our Native Daughters was the year’s second most-played album, followed by Facets of Folk by Levine, What Will We Do by Lula Wiles, and Honest by Ordinary Elephant. McCutcheon’s rendition of Seeger’s “Well May the World Go,” edged out the year’s Molly Tuttle’s “Take the Journey” for the year’s most-played song, closely followed by Danny Schmidt’s “Just Wait Till They see You,” Levine’s interpretation of Tommy Sands’ “Daughters & Sons,” ad Jan Aldridge Clark’s “The Welcome Song.”
The 2019 year-end FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 181,160 airplays from 6756 playlists from 167 folk DJs. The number of reported spins (airplays) is shown below in parentheses. The top albums, songs and artists charts are compiled by Folk Alliance International (http://folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.
Like the monthly top albums, songs and artists charts, the annual charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission.
Top Albums of 2019
1. To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger by John
McCutcheon (713)
2. Songs of Our Native Daughters by Our Native Daughters (665)
3. Facets of Folk by Mara Levine (660)
4. What Will We Do by Lula Wiles (571)
5. Honest by Ordinary Elephant (488)
6. The Storyteller’s Suitcase by Ellis Paul (454)
7. Heart Land Again by Tim Grimm (437)
8. Standard Deviation by Danny Schmidt (409)
9. Unfortunate Point of View by Katherine Rondeau (376)
10. Leylines by Rising Appalachia (363)
11. Patty Griffin by Patty Griffin (355)
12. When You’re Ready by Molly Tuttle (350)
13. Visions by Alice Howe (345)
14. Assiniboine and the Red by The Small Glories (343)
15. It’s a Dog’s Life by Si Kahn and the Looping Brothers (340)
16. Gonna Love Anyway by Louisa Branscomb (334)
17. Up Against the Sky by Dave Gunning (327)
18. Allison De Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves by Allison De Groot and
Tatiana Hargreaves (321)
19. The Great Irish Songbook by Dervish (309)
20. Even the Sparrow by Kelly Hunt (305)
21. Tides of a Teardrop by Mandolin Orange (289)
22. Rose Avenue by Joel Rafael (281)
23. The Point of Arrival by Carrie Newcomer (277)
24. It’s a Hard Life by Ruby Lovett (269)
25. Time and Truth by Joel Mabus (259)
26. Country Music – A Film by Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) by Various
Artists (251)
26. Closing the Gap by Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (251)
28. The Longest Night of the Year, Vol. 2 by Various Artists (248)
29. Words of Love by Allison Lupton (242)
29. Off to Here Land by Ashley and Simpson (242)
31. Tim O’Brien Band by Tim O’Brien (240)
32. Dedicated to the Proposition by Spook Handy (238)
33. Rearrange My Heart by Che Apalache (235)
34. October in the Railroad Earth by Tom Russell (234)
35. The Bull Moose Party by Jackson Grimm (228)
36. The Butcher Shoppe EP by Della Mae (226)
37. Conspirators by Guy Forsyth and Jeska Bailey (221)
38. Tall Fiddler by Michael Cleveland (217)
39. Slow It Down by Crowes Pasture (214)
40. In Sevens by Kora Feder (212)
41. Rings Around Saturn by Marion Halliday (211)
42. What if This Is All There Is by Rj Cowdery (209)
42. Chasing the Sun by Bobtown (209)
42. North Country by Danny Burns (209)
45. In My Pocket by Brooksie Wells (207)
46. A List of Name” by Karyn Oliver (206)
47. Pseudomyopia by Rachael Sage (203)
48. Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne by Amy Speace (202)
49. Ride Me Back Home by Willie Nelson (193)
49. Wildwood by Katie Dahl (193)
51. Legacy of Love by Ellen Bukstel (192)
52. Greening the Dark by Debra Cowan (191)
53. Acorns by Ben Winship (189)
54. Hummingbird by John Smith (186)
54. Best of the Rest by Si Kahn (186)
56. Talk to a Human by Terri Hendrix (181)
56. There Is No Other by Rhiannon Giddens (181)
58. Making Life Sweet by The Early Risers (178)
58. Adobe Road by Cej (178)
60. When They Fall by Annie and Rod Capps (177)
61. Valley of the Bones by Jane Kramer (174)
61. Every Trip Around the Sun by Sharon Goldman (174)
63. Easy Money by Old Man Luedecke (173)
64. Ten: The Errant Night by Runa (171)
65. Paws of a Bear by Sofia Talvik (168)
66. Back to Shore by Shari Ulrich (167)
66. Every Single Star by Dori Freeman (167)
68. Dirigo Attitude by Sara Trunzo (163)
68. Mint Condition by Caroline Spence (163)
70. Common Chords by Robert Jones and Matt Watroba (162)
Top Songs of 2019
[Here’s a link to view the official video for Molly Tuttle’s “Take the Journey”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADiwd_AjjEA]
Molly Tuttle’s 2019 release When You’re Ready features the song “Take the Journey.”
