Tradition Records

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Tradition Records was an American record label that existed from 1955 to 1961.

The label was founded (and funded) by Diane Hamilton. It may have started as a non-commercial exercise but once The Clancy Brothers were signed up in 1958, it generated profits. When the group signed to Columbia in 1961, the label ceased to be viable, and the catalogue was sold, possibly to Transatlantic. In the 80s "Everest Records" acquired the rights. Their policy was to issue recordings without any notes, in haphazard permutations. Later Rykodisc bought the rights, and issued several recording under the "Tradition" logo. Some of these were actually from the Everest catalogue. The history is cloudy, but Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner, Coleman Hawkins and Jimmy Witherspoon almost certainly never recorded for Tradition, though recent issues would suggest they did.

For many years John Jacob Niles received little acclaim, but following the broadcast of the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, there was a surge in the demand for his albums. His two albums on "Tradition" were accordingly reissued.

[edit] Selected Tradition Records releases

"The Lark in the Morning" by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, Family and Friends (1956)
"A Ballad Singer's Choice" by Ed McCurdy (1956)
"Children's Songs" by Ed McCurdy (1958)
"The Tradition Years: I Wonder as I Wander" by John Jacob Niles (1958)
"The Rising of the Moon:Irish Songs of Rebellion" by The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem (1958)
"Come Fill Your Glass With Us" by The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem (1959)
"An Evening With John Jacob Niles" by John Jacob Niles (1959)
"Classic Scots Ballads" by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger (1959)
"Heather and Glen:Songs and Melodies of Highland and Lowland Scotland" by Alan Lomax, Calum McLean and Hamish Henderson (1959)
"The Tradition Folk Song Sampler" (1959)
"Carols for all Seasons" by Jean Ritchie (1959)
"Pie in the Sky" by Oscar Brand (1960)
"The Folk Songs Tradition" (1960) (reissued 2005)