2. “Take the Journey” by Molly Tuttle (104)
3. “Just Wait Til They See You” by Danny Schmidt (100)
4. “Daughters and Sons” by Mara Levine (99)
5. “The Welcome Song” by Jan Aldridge Clark (95)
6. “Take Me Home” by Sofia Talvik (93)
7. “Jenny & James” by Ordinary Elephant (85)
8. “Sixteen Tons” by Della Mae (83)
9. “You’re Not Alone” by Our Native Daughters (80)
9. “Sailing Down My Golden River” by John McCutcheon (80)
11. “If I Had a Hammer” by John McCutcheon (79)
11. “You Reap What You Sow” by Mara Levine (79)
13. “Love Gone Wrong” by Lula Wiles (77)
13. “I Knew I Could Fly” by Our Native Daughters (77)
13. “Steel Rails” by Louisa Branscomb (77)
13. “Polly Ann’s Hammer” by Our Native Daughters (77)
17. “What’s That I Hear” by Katherine Rondeau (76)
17. “Moon Meets the Sun” by Our Native Daughters (76)
19. “Where I Come From” by Patty Griffin (74)
19. “Turn, Turn, Turn” by John McCutcheon (74)
21. “Twilight” by Alice Howe (73)
21. “The Dreamer” by Che Apalache (73)
21. “The War” by Ordinary Elephant (73)
21. “River” by Patty Griffin (73)
25. “Shaking as It Turns” by Lula Wiles (72)
25. “Scars We Keep” by Ordinary Elephant (72)
25. “The Storyteller’s Suitcase” by Ellis Paul (72)
25. “By My Silence” by Mara Levine (72)
Top Artists of 2019
Mara Levine was the second most-played artist on folk radio during 2019 and had the third most-played album, Facets of Folk. (Photo: Manny Krevat)
2. Mara Levine (768)
3. Pete Seeger (708)
4. Our Native Daughters (672)
5. Bob Dylan (615)
6. Tim Grimm (611)
7. Lula Wiles (602)
8. Ellis Paul (561)
9. Tom Russell (537)
10. Ordinary Elephant (528)
11. Tim O’Brien (490)
12. Patty Griffin (457)
13. Danny Schmidt (454)
14. Joel Mabus (447)
15. Carrie Newcomer (421)
16. John Prine (405)
17. Katherine Rondeau (397)
18. Molly Tuttle (393)
19. Dave Gunning (387)
20. Willie Nelson (386)
21. Joan Baez (381)
22. Alice Howe (371)
22. Rising Appalachia (371)
24. Si Kahn and the Looping Brothers (367)
25. Dervish (366)
26. Mandolin Orange (359)
27. The Small Glories (357)
28. Louisa Branscomb (356)
29. Ben Winship (349)
30. Si Kahn (327)
31. Allison De Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves (325)
32. Kelly Hunt (316)
33. Joel Rafael (314)
33. Della Mae (314)
35. Rhiannon Giddens (305)
36. John Gorka (304)
37. Joe Jencks (297)
38. Eliza Gilkyson (293)
39. Spook Handy (289)
40. Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (280)
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